Flop

[Duffman]

Snaq, I understand your point, and it's foundation in the rules. A player does not have to be in an LGP to take a charge, provided he got to his place on the floor legally. I agree with you. I agree that a player is entitled to any position on the court provided he is stationary. Where I believe we disagree is in whether or not we think B1 (who went to the floor without contact) got there legally, what position he's legally entitled to, and whether the said player is stationary.

A player is entitled to their space within the frame of their feet from the floor vertically to the ceiling of the building. That doesn’t change when a player is falling backwards to the floor. The space they are entitled to is that directly above their feet. Any contact that that occurs outside that the defense is responsible for as it is contact that occurs outside of the space the defender is entitled to and puts the offense a disadvantage. It doesn’t matter whether that contact is in front of the player, to either side, or in this instance behind him.

It is no different than a player who’s feet are stationary that holds his arm out perpendicular to his body, or reaches straight forward and contacts a driving or shooting player. We wouldn’t allow a defender who’s feet are motionless to gain an advantage while turning his shoulders and placing his arms in the landing area him of an airborne shooter while he’s being completely jumped over (unbelievably unlikely I know but it’s a good example), why would we allow the same defender to fall down backwards and essentially do the same thing?

In the event a player got to that position on the floor (for any reason at all) prior to an airborne shooter taking off I would not hesitate in calling a PC, provided the defender remained in their original position.