Player starting to fall in anticipation of charge

[drofficial]

In the OP I was not intending to describe a player faking a foul. It's a player who knows he is going to get run over and so starts to lean fall back. The problem, for the official, is that this lessens the contact. So the question then becomes was there enough contact to gain an advantage, or did the defender's starting to fall mean that no advantage was gained?

I had this play last night and had a no-call, but then the offensive player basically fell on top of the defender on the floor, so we have a "crash" under the basket and a no-call looks suspect...

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by drofficial

In the OP I was not intending to describe a player faking a foul. It's a player who knows he is going to get run over and so starts to lean fall back. The problem, for the official, is that this lessens the contact. So the question then becomes was there enough contact to gain an advantage, or did the defender's starting to fall mean that no advantage was gained?

I agree that makes it tough, but does not make it "illegal." I call the contact, not what the defender did to anticipate contact that they can do legally. If they fall back so far and I have to decide if contact was a foul, then that is a different story. But that is not quite what you said and the reason people wanted clarification.

Originally Posted by drofficial

I had this play last night and had a no-call, but then the offensive player basically fell on top of the defender on the floor, so we have a "crash" under the basket and a no-call looks suspect...

I think we need to stop worrying about what others think. Players fall to the ground all the time and no foul is warranted. Especially when a shooter jumps into a bigger player, I am not calling a foul in the bigger defender if they did nothing wrong or illegal. One of the reasons why courage is a big part of officiating.

Peace

[Adam]

Agree with Rut. You have to decide whether the contact caused the player to fall, or if the defender's own actions caused him to lose his balance. Generally, if the shooter lands on top of the defender, you can go ahead and call the PC. If the shooter lands just at the defender, and contact is slight, you have a decision to make.

[Jurassic Referee]

From an old POE that still holds true...

Flopping: The defensive player or screener acting as though he or she has been charged by an opponent, when in fact he or she has not been, definitely has an impact on the game. It is detrimental to the best interests of basketball. The "actor" wants to create the false impression that he or she has been fouled in the charging/guarding situation, or while he or she is screening when in either case there is no contact or incidental contact. The "actor" falls to the court as though he or she was knocked down by the force of contact by the opponent. These actions are designed to have a foul charged to the opponent- a foul not deserved. The "flop" also incites spectators. The rules are in place to deal with such activity and must be enforced. A technical foul is charged to the "actor" in all cases. Coaches can have a positive impact by appropriately dealing with players who fake being fouled. It is not part of the game. Officials must penalize the act.

Try not to giggle at the notion of a coach giving one of his players crap for faking a foul. Far more coaches teach it than tsk-tsk it.

To sum up, it's always a judgment call. You first have to judge whether there was appreciable contact or not. No contact or minimal contact = no call or a "T". If there is appreciable contact, you then have to decide whether the contact was incidental or illegal. Incidental contact is a no-call. Illegal contact on which player is determined by the appropriate block/charge rule.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Try not to giggle at the notion of a coach giving one of his players crap for faking a foul. Far more coaches teach it than tsk-tsk it.

I've actually heard a coach (maybe two) get on his player for not taking the charge.