I saw the play. Oden had his arm out and Yao made the smart veteran play of putting his arm over Oden's and pinning Oden's arm between his arm and his body. After he pinned it, Oden tried to get it out and Yao rotated his body around, thereby moving Oden. The whistle was blown on Oden and Yao continued to pin Oden's arm under his armpit. Oden gave him a small demonstration of how strong he is, no big deal. That was just a little tap. One day you'll see Oden really push him. Then you'll notice the difference.
I would love it if they called the game that way. Unfortunately, they don't. I too believe in the defensive rule of verticality. I'm sorry Yao didn't get all the superstar calls last night, but those are the breaks. We ended the game with Oden fouling out after 11 minutes, and Przybilla and Aldridge with five fouls each. Do you really think they weren't calling fouls on our bigs? You let me know how many charges Shaq has gotten over his career from barrelling into the chest of the opposing center. I am with you on consistency, however. That's all I ask. Call it equally and I'm good.
1. yao consistantly was going straight up, then bringing his arms down, much like oden has all year. GO has been getting called for fouls, Yao to this point in the series has not. 2. Yao is usually moving backwards, not set, and getting roy with his lower body but not arms and is not getting the calls. thems the breaks i guess. i don't like to bitch about reffing and hate it when fans blame a loss on the refs but they have been so inconsistant with their calls. crawford last night was a joke and he has been one for many years now.
http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_c.html?nav=ArticleList no mention of jumping straight up being relevant. My understanding is that if you're inside the circle and the offensive player receives the ball outside the lower defensive box, if contact is made it's a foul on the defender. STOMP
If you jump straight up, but your arms are at an angle, then it can be a foul. I think that is what happened to Greg on Aaron Brooks.
If that's the case, the rule needs to be changed. A defensive player should not be a sitting target because they are in the restricted area. That restricted area came about because players were standing under the hoop and taking charges, which was causing players to get hurt. The major problem with the restricted area is that it forces the ref underneath the hoop to look at the feet and not all the contact up above.
but today clearly they are. For the most part that is how they call it which is why you often see driving players barreling into the bodies of defenders and then flipping some BS afterthought of a shot up towards the hoop. STOMP
I don't think it is called on a regular basis. Centers with good reputations or any wing defender who jumps straight up in the restricted area, rarely get called for a blocking foul. Any defender should be entitled to defend the space their in, and the area directly above them. Now, the second they try and draw a charge by going down to the ground, I'm all for them getting called for a blocking foul. I think players like Kobe, Wade, Carmello, and Parker are already go out of their way to run into a defender in hopes they'll get a call.
I agree with all that and was right there with you on yelling at Crawford all night. The guy is a jerk . . .
We got plenty of fouls called against us. I thought it was a pretty evenly called game. Even when Roy got called for that blocking call, it was first called a charge against houston, but reversed.... I think the biggest thing that both team's fans have valid complaints over are the consistency of the calls. The inconsistency is what is causing the uproar.
I think that if a player drives to the hoop and runs into a guy who is jumping straight up and down that should not be a foul...the problem is, they call it all day long on the Portland big men, but NOT on Yao Ming. (even though he did bring his arms down on some occasions.). Then of course, Yao hooks Oden's arm, and the Rockets scored off that bad call, then Joel gets a foul because someone else ran into his back...the Rocket's scored off of that. If we tallied up all the points the refs handed to one team or the other so far this series, the Rockets would come out far ahead.
Does anyone recall why the restricted area rule was ever created? I find that one of the silliest rules around. Whether the guy is inside or outside the circle should be moot. If he's set and the offensive player comes barreling into him that should be a charge.
Because the offensive player should be allowed a place to land. If you plant yourself directly under the basket, there's a good chance any slasher will end up making contact with you. That's not defense. The idea of the "charge" is to prevent an offensive player from driving through a defender who's taken a legitimate defensive position. "Under the hoop" is not a legitimate defensive position.
We've been the more aggressive team in both of the games. ESPN's shot chart is limited, but look at the attempts in the paint between the teams. http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=290421022 Yao gets ran in to by Roy, but when he brings his arms down, it should be a foul. Oden gets ran in to by everybody, and its almost an instant call every time (see: Lowry running in to Oden and losing the ball, immediate foul). Artest and Battier grab Roy when he's running off screens and try and play physical. Good hard defense. Batum grabs Artest and tries to body him a bit. Immediate foul. It's comical to see Rockets fans on all the message boards (Spurstalk, BBF, clutchbb) complain about the refs when they're at the very least getting a fair shake and probably getting the benefit of the doubt with their veteran players versus our rookies.
There are a lot of unwritten rules in the NBA, unfortunately. The refs have told the Rockets, and I'm sure every other team, that as long as the player jumps straight up without swinging down at the ball, he has the right to that space and it will be a no call. It's not a "superstar" call. That's how the refs are supposed to call it for every player. When I get time, I'll try to post a video of all the fouls called on Oden, and the "no calls" on Yao so we can see the difference.
I believe it was done to increase the incentive for a player to attempt to drive to the hoop, as it was becoming a dying art.
how do you know what the refs are personally telling teams about unwritten rules??? looking forward to it though you'll just be proving everyone else's point that those calls are not going both ways STOMP
The rule of "verticality" is kind of a universal basketball rule. Defensive players are allowed their space, even if they are jumping up in the air. If they go straight up, it is not a foul against them when the offensive player draws contact. Outside the restricted area, this can legitimately be called an offensive foul. In the restricted area, it is a no call (unless the defender is not jumping up to the contest the shot, in which case its a blocking foul). This is how I've understood the rules for years, and its what the local broadcasters here have said the officials tell the teams. If you've heard differently, let me know. I did a google search and came across this. Again, let me know if you've heard something different, but this is what I go on: http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2008/10/21/meeting-with-ref/ And also this, which should just about settle it: http://www.nba.com/media/2008-09-RefereeGuide.pdf (page 76) Also worth reading, the section on marginal contact: There is subjective component to this. The officials have to decide if the contact was "marginal" or "incidental". In other words, if Brandon Roy gets to the basket and finishes, and he happens to brush by a Rockets defender, that doesn't make it an And-1, and it doesn't mean the Rockets got away with a foul. Same on the other end.
Honestly, this is THE toughest playoff series to referee in the 1st round. Seriously, you could call a foul almost everytime down the floor. Even when guys are shooting jumpers, there is so much pushing and shoving from both sides in the paint. What happens when you have a series this physical? BOTH teams feel like they are getting screwed. I feel like the Rockets get more benefit of the doubt b/c they have a reputation as a physical team. The Blazers (on the other hand) don't. They've been forced to play this way, or start their summers early. I will say this, some of Houston's fouls are less obvious. The Blazers were their own worst enemy last night (getting in foul trouble early in the 1st/2nd/3rd quarters) Most of those calls were pretty obvious. And yes, Yao did appear to bump Roy a few times that weren't called. But they weren't no brainer calls. I wouldn't want to have to ref these games. How do you decide which fouls to call and when to eat your whistle? And if you think the Blazers got jobbed in Portland . . . wait until we get to Houston. I have a feeling there will be many more threads about the officiating of this series.
