Basketball tips?

[Hawks Coach]

Ilya -
Its been a while since I saw an explanation of illegal defense with specifics. My info is from an excellent SI article from years back, and although the details may have changed, the general rule appears to be the same from the calls I see made in the NBA today.

Essentially, the court is divided into zones, lengthwise and widthwise. Lengthwise, there were three zones, two major zones with what amounts to an overlap area in between ( a couple of feet max). If your player is in the upper zone, you must be either in the upper zone or that small overlap area, or, you must be doubleteaming the ball. Same holds true for widthwise, except I believe that it was a staight division of the court in half (no overlap area). You have to be on the same half of the court as your player, or you must double team the ball. The rule also specifies the amount of time you have to move into a doubleteam position, or to be in the same zone as your player (2.8 seconds comes to mind for some reason).

By the way, wasn't that an illegal defense on the last Knick play by Sprewell? It sure looked like the second defender (Miller? Rose?) was floating in no-mans-land while Sprewell was deciding what to do with the ball. Oh well, Indiana's home court with less than 10 on the clock, I don't think they're going to make that call! Nevertheless, it really appeared to influence Sprewell's choice to pull up with the turnaround rather than driving. (anticipatory note- I am neutral, a Pistons/ Wizards fan, but pulling for Indiana, so this ain't sour grapes guys!) Maybe the Knicks don't get all the calls, just all the calls against the tight-collared Heat.