Get rid of the block/charge rule....

[qtlaw]

Its so bad now, so far away from actual defense that they need to eliminate it. This will force players to actually challenge shots and not just jump to a spot. I'm really talking about the secondary help defender.

(If you're an on the ball defender and the guy plows through you on the dribbble, okay that's still a charge. )

I just think the sliding over and standing like a mannequin is just ridiculous; plus the officials end up rewarding players who don't know how to challenge a shot but who can slide over and make it look like they beat the guy to the spot. When was basketball ever meant to be "beat the guy to the spot?" Defense is supposed to be defending the basket right? Further, refs are making the charge call when they are in a bad position and cannot see that the offensive player is moving at an angle where its impossible to be a charge (which is contact right through the middle of the chest, not on the arm or the hip.)

I doubt Wilt ever took a charge, yet you see guys like Dwight Howard and Andrew Bogut trying to draw a charge on Jameer Nelson, that's stupid.

To the powers that be, please eliminate.

 

[BenPoquette]

Its so bad now, so far away from actual defense that they need to eliminate it. This will force players to actually challenge shots and not just jump to a spot. I'm really talking about the secondary help defender.

(If you're an on the ball defender and the guy plows through you on the dribbble, okay that's still a charge. )

I just think the sliding over and standing like a mannequin is just ridiculous; plus the officials end up rewarding players who don't know how to challenge a shot but who can slide over and make it look like they beat the guy to the spot. When was basketball ever meant to be "beat the guy to the spot?" Defense is supposed to be defending the basket right? Further, refs are making the charge call when they are in a bad position and cannot see that the offensive player is moving at an angle where its impossible to be a charge (which is contact right through the middle of the chest, not on the arm or the hip.)

I doubt Wilt ever took a charge, yet you see guys like Dwight Howard and Andrew Bogut trying to draw a charge on Jameer Nelson, that's stupid.

To the powers that be, please eliminate.

I especially hate when a 5-10 guard slides under a 6-9 power forward he has NO CHANCE to stop, but gets the charge call.

 

[fossywriter8]

If the defender slides over while the offensive player is in mid air and they collide, that is a foul on the defender.
If the defender slides over before the shooter leaves the ground and then they collide, that is a foul on the offensive player.

 

[qtlaw]

If the defender slides over while the offensive player is in mid air and they collide, that is a foul on the defender.
If the defender slides over before the shooter leaves the ground and then they collide, that is a foul on the offensive player.

That's exactly the problem, why make the decision based on the slide? That's not the essence of basketball.

 

[Cubbiebum]

Ugh. This is just dumb. What do you do when its eliminated? Anyone who can drive would be unstoppable. A jumpshot would disappear from the game. A charge is no different then a player standing at the top of the key and an offensive player plowing right through for a foul. If a defensive player is established in a spot anywhere on the court they have a right to that spot. A charge just tends to happen under the basket.

 

[Stoney]

A ridiculous thread and patently absurd suggestion.

Hey, let's just get rid of offensive fouls altogether! Those seeking to score can now just bowl through anyone they want with impunity. Regardless of what happens or why, the call shall henceforth always be on the defensive player--automatically. Awesome.

 

[old_tony]

I agree with your premise, qt, but I don't think you can eliminate the charge. They took a step in the right direction a few years ago with the semi-circle under the basket. They just need to make it a bit bigger.

You're right in that just planting yourself in a spot is not playing defense. Beating an offensive player to a spot should have its reward out on the floor. But not in positions where guys can go up for layups and dunks and you're not in any way challenging the shot.

 

[LongTimeListener]

How is the charge/block not "the essence of basketball"? The rule has been on the books at least as long as I can remember (30+ years) and I'm sure a good long time before that.

 

[93Devil]

I Kerr made a good point that it should not be a 50/50 call. It was very hard to draw a charge 20 years ago. Allow more contact on blocked shots but make it harder to draw a charge. That will even it out.

 

[qtlaw]

I Kerr made a good point that it should not be a 50/50 call. It was very hard to draw a charge 20 years ago. Allow more contact on blocked shots but make it harder to draw a charge. That will even it out.

Admittedly, I threw this out there to spark some debate on this subject and see what the temp would be.

I like Kerr's point(s). I know the refs are human and can make mistakes. In the high profile games (which we can watch on TV), the refs are making calls without being sure something happened and that's just not acceptable.

 

[Key]

Officials need to default to calling the block. There were plenty of 'charge' calls in this tournament that really weren't very close.

 

[dog eat dog world]

These are the first cousins of floppers.

 

[qtlaw]

What's most disgusting is how the refs are so dramatic about the call, it's like they are selling it; it becomes about them not the players.

 

[Starman]

Expand the semicircle to a rectangular line bisecting the free throw lane 4 feet from the center of the rim (i.e. same distance as the semicircle, just a horizontal line). This would encourage driving from the wing and the baseline).

And call technicals on floppers. Not warnings -- technicals.

 

[Tom Petty]

Expand the semicircle to a rectangular line bisecting the free throw lane 4 feet from the center of the rim (i.e. same distance as the semicircle, just a horizontal line). This would encourage driving from the wing and the baseline).

And call technicals on floppers. Not warnings -- technicals.

or break their legs.

 

[Starman]

I doubt Wilt ever took a charge.

When Wilt used to set picks on offense or set up in the lane on defense, he would plant both feet on the floor like they were mounted in cement.

The hapless opponent would slam into Wilt, who would stand there like a telephone pole.

The hapless opponent would usually ricochet straight ass backwards to the floor. Wilt usually reacted as if he had been assaulted by a butterfly.

The refs rarely if ever called a foul either way.

Since these plays almost always ended up with the hapless opponent lying on his ass on the floor half-knocked out, most players rarely tried it more than about once.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Blocking/charging doesn't bother me. What bothers me is allowing shots on continuation after the foul. Guy gets fouled, takes another couple steps, puts up the shot, and the shot counts anyways.

Nantz even joked about it at one point last night, saying one of them would have been a continuation in the NBA.

 

[Webster]

Wider semi-circle and more no-calls instead of charges.

 

[Football_Bat]

Block/charge is an easy call for a ref who's trained to know what to look for at game speed.

Some aren't, which still makes it a 50-50 call.

 

[93Devil]

Guys sliding over a split second early to stop a driving player instead of contesting the actual shot are doing nothing more than finding a loophole in a rule and exploiting it.