Not always true. You can often tell when a jumper is going to come up a little short and probably hit the front of the ring. Shooters sometimes feel it too, and holler "short!" as soon as the shot's away. And it would be a rather significant advantage if the big guys were allowed up "adjust" the shot as it got close to the basket.

BTW, I scheduled you a visit from Dr. Phil. That should help with both the low self-esteem and the attendant little ED problem. :D

That sounds like a tip or tap, if it is short.

Yes, it does. But I'm specifically talking about tapping the ball on its downward flight as it nears the basket, not after it's hit the ring.

Does "errant" just mean that the shot misses? If so, then lots of shots that miss have a CHANCE of going in while they're still in the air and outside the cylinder. They're close, they just don't actually go in.

It's quite possible that I'm misunderstanding the nuances of "errant". If it means "clearly short", then I agree with Dan_ref. But in normal language, lots of shots have a reasonable chance of going in but then miss.

<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 500574" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>Back In The Saddle</TD><TD class=alt2>Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Dan_ref
How can a shot be errant and have a chance to go in at the same time?
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Well, what if the shot is clearly just a little short? A shot that would otherwise have hit the rim, and maybe bounced in, or maybe not, could fairly easily be tapped hard enough to ensure that it made it over the rim and into the basket.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

A shot that is "clearly just a little short" and will hit the rim still has a chance to bounce around in the hands of the Hoop Gods and may not be touched.
A shot that is "clearly just a little short" but will not hit the rim may be touched.
Yer sayin' that aren't you?

Ummm, yeah. :)

Actually I was ignoring the second possibility, the one that clearly will not hit the rim, entirely. As you point out, that one may be touched.

Well, it's not my word it's sh1thead's word (apologies if I'm being insulting, but you see I have self-esteem issues) and of course it doesn't appear in the rule book. Here are some common definitions for errant:

- straying from the right course or from accepted standards; "errant youngsters"

- uncontrolled motion that is irregular or unpredictable; "an errant breeze"

You tell me if an 'errant shot' has a chance to go in. All I can tell you is there are 2 types of shots relative to GT: shots that have a chance of going in and shots that do not have a chance of going in. To extend that to the universe of unfair advantage that sh1thead (damn! I did it again!) describes above is just, well, silly.

By rule, anybody is allowed to adjust a shot as long as they do it within GT & BI rules. I still have no idea what you're trying to tell us... if you think the ball will hit the front of the rim & go in then you have GT. If you think the ball will hit the front of the rim & bounce out then there's no GT. As for players yelling short... :shrug:

If I think the ball will hit the front of the rim (and the ball is above the rim) I've got GT. Even if I think it is likely that it will bounce out, its still GT because neither I nor anyone else will be able to say will complete certainly that it has absolutely zero chance of going it.

Interesting.

I prefer to take it a step more & judge whether the ball will hit the outside of the rim & miss or hit the inside of the rim & go in. I think I can do that, and I think you could as well.