Kudos for pointing out that Hayes and Scola have started doing it, Luis in particular. I've been noticing that myself and it is a relatively recent development in his defensive technique. As with all things Scola, he keeps working hard to improve, and it certainly has helped his defense during the playoffs this year. He's getting better at not getting the cheap foul, and face guarding has to have good technique, as drawing a foul, obviously, is pretty easy if you're not very good at it. It's why a lot of players don't use it.
Kobe should start flopping and just try to get contact to his head with his arms while in shooting motion.. ^ That'll make the league finally make a decision on either flopping or face-guarding rules because a call needs to be made if such a contact occurs.
yeah... i guess no matter what you're trying to do... block a shot or face guard... you have to get your hands up early enough... i think shane should add a twist to face guarding... like shake or wave his hands in kobe face...
Why? No player has gotten hurt from this strategy therefore there should be no need to change it anytime soon. The only way I see this being changed is if players are continually poked in the eye or scratched on their faces.
The rules expressly permit face guarding as long as you are guarding from the front OR if you are guarding someone who has the ball. So, you can face guard a guy with the ball from behind if you want to (good luck w/ that, tho). And, you can face guard a guy WITHOUT the ball from the front if you so desire.
You're such a... never mind. Look, buddy, it ain't a foul if there is no contact, so there is NOTHING for the league to "make a decision on." It is legal. L.E.G.A.L. If Shane added a nice little b****-slap of the b**** when he does it, then sure, it'd be a foul and you could get that warm fuzzy Bryant love glow goin', dude. It is legal, he doesn't b****-slap him, as much as I'd like to see it, so your hero will just have to put up with it.
Shane is a completely legit defender, and well respected at that. I doubt there's going to be a rule change.
I edited the original post to include Rosen's original comments from last year, as well as a link to the original discussion on ClutchFans. Like I said in the original post, I know that this discussion has happened before, but not everyone reads everything, and we have some new members since then. Since this issue is cropping up again I think it was well-worth bring the facts back to light. Rosen's comment: "Relentlessly hounded by Battier, Kobe was 11-for-33 — although it must be noted that Battier face-guarded Bryant on virtually every jumper. The last time I looked at the rule book, face-guarding was illegal." Here's the original ClutchFans thread on the subject: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=145116
u gotta respect that battier didnt foul kobe even once while doing that. thats defense to the perfection
It's pretty simple to me: No contact in the shooting motion, no foul. Lakers fan is really pusing Jazz fan as the most uneducated, whiniest fan in the league.
Ok calm down.. I didn't say it wasn't a legal defense, I'm saying Kobe just needs exploit it. If Kobe either tries to create contact with Battier's hands with either his head by leaning forward or his arms by turning sideways all the while in shooting motion and then flopping afterwards a call needs to be made. Kobe should look to create contact every time and this is the perfect series for the league to review the rules since (people claim) the nba want more scoring from their top players. Here is another good image of Battier face-guarding:
Also found this excellent thread started by weslinder regarding defending Kobe Bryant. Didn't want to go so far as to bump it back to the top, but it's a great read: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=145173
I just wonder if the people that think this is illegal have actually ever played basketball. I was always taught to at least get a hand in the face of a jump shooter.
hahah! i actually think battier should smack kobe in the face real hard while face guarding... just once at the beginning of the game... just so kobe might flinch the next time he gets face guarded... so kobe takes it seriously and more likely to get distracted shane needs to mix it up a little
One thing Battier is doing now I've noticed, is that hes gettig into position to face guard but doesn't put his hand in till right as they're going up then he throws it in real fast. It almost looks like a punch. If he times it right that would be devastating to someones jumpp shot. Battier should hit whoever he's guarding one time just so they question his ability to control that motion
Are you serious? You really think Kobe should be altering his already fundamentally sound shooting mechanics to intentionally draw fouls? Should he also do the Reggie Miller leg-kick? I thought he's better than all that... The refs don't buy flopping crap from a top talent as often as you're hoping they will... and when Kobe started following through trying to draw contact last year, he started getting called for flagrant fouls (when he started hitting people in the face intentionally). I, for one, would love for Kobe to pick the playoffs as a perfect time to start altering his shot and flailing his arms wildly... I bet Shane would too. And only the casual fan (or fan of a single player at the expense solid team basketball) wants to see more scoring from the top players... I'd much rather see fantastic defense on (any) top player, and contributions from all the players that leads to a TEAM Win. If you want to watch poorly contested jumpers and scores in the 140s for both teams, go watch some old 1980s Nuggets games on ESPN Classic. The game has evolved - that's why teams like the Suns (at least, since the early 90s when teams really cranked up their defense) and Mavs (ever because they blow monkeys) haven't won any titles. As a talent, Kobe's amazing... as a player, he's an a-hole... and as human being, he's a complete douchebag. F- the Kobe show.
