I don't mind it if the fouls are legit. But if Lowry throws up another jumper trying to draw a foul that hits the top of the backboard or the shot clock, I'll lose my lunch. I miss the old days when players would be damned to let another player knock them down.
You see, OP. Fans here just miss the days when Yao would jump in the air with his hands up and get called a foul when barreled by opposing offensive player. They miss the times when players like Dirk would get gazillion FTs against us every time someone looks at him. See, then Rockets players realized that officiating won't change, so they have to match the floppiness that goes around elsewhere. That's why Morey brought in Dirk-lite in Kevin Martin, someone who stays in the perimeter yet still for some reason get tons of calls. But fans haven't changed. That's why there's this slight hesitation. The lack of understand the fact that in order to win, you must play this way or get your ass kicked by other teams who take advantage of the officiating. That's why Rockets fans get upset.
I think the Rox should go the total opposite way. Not only should they not flop, but they should absolutely hammer the other team the whole game. From my many years of watching the NBA, I have noticed that outside of a few rare games, the refs generally call about the same number of fouls through the game, and often about the same number of fouls on each team. When teams are playing really physical, the color guy will say something about the refs really letting them play. When teams are jump shooting and flopping, you will get a comment about how the refs are calling ticky tack fouls. The point is, even when your team picks up a lot of fouls early, the refs eventually seem to swallow their whistles, even though the actual contact does not diminish. That is where the strategy comes into play, because you continue muscling the other team around, but they stop getting free throws. It reminds me of when Yao was playing under Van Gundy and kept getting called for charges in the paint. What he should have done is what Shaq did, just blatantly make your move every time down the court be a lowered shoulder bump into the defender to create space. They are not going to foul you out of every game for doing that, they will adjust to the way you are playing. In the end the refs adjusted to him without his changing his game, but he lost the opportunity to make the shoulder bump an established part of his game. This ref adjustment is especially true of superstars, but it also works for teams. Teams get a reputation of being "physical defenders" like Detroit and San Antonio did, and they will just end up getting away with more. The Rockets are getting a reputation of being floppers and they are not getting some of the calls, especially late in games.
Nothing wrong with being AGRESSIVE and drawing the foul. Getting opponents into foul trouble is an absolute must. How else do you keep D.Howard out of a game? Everything wrong with being coward/cheat and drawing a foul. Like flopping when you barely get touched. We dont like it when other teams do it to us, so its only fair for us not do engage in the same mockery. I see it as lying and lying is cheating. I like my games to be played fair and square, i respect players that think the same way as well. I think putting up a fake then bumping into the guy as he reacts to the fake then drawing a foul is an act of cowardice. Thats the cheapest way and least manly way you can draw a foul. A dominant player can get by or out do his defender with ease and class. A dominant player doesnt need to settle for suspect methods for scoring. I hate cheap fouls as well, when the defender knows he cant stop the guy so he holds him or shoves him in the back. That is an act of cowardice as well. Nothing wrong with hard fouls though where defender and ball carrier is coming at each other too fast and they meet and collide hard, or where the defendor is trying to block a dunk and in doing so hits his guy hard (not intentionally of course but in motion of trying legimately to block). As long as the foul wasnt intentional its all good. But what we see these days is the defendor fouling guys intentionally so they cant score. That is cheap, girly and cowardly too. He should be trying to stop him with good hard d, like a man. Im not targetting anyone in partcular. I am targetting everyone that practices those things.
Yep, the refs made vlade bat the ball out vs grabing the rebound. The stripes also made vlade and webber miss critical,4th qt ft's. What about the airballs from peja and christie? How about fox,horry,and shaq all having double digit rebounds vs vlade and the kings getting much less?
