planes of the court
 

what is the rule if the ball is behind the backboard and hits the padding crossing the plane??? is it a violation??? can the ball in addition be shot from behind the backboard and travel over the top of the backboard??? how bout if the ball is behind the plane of the backboard and hits the top of the backboard???

I'm not 100 percent sure what's you're asking. The rule is pretty simple.

Under NFHS and NCAA rules, if the ball passes over the top of the backboard (assuming it's a rectangular backboard and not a fan shaped one) in either direction, it's an out of bounds violation. If it hits the back of the backboard (as the 4 sides and the front of the backboard are inbounds) it's out of bounds.

Larry Legend ...
 

From The Files Of The Mythbusters ...
 

The front, top, sides, and bottom of the backboard are all in play. The ball cannot legally pass over a rectangular backboard from either direction. The back of a backboard is out of bounds as well as the supporting structures.

Note that Larry Bird's shot would count if they were playing on a court with fan shaped backboards. Of course, there aren't too many NBA teams that play on courts with fan shaped backboards anymore.

My question is: What was the Bird Man doing playing in the Hartford Civic Center? Shouldn't there have been ice on the floor for the Whalers?

Must have been ice on the floor of the Garden that night for the Bruins.

I was in the house the night Bird hit that shot. It was a preseason game in the fall of '86 the season after the Celtics and Rockets played in the Finals.

The Celtics used to play three regular-season games and a preseason tilt in Hartford every year. I don't know when the agreement ended, maybe the early '90s?

As for the OP, I don't think his first question has been addressed (ball hitting the bottom of the padding from behind the backboard). That query seems to have been ignored. My feeling is that's inbounds, regardless of where the ball came from to hit that spot.

Also, the last question is also a good one (ball hitting the top from behind). Based on letter of the rule (ball can't PASS OVER), you could make the case this play is also legal.

As long as the ball bounces back behind the backboard, you could rule it legal.

However, if the ball thrown from behind bounces on the top and then continues to the front, it has passed over the backboard and is OOB. And a ball that hits the top and bounces backwards may likely have hit that corner at an angle that should be considered the back of the backboard, making it illegal as well.

The shot didn't count back then, but would count today (NBA rules).

Hey. It was JUST summer ball.;)

Can You Believe It, They Moved To North Carolina, A Real Ice Hockey Hotbed ???
 

Great. Now I'm going to start crying. I can't hold back the tears. I had almost forgotten about Connecticut's only major league sports team (the Connecticut Sun, wimmen's basketball, doesn't count) leaving. On top of that, our professional Ultimate Frisbee team just folded. I can't imagine why?

Pretty sure they moved to Raleigh because you folks in CT didn't support them. The highest attendance average for a season in Hartford was 14,574. They average over 16,000 this year in that "Real Ice Hockey Hotbed."

BTW, they've won the Stanley Cup since they got here. :D

I wasn't there for that shot, but I saw my share of Celtics games in Hartford. Those were fun nights, I have to say.

Salt In A Wound ...
 

BktBallRef: Shut up.

Linsanity In Hartford ???
 

Then fire up the flux capacitor.

NBA Preseason: Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks in Hartford, CT, XL Center (formerly Hartford Civic Center), Saturday, Oct 13, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.