looking at the replay i think you could go either way, but in the moment i probably would have called the charge.
I have looked at the replay several times and I can not see where Battier is moving at all. I like Yao but if that is not a charge I don't know what is. Great move by Yao...but it just does not look close to me when I watch the video. My wife could care less about basketball and even she said that he was not moving. My bias is naturally towards Yao but unfortunately for him the charge call was the right call.
I don't see where he stops and stands still. He is clearly moving to his right when Yao runs into him.
Plus, it's a weak-ass move... stepping in front of a big guy after he's dribbled through a team of All-stars to move the ball downcourt by himself because his teammates suck... Shane, go up and challenge Yao or get out of his way. Of course, when you put on the Rockets jersey, take as many charges as you want.
Rather than opining without foundation, I've consulted the official FIBA rules and found the following: "When judging a block/charge situation involving a player with the ball, an official shall use the following principles: • The defensive player must establish an initial legal guarding position by facing the player with the ball and having both feet on the floor. • The defensive player may remain stationary, jump vertically, move laterally or move backwards in order to maintain the initial legal guarding position. • When moving to maintain the initial legal guarding position, one or both feet may be off the floor for an instant, as long as the movement is lateral or backwards, but not towards the player with the ball. • Contact must occur on the torso, in which case the defensive player would be considered as having been at the place of contact first. • Having established a legal guarding position the defensive player may turn within his cylinder to cushion any blow or to avoid injury. In the event of any of the above situations, the contact shall be considered as having been caused by the player with the ball." Thus, there is NO REQUIREMENT that the player remain stationary; indeed, the player can move laterally to maintain initial guarding position (thus, permitting slight sliding of the feet and moving the torso)... Applying the official FIBA rules to the situation, I don't really think it's close; charge all the way....
Yao scored 21 points. Battier scored five. Yet it was Battier who had more effect on the outcome, dropping in a beautiful 3-pointer from the left corner to open the game and then spending the rest of the night like a mosquito at a fat man's picnic, just trying to take a bite. Moved into the starting lineup because U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski wanted to give his team the kind of jolt you get from jumper cables, Battier delivered guts, guile and energy. "Yao's a big guy and a talented guy to have to deal with, and I'll be glad in a few months when we're on the same team," Battier said. the rockets/chronicle machine is out in full force its silly, battier scored 5 points on 2-5, 1-4 3pt shooting, no rebounds, but he had more of an effect on the game than yao.
But it looks like Shane is moving forward into Yao. He hops forward a split second before they collide. He had a set position, (when he was hunched over) but he then moves over into Yao at the last moment, initiating the contact.
If Yao has passed the ball and somehow his teammate lost it, he would be bashed for being not aggressive enough left and right by some of our fellow posters here.
...and it wasn't even a close game. Shane, get the f out of the way! damn, dude. Like Shane said himself, "what was I thinking?" I guess it was pure instinct without thinking.
Call it instinct, or call it the mindset that all really tenascious (sp.)? defensive players get into. For a guy like Battier or Bowen or Artest, it's pretty hard to turn that mindset off. I'm very glad no one got hurt and look forward to Battier in a Rockets uni.
the point is not whether it was a charge or not. it's nice to see yao showing the dribbling skills and the passion, and citizen shane showing no fear with that superduper move.
Ugh, why are we even arguing about this? It is not like China had a shot at winning when that Yao-Batter Collision happenned. Some of ya need to give it a rest. I mean, I joined this site because of Yao Ming, but damn, a 200 posts thread arguing about a charge in a meaningless game?
That was a block if I ever saw one. Anyway, if Yao was playing against NBA competition, he wouldn't be doing that full court dribbling. Oh, wait..........
It was Dwight Howard. You can clearly see the #12 on the back of his jersey after the play, even on the small youtube screen.
Loved the play on both Yao and Shane... but it is still scary to think of two of our key pieces colliding at full speed. We don't need another season like last year. The only thing that would be worse is if T-Mac was playing and got his ankles broke with Yao's crossover and we lost all three.
