[BillyMac]

The Intent and Purpose of the Rules (below), Advantage/Disadvantage, and the Tower Philosophy, all impact the application of the rules of basketball. Many members of the Forum believe that the above mentioned guidelines only pertain to the calling of fouls, i.e., incidental contact. Many of those members who subscribe to that theory may, if they are approached on the right day, at the right time, while they are in the right frame of mind, "stretch" those guidelines to include, at the most, three violations, two of which are mentioned above, three seconds, palming/carrying, and the one that wasn't mentioned, which is the one most often cited as requiring an understanding of advantage/disadvantage, etc., the ten second free throw time limit. To try to include other violations under the application of these guidelines is only going to invite the wrath of many Forum members, so don't even try to go there. And don't even think about applying advantage/disadvantage to any violation involving a boundary line.

THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE RULES
The restrictions which the rules place upon the players are intended to create a balance of play; to provide equal opportunity between the offense and the defense; to provide equal opportunity between the small player and tall player; to provide reasonable safety and protection; to create an atmosphere of sporting behavior and fair play; and to emphasize cleverness and skill without unduly limiting freedom of action of individual or team play on either offense or defense. Therefore, it is important to know the intent and purpose of a rule so that it may be intelligently applied in each play situation. A player or a team should not be permitted an advantage which is not intended by a rule. Neither should play be permitted to develop which may lead to placing a player at a disadvantage not intended by a rule.