"Not...Based Solely on the Severity of the Act"

[HokiePaul]

Personally, I hate the "play the ball" terminology that they use.

A player who puts two hands on an opponent (hand check) is not usually "playing the ball". They are usually either (poorly) attempting to stay with an opponent or are attempting to disrupt the opponent's movement. A player who displaces an opponent away from the ball to get better rebounding position is also not "playing the ball". Both, however, are rather standard common fouls and within the range of a normal basketball play.

I understand the POE that intentional fouls are being missed, but I think the POE overly complicates things by introducing the concept of playing the ball. A defense shouldn't suddenly be required to "play the ball" in the last minutes of a game when they aren't required to do so during the majority of the game. Heck, the first thing that kids learn on defense is to watch the opponent's body, not the ball.

IMO, the definition "neutralizing an opponent's obvious advantageous position" is pretty clear to me and would include grabbing from behind/out of position, which is where this comes into play most often.