Another presumably basic question, which is probably why I can't find it in the archives (or maybe I'm just a crummy searcher)... Anyway:

I understand when screening/blocking, hands should be straight up or straight down, altho the defender (or anyone, I assume) can use his hands to protect himself in a collision. Hands/arms/legs must be in the plane of the body, ie, not wider than shoulder width. Hopefully I'm right so far...

The question:
Can the defender hold his forearm horizontally out in front of his body, out from his chest? He's not pushing or swinging, and his position is otherwise legal; he's just holding his bent arm (90 degrees) out between himself and his opponent. Seems odd to me...

So, is there anything wrong with this (assuming there's non-incidental contact)? Does it matter if his opponent has the ball or not?

Thanks!

4-24-3
It is legal to hold the hands and arms in front of the face or body for protection and to absorb force from an imminent charge by an opponent. This same protective use of the arms and hands occurs when a player who has set a screen outside the opponent's visual field is about to be run into by the player being screened. The action, however, should be a recoil action rather than a pushing action.

The question... Can a screener set a screen with the forarms in front? (which translates- elbows then extend outside the verticality of the body because the fists go together center of the chest)

To have a foul you have to have contact.

If the screener sets a terrible screen and is moving when contact occurs it should not matter where arms are.

If the contact with the screener happens dead center of the torso and thae arms are there, the screener's arms are acting as a buffer and as long as the screen is legal so what if the forearms are up and elbows out?

The problem with the forearms up and elbows out is when the screener moves the elbows farther out to try a clip the guy going pats him. Since it is an elbow out at chest high ( read that close to the neck) if the arms go left or right and make contact with a player going around the screen, it is almost always a foul with me. The elbows sliding out is a dangerous situation so I hit that one early and generally dont have problems later. If it is a real marginal brush that did not impact the play, I might warn but when elbows go out you can get into too many problems. Call that and call it fast!