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I asked this a couple of years ago, but need more advice. We now have had "hand checking" as a POE for three straight years. The use of hands "off-ball" on defense continues to be vexing to me. This year they speak of "jabbing" instead of "tagging" and they emphasize "continuous touch." In years past they have explicitly said hand checking is not incidental and is a foul, etc. The verbiage does not restrict this to the ball handler and explicitly the POE says the location on the floor is irrelevent (i.e., post versus perimeter).
When is the use of the hands legal off the ball, if ever? Can a defender who is fronting the post reach back and tag the offensive player find him? The defender is not trying to "displace" the offensive man or hold him, but he is obviously touching to gain an advantage. If the defender can touch, can the offense push the hand away?
I interprete the rules and POE's to prohibit all "touching" that is intentional, non-incidental and designed to gain an advantage. I know officials are rightfully loath to call "touch" fouls, but should they consistently instruct defenders to cease hand tagging to find the offense?
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