Found myself watching last night. (or not watching)

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

I was once closely watching a dribbler/defender matchup; I had the perfect angle to see between them, I was watching for illegal hand checks, I had the pivot foot noted, man, was I set. The dribbler starts to take off, and all of a sudden, POW! the defender gets leveled by an illegal screen. Both the defender and screener hit the floor, and I hit the whistle. I was ready to report that foul.

Except...

It was a teammate of the defender that set the "illegal" screen. I look down, mutter a few choice words under my breath, tell everyone I have an inadvertant whistle and giave the ball back to the offense.

Moral: You have to see more than just the initial matchup. Maybe it's a matter of stepping back a little to see more. Granted, I agree the matchup should be your primary focus, but it shouldn't be your only focus. The only way I found to get better at that was to practice - during my own games and while watching other games. I think it is a skill, and like any other, it takes a little practice.

Heh. OK, good point, maybe I went a bit too far (but really...who cares what you think anyway)

But it was a good picture, wasn't it?