NBA floppers

The american players have taken it to another level. They make the Euro and South American soccer players look like pikers.

http://deadspin.com/5806116/heres-the-video-where-lebron-james-takes-flopping-to-heretofore-unseen-levels

http://deadspin.com/5804395/heres-video-of-the-time-the-thunders-james-harden-flopped-on-national-tv

 

Those guys are much more athletic floppers than Bill Russell or anyone from the '80s ever was! The game is better than ever!

 

SI did a poll of 152 NBA players a month or two ago, and Varejao (22) and Ginobili (18) combined for 40 percent of the responses.

 

Its easier for Americans to blame the internationals. Lets them feel better about themselves.

The Americans have been horrendous this playoffs.

 

They have much more training these days. Back then, flopping was a dark secret, nobody ever came out about it.

Today, they start flopping at an early age, hell you can go to schools like Duke to major in it.

 

You'll notice it worked like a charm in both cases. This problem will only keep getting worse as long as refs keep falling for it every fricking time.

 

Dave Cowens hated flopping. I remember hearing about a game where somebody flopped and the next time down the court he grabbed one of the other team's players, slammed him to the floor and snarled at one of the officials, "Now that's a foul!" The King's flop last night was pathetic. Even worse was the ref who called the foul.

 

What I hate to see nowadays along with the defensive flooping, is when a player gets a defender up in the air then leaps toward them and feins "shot".
Or when they ballhandler is fouled on the floor but tries to convince the officials that they are in the act of shooting.
If that's what folks call "the game evolving" then I'd just as soon have the 70 and 80s back all over again.

 

You would think the officials would see these plays on tape and get pissed aout it. I know I would. If I was the official that called the foul for LeBron in the video above it would take either blood or a broken bone for him to get a call from me again for a long time. That would stop this crap cold...especially if this was communicated to the floppers.

 

That shit's been around for decades and decades. Head-faking and getting the defender in the air and then jumping into him was de rigeur back in the 1960s/70s. That used to be half of Oscar Robertson's game (back the defender down, head-fake him into the air, duck under him as he comes down, go shoot 2 free throws).

Along with "continuation" / hurling up a wild heave as soon as you draw contact in order to get a shooting foul. Earl Monroe was big on that, and before him Bob Cousy.

The fairyboy arm-flailing flopping IS a new development in the last couple of decades.

In the olden days when you tried to draw a charging foul, the idea was to plant your feet like they were bolted to the floor, the opponent runs into you like a telephone pole and is knocked backwards, almost out cold, to the floor, while you stand there smirking.

And the refs would call it that way. If you were planted you got the call.

But a couple decades ago the refs decided that unless you were knocked backwards ass over teakettle with your arms flailing wildly in the wind, you must not have been hit very hard, so they started calling it the other way -- if you were left standing after the play, the foul must have been on you. However if you do a backwards somersault with your arms spinning like a windmill, you must have been fouled.

As a result, we get all this fruitbag flopping.

 

You can throw Larry Bird in there too as far as the abuse of the continuation rules. He used to get bumped and take two steps backwards to get a shot in ryhthm, and the refs would give him the continuation almost every time.
I also hate the "Reggie Miller leg flail" to draw contact after a 3-pointer has been released. But he got away with it for years and a lot of players today (especially Daniel Gibson and Mo Williams) continue to get that call.

 

I thought this was going to be a thread about LaRue Martin.