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Originally Posted by Jimgolf
Physics. If it's more than half way to the basket, it's probably on the way down.
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Actually, that's not really true. It would make sense logically, but in reality the physics are slightly different. There are many shots where after the shot is released, the speed of the ball slows down through the air, so that by the time it is at the apex and gravity takes over, it's moving slower than when it left the hand. This means the angle of the ball flight coming down is steeper than going up, which means the ball hits the apex somewhere around 2/3 of the way to the end, not just 1/2 way. This is espcially true on longer shots, maybe not as much on shorter shots. Think of the fly ball in baseball - if you watch the flight of the ball you'll see it at it's highest point much closer to the outfielder than just the halfway point.
I guess the point of my ramblings is don't rely on looking for the halfway point to determine goaltending. You still need to watch the ball flight to see if it's on the way down.