from the Blazers site: Clear Path to the Basket: If a fast break starts in a team’s backcourt and a defender fouls any offensive player when the team is going to score an easy basket, a clear path foul has occurred. When the foul happens, no defender can be ahead of the ball where he could defend against the easy basket. 2006-07 Rule: The team that is fouled is awarded two free throw attempt and the ball on the sideline, Flagrant Fouls: These fouls are considered unnecessary and/or excessive. There are two types of flagrant fouls, 1 and 2. A flagrant 1 is unnecessary contact. This is usually when a defensive player swings and makes hard contact with the offensive player or makes hard contact and then follows through. A flagrant foul 2 is unnecessary and excessive contact. This usually has a swinging motion, hard contact, and a follow through. Both fouls carry a penalty of two free throws and the team that was fouled retains possession. A flagrant foul 2 also results in an ejection of the player committing the foul. A player also is ejected if he commits two flagrant foul penalty 1’s. I do not see where the refs had the discretion to say Okur had a play on the ball - thru Scola's body. It was inside the circle, so Okur playing on Scola like that was risking serious injury to Scola. Everything about this call just sucked. Two shots and the ball back. Flagrant 1 call on Okur. If Scola would have done this to Okur there would have been no debate. We would have been hosed by the refs. Bjacks had this called on him recently at halfcourt with no hard foul occurring , he was just trailing the man with the ball and tapped him from behind - 2 ft's and the ball back to the other team.
Okur's foul wasn't flagrant. He hit Scola in the arms which affected the shot. It was a good, hard foul. Any player that commits a "clear path" foul should be fined a game check by his team. That is the most bone-headed play in the NBA and I wanted to slap Bobby on the back of his bald head.
What if the player foul's a shaky FT shooter like T-Mac, for example, on a fast break? 1/2 is certainly better than just giving up two points.
But the team gets the ball out of bounds after the foul. Heh, maybe if you foul Chuck Hayes or Josh Boone on a "clear path" then it might make sense.
Fast break, up in the air, inside the circle, with potential to hurt Scola when Scola had a clear path to an easy 2 pts??? OK so I guess these rules don't really apply anywhere unless you are not the Rockets..... Easiest call in the world - unless it is us. Who has Les pissed off?
Haywood got a flagrant 2 for a foul that looked the same (the Wash game right before ours). Granted his fouls was a little worse because of how Lebron fell, but he got a flagrant 2, common logic would say the consistant call would be to give Okur a flagrant 1.
sorry man but if you watch the replay after he hits scola in the arm he takes his other hand and pushes his head. which you cant go for the head and plus when you push sumbodys head like that when there falling that could be a big impact and may hurt scola. but scola is a man child.
I actually had no complaints from the refs so far...well no real ones. Some fouls I thought were there, but they've been pretty even. Rockets are just fighting an uphill battle. I'll pull for them until the last buzzer sounds, but I know it's going to be tough. I think for the most part, they are playing regardless of what calls they do and don't get. That's always one of the first steps to playing better in the post season.
