As I was watching the video showing how Andrew Bynum punched Gerald Wallace’s latest ticket to the injured list, I started thinking about flagrant fouls and how they impact our Orlando Magic.
The NBA defines flagrant fouls as the following-
To be unsportsmanlike is to act in a manner unbecoming to the image of professional basketball. It consists of acts of deceit, disrespect of officials and profanity. The penalty for such action is a technical foul. Repeated acts shall result in expulsion from the game and a minimum fine of $1000. A flagrant foul-penalty (1) is unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent. A flagrant foul-penalty (2) is unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.
http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_b.html?nav=ArticleList
Think about that, unnecessary contact or unnecessary and excessive contact. It was always my understanding that when a player is defending they should be making a play on the ball, shouldn't any foul where the defensive player is making no attempt at a play on the ball be unnecessary contact? For example Dwight getting grabbed around the waist to prevent a basket, is that even attempting to play basketball?
David Stern has put a lot of effort into increasing scoring and making the game more exciting. Let me ask you this, is it more exciting to watch an offensive player burn a defensive player and have a chance to finish the play or watching some slob grab a leg and hang on for dear life? Is it more exciting to see a great defensive player fly over and erase a mistake by one of his teammates or watch Jeff Foster rehearse for his role in Shawshank Redemption II (The Electric Boogaloo)?
The responsibility needs to be on the defensive player and if they get beat, too bad, they need to work on their agility in the offseason. Those are the guys that should be made to look foolish on the court rather than allowing them to take the easy way out on defense.
The NBA defines flagrant fouls as the following-
To be unsportsmanlike is to act in a manner unbecoming to the image of professional basketball. It consists of acts of deceit, disrespect of officials and profanity. The penalty for such action is a technical foul. Repeated acts shall result in expulsion from the game and a minimum fine of $1000. A flagrant foul-penalty (1) is unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent. A flagrant foul-penalty (2) is unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.
http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_b.html?nav=ArticleList
Think about that, unnecessary contact or unnecessary and excessive contact. It was always my understanding that when a player is defending they should be making a play on the ball, shouldn't any foul where the defensive player is making no attempt at a play on the ball be unnecessary contact? For example Dwight getting grabbed around the waist to prevent a basket, is that even attempting to play basketball?
David Stern has put a lot of effort into increasing scoring and making the game more exciting. Let me ask you this, is it more exciting to watch an offensive player burn a defensive player and have a chance to finish the play or watching some slob grab a leg and hang on for dear life? Is it more exciting to see a great defensive player fly over and erase a mistake by one of his teammates or watch Jeff Foster rehearse for his role in Shawshank Redemption II (The Electric Boogaloo)?
The responsibility needs to be on the defensive player and if they get beat, too bad, they need to work on their agility in the offseason. Those are the guys that should be made to look foolish on the court rather than allowing them to take the easy way out on defense.
I think Stan said it best when describing Jamal Magloire after a game with the Heat earlier this year. "His job is to whack people"
ReplyDeleteThe part that drives me nuts is perimeter players can't be touched but post players need training from Mr. Miyagi to survive.
There is a major issue with the wording on flagrant fouls. What is necessary contact? The stronger and more skilled a player is (like Dwight), the stronger and more physical a foul must be to stop him from getting his shot (or dunk) off.
ReplyDeleteI can understand wrapping a guy up, physically stopping him from lifting his arms. But grabbing onto anything and pulling down, a player who is in the air, or in the process of jumping up, is just a dirty play. To grab a guy by the neck (pictured in blog), the jersey (Jeff Foster), the arms, the waist, any part of the body, and yank a player down while they are in the air should be an automatic flagrant, no questions asked.