[M&M Guy]

We have to be careful when we use phrases like "advantage/disadvantage", "call the obvious", and "not having an effect on the play". I still see plays where a defender gets leveled with an elbow on an illegal screen while the ball is on the other side of the floor, and the official lets it go because "it didn't have an effect on the play", or "no one else saw it". In other words, they were too lazy to make the obvious call, and used those phrases as an excuse. How do we know it didn't have an effect? Should we wait until we see the offensive player wipe off that screen, receive the pass, and then make the open shot? And, if they don't, there's no advantage? Of course not; the player with the elbow gained the unfair advantage by causing the other player to move off their route due to that contact. When you start applying adv/disadv to violations however, I think you'll start more problems than you will avoid. What about the guard in the front court, seeing the defense sitting in a zone, steps back while dribbling to call a play, and while unguarded, steps with the back of their heel on the midcourt line. No other player is within 20 feet. Do you let the backcourt violation go? What do you tell the other coach who also sees it? I would call that violation; there are officials that would say it didn't have an effect because they weren't being guarded. I would say the player had an unfair advantage by using more of the playing surface than they were allowed by rule.

Again, we use many of these phrases all the time, and most of us know what they mean and to apply them. There are the officials that mis-use them to justify not making calls. And I'm kind of in the camp that feels adv/disadv applies more to fouls than violations.