Jump ball or out of bounds?

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Well, this may be the issue. 4-25-2 says, "A held ball occurs when...an opponent places his/her hand(s) on the ball and prevents an airborne player from throwing the ball or releasing it on a try." If they have to land, they wouldn't be airborne anymore, right?

They have to land before you can call the held ball, but the held ball occurred before they landed.

It's like lifting the pivot foot before the ball is released: you have to see whether it's released for a dribble or a pass. The travel happens when the pivot foot is lifted, but you can call a violation only after the player dribbles.

I do some metaphysics and other hair splitting for my day job.