OT: NBA Officially Cracking Down On Flops

That's never going to happen though. Since there aren't going to be any suspensions, just a fine, what's to stop a player from doing this in the playoffs or the finals just to get an edge? What is 10, 20, 50K going to do to the 16+ Mil Chris Paul if he flops in the playoffs? Nothing.

Do speeding tickets deter the rich? Nope. They just pay them and keep speeding.

The best thing is to IGNORE them. When a player flops, let him flop and deal with the outcome of the flop.
To say the refs are blameless in this is ludicrous. Again, it's easy to see when it happens. You just have to know where to look.

 

get enough of them and they take your licence... suspensions are the key

 

I agree the best and most realistic penalty for flopping is to ignore it and let the flopper lie there on the floor while his man scores on him. If you are going to fine someone, fine the refs for calling them. Review the flop calls every week. Fine the refs on a graduating scale based on how often they award the flop. Of course none of that will happen because the league is full of shit if they are claiming they are going to start calling a fair game.

 

Stands and claps. Spoken like a referee concerned about the game he loves.

It is completely the ref's fault why flops are happening. And I don't think they are being fooled into calling them. NBA refs simply don't do a good job of getting an "open look"(ref term) at the play. If you aren't a referee, you may not even know what an open look is. Again, I ref 100+ games a season as well as pour over hours of tape in the offseason. We talk about flopping all the time.

Notice that flopping is NOT a problem in College ball. That's because the officiating is 10x better at the NCAA level than it is in the NBA.

Case in point (about not getting an open look) :I know this is FIBA but it illustrates my point completely.
This clip below is used in FIBA referee training. Pause the tape at the :22 mark.

[video=youtube;a-Wh4um2NnE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Wh4um2NnE[/video]

Look at the Lead Official (the one on the baseline). How in the HELL can he call a charge on this FLOP if all he can see
is asses and elbows? He is what's known as "Straight Lined". Meaning he does not have an "Open Look".
An "Open Look" is when you position yourself so you can see BETWEEN the defender and the ballhandler.
The Lead needs to "Pinch The Paint" on this play (stand right where the paint begins about 3 feet from the baseline).
But what does he do? He is WAY late getting there, the defender flops like a fucking fish and he REWARDS him because
of his HORRIBLE positioning...

This is a terrible call. Remember you have to have affirmative answers to 2 questions on a Block/Charge call.

1. Is the defender in a legal guarding position? Yes. The defender is a legal defender (feet on the floor facing the dribbler).

2. Did the offensive player go TO and THROUGH the defender? Hell NO. Manu Ginobili barely touched that soft ass flopper.

It is a flop plain and simple. Now here's the kicker (NBA refs do this all the time). When you pause the tape, which official has the best look?

The C (center official) does (even though he has a competitive match-up in the post) and it is HIS call.
But since the Lead was WAY late getting over, he is "Straight Lined" (asses and elbows) and has a TERRIBLE look at the play.