I noticed last night that Yao was called for two 3 offensive 3 second violations. I am not very clear on the rule. I dvr'ed the game and watch closely what Yao did. On both occasions Yao was in the paint area for 2 seconds, then stepped back out of it with one foot outside and one foot in the paint and then back to the paint. Does that reset the 3 seconds or he has to be completely out of the paint with both feet for the counting to reset. If it is the former, then NBA refs are not being fare. If it the later, then Yao needs to understand the rule and step completely with both feet out of the paint before going back. The NBA rule that I saw does not mention anything about this. Section VII-Offensive Three-Second Rule a. An offensive player shall not remain for more than three seconds in that part of his free throw lane between the endline and extended 4' (imaginary) off the court and the farther edge of the free throw line while the ball is in control of his team. b. Allowance may be made for a player who, having been in this area for less than three seconds, is in the act of shooting at the end of the third second. Under these conditions, the 3-second count is discontinued while his continuous motion is toward the basket. If that continuous motion ceases, the previous 3-second count is continued. c. The 3-second count shall not begin until the ball is in control in the offensive team's frontcourt. No violation can occur if the ball is batted away by an opponent. PENALTY: Loss of ball. The ball is awarded to the opposing team at the sideline at the free throw line extended. http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_10.html?nav=ArticleList
problem i have with that call is if they are watching close enough for the 3 seconds, why arent they seeing the beating yao takes inside the paint during those 3 seconds
If that is the case, then Yao has to realize this. I am thinking he does not know the rule and is costing us extra positions. Yao is not the only player that steps out with one foot and back. I am not sure why those players are doing this then if it does not reset the counting and thus I am asking the question
Many players do it just like Yao, I have dvr and watch the play over and over. The problem is Yao is not treating like an all star, instead they watch him closely for mistakes.
how about to have one foot stepping out and the other foot just off the floor(still within the area). i see a lot of guys doing that.
Guys don't do that. They have one foot in the area and one foot off the area. But, every second or two, they'll just move their foot back and forth from the area to off the area. Scola and Yao have trouble understanding this rule, but to be fair, refs do not call it evenly.
I have a hard time believing that you know the rules better than two veteran (well, Scola not so much) NBA players. As others said before, it's not about knowing the rules, it's about how the referees make the calls. NBA refs are so inconsistent and unpredictable, and the games can be easily swayed through officiating.
it works like the out of bounds line. either 2 foot in, or 1 foot in plus the other in the air. the reason yao gets those is probably cuz our guards are not running the play. either they dribble too much or they dont shoot when theyre supposed to. its hardly yaos fault really
I think part of it is Yao's huge size and slightly uncoordinated nature. When he works to get out of the lane, as you often see him do, you really notice it...because he has this "I'm in the lane too long and need to get out" look about him. Sometimes he actually gets out, but sometimes he'll not get completely out with both feet. Well, now the ref is looking at Yao, probably hasn't even been counting at all, but sees Yao trying to get out of the lane, sees him not completely 100% do it, and says "ok, he has to have been in there too long, i'm blowing the whistle". Seriously, how many times is Yao called for 3 seconds where he has literally camped in the lane and just forgotten he was in there and it's been 5+ seconds. It is a very rare occurrence. Conversely, someone like Bosh isn't called for 3 seconds because you barerly even notice him out there, or if he is in the lane three seconds, he's being more athletic about it. Or a Dirk. He won't be called for three seconds because even if he is camping out down there, a ref will see it and say, "nah, he must just be making his way through, no way he's actually trying to play in the paint" The NBA historically makes so much money, you have to wonder why extra ref-type people aren't hired to specifically look at these types of things. If a team is being really active on offense, and 4 out of 5 players are really swinging the ball, driving and dishing, potentially getting fouled, etc, etc, even if the fifth is technically in the lane (one foot or both) for the full 24 seconds, apparently the 3 refs isn't enough to notice. My strong belief is something like the above change would likely hurt the Rockets more than other teams, because Yao is often in the lane with at least one foot for more than exactly 3 seconds, but at least then it would be fair and no one should be able to complain about it, right?
Thanks JayZ750 for the explanation. My advice to Yao or Scola, is either completely get out of the paint and get back in or just stay in. That partial step out with one foot and back in is almost an automatic 3 second violation.
I believe Yao only had one 3 second violation. The other was on Scola. Many times it is due to Yao sealed his man but didn't get the ball, then he tried to reestablsih his position without moving both feet out.
