Foul or Incidental (video)

[johnny d]

Originally Posted by BatteryPowered

Isn't that basically the definition of advantage/disadvantage? It is to me.

No the severity of contact does not by definition mean advantage/disadvantage. Not even close. First, two players can be in equally advantageous positions going for the ball, there could be severe contact with both of them ending up on the ground, and no foul call is required on the play. In this case, it doesn't matter which player hit the other player harder, they both had an equal chance to get the ball, and no advantage was necessarily gained because one player contacted the other player more severely. Second, last night I officiated a game between two below average teams made up of teams with very little ability and athleticism. A player was going to the basket and was contacted marginally by a defender. In most games I officiate, the offensive player would have gone right through this level of contact and completed the play at the basket. No foul would have been necessary. However, the players on the court last night were not able to play through this level of contact, and fouls needed to be called on most of these plays. In this game, there were many times marginal contact affected RSBQ. In most of my other games, a much more severe level of contact would be necessary to afftect RSBQ and result in a foul. Severity of contact does not necessarily mean there is an advantage or disadvantage.