Nivek wrote:Also, I don't think steps to limit cheap shots and dirty plays led to floppers. There have ALWAYS been floppers in various forms. The biggest factor in the rise of flopping is the emphasis Coach K began to place on drawing offensive charging fouls.
FIFY.
I think flopping is pretty easy to fix. Escalating punishments that start with fines and then lead to suspensions of both the flopper and his coach.
I find it encouraging that the refs are at least occasionally refusing to call the flop. Other than players questioning the "manhood" (sorry, I know it's not politically correct, no agenda there - but an attempt to convey the idea of a "code" that NBA players should uphold) of the floppers, the best way to police it is to leave the flopper on the floor while the man he's supposed to be guarding flies to the rim for a dunk or makes an uncontested jumper. And if the flopper is a little worried about where other players will land while he's rolling around on the floor in the lane, all the better.
Same goes for the Reggie/Kobe/Wade stick-a-leg-out or jump-sideways while shooting to make contact with a defender in the air. If the refs would just stare at them after the missed shot - or maybe even call an offensive foul for initiating the contact - it would end pretty quickly.
That, and I'd get rid of the circle under the basket. It's only made it worse, IMO.
Oh, and one more thing - I was also VERY happy to see the "verticality" rule applied in the pacers' series. I'd much, much, much, much rather see a defender go straight up and challenge a shot than stand like a moron guarding the family jewels and trying to bait the ref into blowing his whistle. Encourage an actual basketball play and discourage the Tony Award auditions, and the game will be better for it.
"A society that puts equality - in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom" Milton Friedman, Free to Choose
