inadvertent whistle? pt. 2

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

If the shot never gets released, it's never a shot.

Snaqwells: Be careful here. We don't want to confuse any rookies out there. If by shot, you mean, try for goal, then there is one exception to your statement, continous motion:

4-41-1: The act of shooting begins simultaneously with the start of the try or tap and ends when the ball is clearly in flight, and includes the airborne shooter.
4-41-2: A try for field goal is an attempt by a player to score two or three points by throwing the ball into a team’s own basket. A player is trying for goal when the player has the ball and in the official’s judgment is throwing or attempting to throw for goal. It is not essential that the ball leave the player’s hand as a foul could prevent release of the ball.
4-41-3: The try starts when the player begins the motion which habitually precedes the release of the ball.

I do agree with you about team control. If the ball is never released, then team control is not lost, as Scrapper1 implied a few post ago.

[Adam]

Good point, Billy. I've corrected the original.
I'll add that while the try may begin and end, if the ball is never in flight "during" the try, team control continues. A blocked shot is the perfect example of when a try may "end" even thought team control continues.

Rule 4-41-4: The try ends when the throw is successful, when it is certain the try is unsuccessful, when the thrown ball touches the floor or when the ball becomes dead.