More NBA traveling...

[Nevadaref]

There are a few things contributing to the NBA's traveling problem:
1. The League is about making money and believes that offense sells tickets and attracts TV viewership, which equates to advertising $ and TV contract revenue. The NBA does not want the high-flying dunks and spin-moves negated by traveling calls from the officials because the offensive player used illegal footwork in making the crowd-pleasing play. This is the mentality which it has bred into its fans and is now a victim of its own creation. It will be very difficult to get people to accept strict policing of footwork as occurred 40 years ago.

2. The athletes are amazing physical specimens. They are HUGE men who are agile, strong, and quick. Therefore, the speed of play is quite fast and it can be difficult for the officials to discern the footwork even when in the proper position, but it seems that more frequently the issue is that the sightlines become blocked by other players. At the NCAA tournament this year an NBA scout told me that the biggest difference between the pro and college game was how much the NBA players shrink the floor. They are so big, long, and fast that the amount of time and space which offensive players have to operate is greatly lessened. The only practical solution is to enlarge the playing court. This would spread the players out more and provide better views for the officials.

3. The language of the NBA traveling rule is vague and unclear. There is something about a two-count rhythm being permitted after catching the ball. I have no idea what that means and I've officiated HS and college. Is that steps, seconds, heartbeats, times a shoe may contact the floor (same foot or both feet)? I truly believe that the fans, players, and officials are unsure about the rule because of this language. Therefore officials have to allow questionable footwork in catching the ball at the end of a dribble or when receiving a pass while in motion. They just aren't certain what is illegal and should be penalized. This text needs to be rewritten. I would prefer seeing the language used by FIBA or the NCAA. In any case the rules for traveling need to be consistent throughout HS, college, and the professional ranks. This would permit players and officials to develop familiarity with proper footwork as they advance up the levels of competition.
Note that I purposely criticized a blatant traveling violation from a playoff game which did NOT involve a player just receiving the ball, but one in which he already had it, in an attempt to avoid the argument that the NBA traveling rule is different (from HS, college, and FIBA).

4. The players are valuable commodities to the teams and the league. They make large salaries and protecting them from injury is a high priority. That mandates that the officials concentrate on contact first and illegal footwork thereafter. Also coaches, players, and TV announcers complain about illegal contact frequently, but harp on traveling much less. Thus the focus of the officials is going to be on the area for which these people express more concern. Curiously, if the footwork were required to be more precise the game would effectively be slowed down as players in possession of the ball couldn't get a running start or gain extra speed from an additional step and the collisions would be lessened and not as severe, resulting in better player safety.

The NBA could consider going to four officials instead of three as hockey did several years ago. This would permit the officials to already be places and not have to be moving along with the players in an attempt to achieve a better angle from which to call plays. Calls are mostly missed during rotations and while officials are moving. The extra person would allow more "divide and conquer" techniques to be used by officials both in areas of court coverage as well as observing the different body parts of the players. It's not possible to closely look for fouls on the head and arms of 7-foot men jumping high into the air and simultaneously observe their feet. The issue is the same whether the action is a contested dunk attempt at the rim or a 3-pt shot. One officials can't watch both high and low, so two officials must be observing this action and when two officials can't physically get in position to see these plays there is a low chance of them being called fully correctly. The single official who can see it must prioritize what to look for, and that default is contact first, footwork last.