Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad
I think that many coaches believe that if each team is playing a similar style of defense then the fouls should be "even" ... and they may have a point. However, plenty of times the teams are playing completely differently -- with one team taking a lot of open jump shots versus the other driving to the basket a lot. Obviously, in a game like that there could be great foul count disparity and it wouldn't indicate a problem.
The main thing that I try to keep in mind is that if the foul count is 7-2 or such, don't miss an obvious foul on the team that only has 2 and don't call a cheap one on the team that has 7!
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The overriding problem here is that there are so many different variables involved that it is difficult to cover them all to a coaches satisfaction. My team's very, very rarely fouled -- it was a very conscious decision on my part. There were three things I never wanted my players to do:
1. try to steal the ball from the dribbler/person holding the ball,
2. try to get a rebound when they had not earned the right by boxing out,
3. jump to try to block a shot.
My teams pressed, trapped, and played hard man-to-man defense in the half court. But, we typically made more FTs than our opponents shot. While some teams may have played the same "style" -- i.e. pressing, trapping and playing man-to-man -- they typically ended up with far more fouls because they implemented that "style" in a different manner.
While I see your point about the fouls and what to call or not call, I really don't want the number of fouls a team has to be the determining factor as to whether I call the foul or not.