Jeff Van Gundy on "Flopping"

[Adam]

Originally Posted by twocentsworth

if there is contact and, in your opinion, the player falls to the ground trying to draw a foul, you don't blow the whistle....that is a flop.

Far be it for me to get in between the two of you, but this is where I disagree with you.

A player falling does not have to be either a flop or a foul. If, in bracing for imminent contact, the defender leans backwards to the point where he loses his balance, then contact from the offense isn't what causes him to fall. No foul. Remember, the rule is for "faking being fouled," and that's not what happened here, either, so it's nothing.

Most times, this is what happens. It's the same as incidental contact prior to a travel. We have to judge whether the travel (or fall) would have happened without the contact.

Originally Posted by twocentsworth

those are the most obvious examples of what we are talking about. of course, it is not the ONLY examples of flops: the ball handler exaggerates a bump by flinging his head & upper body backwards; after releasing the ball - the jump shooter who immediately falls backward when a defender is near; the rebounder who yells and leaps forwards (out of bounds under the basket) to feign a push from behind when the rebound goes long over his head and he cannot reach it; etc.

these happen in EVERY game you've worked. you seem to recognize these as plays that "don't deserve a whistle", but you don't recognize them as being "flopping".

All I can say is if this stuff is happening in every game you work, your area has some issues.