The strategy of fouls

Why go inside? Why have a post-up game? Obviously, one of the big reasons is that it gets the other team in foul trouble. Three-point shots, protected as they are by the ridiculous 3-shot penalty, are much less likely to result in a foul. Inside is where the traffic is, where the heavy lifting is done, where the blood is shed - where the fouls are called.

Foul trouble throws off the other team's entire strategy for the game. You have to go with the players that you have, but if you don't have them, you have to go with something else - change horses in the middle of the stream. Obviously, your second strategy is not likely to be as good as your first one was. Particularly if it happens to the opponents' better players, fouls take away the opponent's bullets. His sixth best player presumably is not nearly as good as his best player, so if his best player is on the bench because of fouls, his team becomes significantly worse. There are very good reasons to pound the ball inside, because it chips away at your opponent's ability to do what he wants to do. Why not do it?