Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
Just think about this though. Why does a FIBA or NBA player need a "gather step"? He doesn't. The defense is placed at a disadvantage (because he must move backward and keep himself in LGP) when the offensive player is allowed to continue moving (after a pass) or change direction (during a spin move) at full speed without dribbling. This was the reason for the pivot foot rule in the first place.
If we are going to give the offense more latitude, we should do the same for the defense. We should get rid of LGP altogether. If the defensive player is not moving toward the offensive player and the offensive player hits the defensive player in the torso, it should be a PC foul. This would put offense and defense on equal footing.
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The argument is a player safety issue (that is not a player safety issue), but its actually a product issue. The rules are designed (FIBA, NBA) for adult professional men to play in front of paying crowds. As a result they want more dunks, more fast breaks, more high speed action and less standing and grinding. They are given the extra step because the speeds and masses of the bodies involved. Getting giant men travelling at reckless speeds, to stop their forward momentum using the foot already on the floor without travelling would require either A) an unnatural stopping motion for highly paid high performance athletes that could cause injuries or wear and tear on knees and joints, OR B) the athlete to slow down, be less dynamic and more in control of the their speed and mass. Since they don't want B and A can be a dollar and cents issue out of leagues and owners pockets, they came up with a rule change that eliminates both and actually increases the speed, movement and explosiveness of offensive players.
When they sell it to youth levels and club programs they talk about more natural stopping movements at pace, but what they mean is "we want the game the played so fast by giants we don't want them to slow down or risk hurting themselves needing complicated body movements",