Rules? What Rules?

[kozlodoev]

Yesterday was the second time this season when I was ready to throw stuff at the TV after a game between the Celtics and the Magic. And not necessarily because we lost on a controversial last-minute call, but because of the "expert opinions" of those calling the game on national TV.

In both games in question, Pierce drove and drew contact under the basket only to get a no-call, and a comment on air along the lines of, "Umm, but he was moving vertically". Aside from the fact that the Magic defender yesterday took a sizeable step to the right, there is something else which is pretty simple:

Contact in the circle is an automatic charge call -- verticality doesn't matter. The whole point of the circle is to prevent guys like Dwight Howard from setting a tent camp there.

Rules like this are not a random whim of someone who never played basketball. They're there to make the game a competition of skills and not a competition of freaks. However, the more I think about it, the more it is obvious that with the advent of the Howards, LeBrons, and Wades in the game, multiple rules are getting routinely disregarded.

I am not even going to get into how goaltending and three-seconds are being officiated. There is a pile of other mind-boggling calls that seem to be disregarded at least a dozen of times a game.

1. Upon catching the ball players take one, often two steps before they start dribbling. This is travelling -- if you have one foot in the air when you get the ball, you should start your dribble by the time you lift the other foot off the ground.

2. Upon finishing a move to the basket, if players pick up the ball when one foot is in the air, they're allowed to put this foot down and then take their two steps. I understand the fact that the game is pretty fast, but this is travelling. Sorry.

3. No matter how big your hands are, you can't use them to pivot the ball horizontally while you dribble. This is palming -- you're supposed to bounce the ball up and down.

I am sure there are other situations I can't recally right now. But this type of ad-hoc officiating is getting annoying.

[Redz]

Agreed on all levels...Either change the rules or enforce them as they are written.

[Roy Hobbs]

Contact in the circle is an automatic charge call -- verticality doesn't matter. The whole point of the circle is to prevent guys like Dwight Howard from setting a tent camp there.

I think you're actually wrong on this.  Obviously, what you meant was that contact in the circle is an automatic defensive foul.  However, I believe that the importance of the circle is that a charge can't be called by rule.  The officials have the right to call a defensive foul, *or* to make no call. 

I don't have time to look for the actual rule, but I did find this Detroit News article, with the relevant parts high-lighted:

There is still a great deal of confusion about those semicircles underneath each basket.

This arc with a 4-foot radius is called the restricted area. It was instituted a couple years ago to stop secondary defensive players from drawing charging fouls while standing underneath the basket.

The rule reads like this:

"An offensive foul for charging should not be called if the contact is with a secondary defensive player who has established a defensive position within a designated restricted area ... "

That seems cut-and-dried, right?

Naturally, it's not that simple.

There is an exception. A defender can be legally positioned in the restricted area and draw a charge in one instance -- if the offensive player receives the ball within the lower defensive box.

The lower defensive box is defined as the area between the 3-foot posted-up marks on the lane, the bottom tip of the circle and the end line. So, if your man catches a pass in the post, you can establish position in the restricted area and draw a charge.

That part seems to confuse defenders, coaches and officials. Coaches complain the officials use the restricted area as a crutch, automatically whistling a foul on the defender who is in the area -- which isn't the intent of the rule.

The rule book warns against doing that.

"The mere fact that contact occurs in these type of plays, or any other similar play, does not necessarily mean that a personal foul has been committed. The officials must decide whether the contact is negligible and/or incidental, judging each situation separately."

Although the intention of the restricted area is sound, it's just another tough judgment for the officials, who, in a split second, frequently have to note the position of the defender and the spot where the offensive player got the ball.

I think the Pierce drive was a foul, but not because Howard was in the circle.

(I agree that most officials call an automatic foul on contact in the circle, but they're not supposed to if the defender has his feet set.)

[kozlodoev]

I think the Pierce drive was a foul, but not because Howard was in the circle.

(I agree that most officials call an automatic foul on contact in the circle, but they're not supposed to if the defender has his feet set.)

Well, neither of the two plays originated in the box, so this point is moot. But I do stand corrected on the automatic part.

"The mere fact that contact occurs in these type of plays, or any other similar play, does not necessarily mean that a personal foul has been committed. The officials must decide whether the contact is negligible and/or incidental, judging each situation separately."

If this is is the only reasoning that is being used in making determination, there is no way that neither of those two plays was not a foul.

The problem is, when this type of contact prevents you from making a shot, it's neither negligible, nor incidental. In the regular season game, Howard bodychecked Pierce out of the court. Yesterday, Lewis(?) actually took a step sideways hack him.

[ManUp]

When your the DPOY your going to get away with those plays.

[kozlodoev]

When your the DPOY your going to get away with those plays.

However, being the reigning Finals MVP is apparently not enough to get any respect. Ah well. 

[fairweatherfan]

When your the DPOY your going to get away with those plays.

However, being the reigning Finals MVP is apparently not enough to get any respect. Ah well. 

I hate to play the "If it was Player X that's a FOUL!!!"  game, but I can't conceive of Kobe, Wade or especially LeBron not getting that call.  I've seen it happen too many times.

[yall hate]

My biggest problem with NBA officiating is simply that what is and is not a foul changes depending on the time in the game in which it occurs.  obviously we can all complain about star treatment when we watch guys like Kobe and Lebron get obscene calls, but PP gets his fair share of 'star' calls.  but the fact that something is a foul 1 minute into a game that isnt a foul with 1 minute left is simply stupid.

[Roy Hobbs]

My biggest problem with NBA officiating is simply that what is and is not a foul changes depending on the time in the game in which it occurs.  obviously we can all complain about star treatment when we watch guys like Kobe and Lebron get obscene calls, but PP gets his fair share of 'star' calls.  but the fact that something is a foul 1 minute into a game that isnt a foul with 1 minute left is simply stupid.

Yep.  And the funny thing is, last year the NBA *admitted* this.  It's asinine.