Does a deflated basketball help Shaq's free-throw shooting?

TNT's "Inside the NBA" crew didn't exactly go all "Sports Science," but they did put the deflated-ball controversy to the test on Thursday.

Kenny Smith wanted to see if "Deflategate" transfers over to the basketball world and had Shaquille O'Neal shoot free throws with both a normally inflated basketball and a deflated basketball.

In terms of science, this experiment did little to prove whether or not the Patriots gained a competitive advantage, but it was fun and still asked an important question.

Is there any possible way to improve Shaq's dreadful free-throw shooting?

The answer -- sadly -- was no.

Shaq went 1 for 3 with the inflated ball and missed every attempt with the deflated basketball.

As a result, Smith reached a conclusion that would make John Brenkus proud.

"It doesn't make a difference! New England still would've won."

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