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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

NBA Rules - Anthony was right

There is no specific rule in the NBA rulebook at NBA.com dealing with a player who goes out-of-bounds, was the last guy to touch the ball, then comes back in bounds and is the next guy to touch it. Anthony argued with a few guys today insisting this was legal. While there is no rule pertaining to it exactly, there is a section on NBA.com called "Ask Bernie". Bernie Fryer is in charge of all the refs for the NBA and he interprets the rules. The following is a Q & A from the "Ask Bernie" section at NBA.com

Ques -- A person grabs a rebound and lands in bounds but because of this his momentum is causing him to fall out of bounds. Before he steps out he drops the ball in bounds. He then goes out of bounds, comes back in and gets both feet in bounds before he grabs the ball again. Is this legal or would the ball go to the other team? -Jeff

Ans from Bernie -- This is a legal play, as long as he re-establishes himself inbounds with both feet legally touching the playing court before touching the ball. If he does not reestablish himself inbounds, then he may not legally be the first one to touch the ball.

As long as I'm on rules, here's the one I hate most at the community center... Guys who catch their own airballs. That's traveling in the NBA. And everywhere I've ever seen, but at the ICC, we play that if it was a legitimate shot, you can grab your own airball even if it doesn't touch anyone or anything else. I am NOT an expert on High School ball, apparently some guys say this is how it is in High School -- but who wouldn't want to play NBA rules? Besides, when I was in High School, we still had to get the ladder out and get the ball out of the peach basket when someone scored. Anyway, for those of you in doubt, here's another excerpt from "Ask Bernie"...

Ques -- If player A1 shot an airball and the same player A1 retrieves the ball without other players touching the ball first, is this considered a traveling violation? The argument is that even though the player shot an airball, it is still a shot attempt. -Bobby

Ans From Bernie --Yes, this scenario would be a traveling violation. The ball must hit the backboard and/or rim, or an opponent before the shooting player can be the first to touch the missed shot. If the shooting player is the first to touch an airball, then it is a traveling violation.


Here's the last one we always argue about, kicking ... right from the rulebook (notice the word "intentional" in the rule)... By the way, punching the ball is the same violation as kicking.

Section V-Strike the Ball
a. A player shall not kick the ball or strike it with the fist.
b. Kicking the ball or striking it with any part of the leg is a violation when it is an intentional act. The ball accidentally striking the foot, the leg or fist is not a violation.

I'm sure we'll argue about it next time, but it was interesting to look it up.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

The "catching your own airball" is a high school, college, and local league rule. I figure since we are playing with what was the college three point line and the current high school three point we would play by modified high school rules?

Some rules I found that come up at the ICC:

Is there a violation when an offensive player stops his dribble, fumbles the ball away, and then recovers the ball?

Basketball rules determine that if an offensive ball handler accidentally looses the ball after they have picked up their dribble, they may go and recover the ball without a violation being called. Typically, a traveling call would be made, but it is always legal to recover a fumble.


Art. 3. The ball shall be out of bounds when any part of the ball passes over
the backboard from any direction

I couldnt find anything on the "Anthony" argument in the NCAA rules.

Stuart said...

Actually, what bugs me most about when we play that you can get your own airball is that the guy shooting the airball knows better than anyone that it's happening. Most rebounders wouldn't expect an airball. So, the guy who shoots the crappy shot gets rewarded by having an advantage in retrieving the ball, and often being open because no one else expected the ball to be back in his hands.

It just shouldn't be that you get a possible advantage after shooting an airball.