Screens-NBA POE

[The_Rookie]

The other point of emphasis this season: illegal screens. Teams that feel officials have wronged them can upload video clips of allegedly incorrect calls, or incorrect non-calls, onto a private league website. Illegal screens are by far the most common type of uploaded clip, says Mike Bantom, the NBA’s executive vice-president in charge of referee operations. And so the league is promising to crackdown on illegal screens this season, again.

Screens are boring. They don't involve the ball, at least not directly, and most of the exciting stuff involves the ball. We naturally watch the ball, and monitoring everything that happens away from the ball requires continuous training and diligence.

But screens, both on and off the ball, are a crucial part of the game. Baseline screens free cutters and curling shooters. Cross screens under the rim give big men space to post up. And perhaps most importantly, screens for point guards on high pick-and-rolls free those exciting little guys to get into the lane and do all sorts of fun things. If offense is fun, and fans like fun, enabling illegal screens to at least some degree is a good thing.