Too Many Fouls. Too Many Hard Fouls.
Copyright (C) 1995 by Don Sibrel
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Basketball is certainly better when Shaq is playing. But even
without Shaq for part of the season, NBA basketball is a great
and popular sport. The players, making tons of money, are some
of the world's best athletes. They spend a tremendous amount of
energy providing top flight entertainment. But, I believe, it
could be better - much better. How often is this fast-paced
action stopped because of fouling? How many games in a year do
players lose because of injury caused by intentional and brutal
fouls? How much non-action time is there in a game where 60
free throws are taken? The answers are TOO MUCH, TOO MANY,
and WAY TOO MANY.
There is just too much fouling and too much hard fouling in
the NBA - period. How good is it for basketball to have great
players like Shaq miss a number of games? If this was an
isolated case, that would be one thing. But it is not. And the
hard fouls keep getting worse.
FOULS STOP THE ACTION
I think it is obvious that a large number of fouls in a game
detract from the action. Let's look at the following game played
in the 1994-95 season: an actual example of teeth grinding delays
caused by intentional fouls. It was a 114-110 game between
Phoenix and Houston. Now this was a great, great game that was
only decided in the last few seconds. With 1:41 (one minute, 41
seconds) to play, Barkley was intentionally fouled in attempting
a layup. This was the first of 13 stoppages of action to occur
in the remainder of the game - six time outs and seven called
fouls (six of which were intentional).
It took 20 minutes to play 101 seconds of basketball.
This I don't like. I don't like intentional fouls and I don't like
free throws. A free throw is an uncontested shot at the basket.
Now if there were just five or six a game, that would be one
thing. But if there are sixty in a game? Boring, boring,
boring. What one can do to increase one's enjoyment in a close
game on TV is to tape the last part of the game. Then play the
tape and fast-forward through the breaks in the action. In fact,
that's what I did in this game. But it is a poor substitute
for good, exciting, live, fast-paced basketball.
In soccer, if there is a penalty shot, there is an
opposing player. In basketball, if the player that is fouled was
given the ball at the top of the key with an opposing player at
the foul line, and given 5 seconds to get a shot off - that would
be interesting. But not an uncontested shot.
BRUTAL FOULS HURT US ALL
While fouling stops the action, brutal fouling can lead to
retaliation, fighting, and injury. Others beside Shaq have
missed many games because of intentional hard fouls and from
being involved in fights. There are many examples. Mark Price
missed a number of games from a deliberate elbow to his face from
an opposing player while he was just running down the court away
from the action. As a player, Houston coach, Rudy Tomjanovich,
received a serious head injury from a deliberate punch as he came
onto the floor after a fight broke out. As a player, Detroit
coach, Doug Collins, accidentally received a very hard round-
house punch to his face. This was from his own teammate who was
trying to hit someone else. This was funny to see, but Doug
didn't laugh.
Can anything be done to reduce the number of fouls and
particularly the hard fouls? I think it can. But first let's
get to the basics. Why do players intentionally foul and why do
they commit such brutal fouls?
I think the answer is that fouling is done to win ball games
by getting your team the ball, making an opposing player make
free-throws, and giving a player a tool to use against an
opponent who is a better athlete.
Intentional hard fouls are done for intimidation,
retaliation, and sometimes to intentionally hurt an opposing
player. These fouls are particularly vicious in the paint.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
OK. OK. So if we agree that there are too many fouls and
too many hard fouls, what can be done about it? What can protect
the players and stop the amount of dead time in a game caused by
fouling? I say increase the penalty of fouling and don't shoot
free throws.
If a player is fouled attempting a shot, just give him the
points of a made shot. If a player is not shooting the ball and
is fouled, give his team one point and the ball out of bounds.
If a player receives a deliberate hard foul, double the points.
This should dramatically reduce fouling and the stoppage of play.
If a player throws a punch, suspend him for five games. The
same for a player that joins a fight from off the bench. Don't
just fine a millionaire player a few thousand dollars with no
suspension. That's a joke. If a deliberate foul puts a player
out of action for two months, then the offender should also miss
two months.
I really believe that if these rule changes were put in
place, NBA basketball would be an even better game than it is
today. It would cut down on the fouls, keep the super stars
playing instead of being on the bench in foul trouble, and let
the better athletes show their stuff with less stoppages of
action.
At least that is what I believe. Ok. What do you think? Am
I right, or am I full of doo doo?
Don