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Tim BontempsESPN
NEW YORK — Before the New York Knicks host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday afternoon, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about the NBA. Emphasis on strengthening business trips This season.
“I’m all for it,” said Thibodeau.
In the ensuing 36 hours, the Knicks thrashed the Mavericks with 6 violations and committed 8 more. This was his most calls in one game by any team since 2010, according to an Elias Sports Bureau study. -82 in Cleveland he beat the Cavaliers.
But what Thibodeau believed was a business trip call it wasn’t Called by the Cavs guard Darius Garland That resulted in a technical foul on the coach late in the fourth quarter.
“Obviously the league is stressing,” Thibodeau said after the game. “I think [the enforcement] Most of the time it’s good. But I think the naming should be consistent.
“If it’s tight for one team, it has to be tight for the other team.”
Neither team was happy with how Sunday’s game was decided. Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff spoke as well as his New York counterpart after the Cavaliers were called up for his fifth trip.
“To be honest, every match could be called this way,” Bickerstaff said after stifling a smile. It makes it hard to see exactly how you’re trying to do it.”
knicks forward Julius RandleOn the other hand, he said he had never experienced a game like that in his nine-year NBA career.
“I’m not saying they’re wrong,” Randle said. “I’m not saying they’re the wrong call, I just haven’t seen it.”
Sunday’s game may have been an extreme example, but a study by ESPN Stats & Information found that New York and Cleveland’s total of 13 moves was the most in an NBA game this season, the most since March 2007. was the highest number. The league has seen dramatic increases. Both in travel and mobile violations in recent weeks.
There were 1.7 travel calls per game in October, according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton analysis. That number he doubled in November. (1.26 moves were called per game during the 2021-22 season. The least frequent dates back to his 1996-97, the first year play-by-play data became available. ).
Even more dramatic is the increase in carrying and parming calls. Not a single carry was called in October. In November she had 44 drafts and for the entire 2021-22 season she had 43 called up. In October he had 6 palming violations and in November he had 57 calls. Overall last season he had 67 calls made.
Infractions helped the league-wide offensive rating climb from 112 points per 100 possessions in October to 111.3 in November, in contrast to the offense that typically increases during the season.
And calls are not affected by situation, score or stardom.Shortly after Thibodeau received his technical Sunday, the Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell Asked to move a few feet away from the Knicks’ bench.Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry A trip was called for on a potential winning 3-point attempt in the final seconds of Tuesday’s game against Dallas.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the 116-113 loss to the Mavericks, “If you decide it now, you always have to do it.”
Despite aired complaints across the league, the NBA is about to do just that.
Each preseason, the league publishes its focus areas, making them available not only to referees, but also to teams and media, outlining a new focus in rule enforcement. In recent years, Target has opened up its games to be played more freely. First, we reduced defenders from grabbing and grabbing the perimeter by emphasizing freedom of movement. Next, it was decided to eliminate the “non-basketball moves” that players such as the Philadelphia 76ers use as stars. James Harden He was honing the science of drawing fouls.
For Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s senior vice president of referee development and training, the travel initiative is the next step in his ongoing quest to change the way NBA basketball is officiated.
“We are being directed by our stakeholders,” says McCutchen. “I think so [offensive players’] Footwork had come to a point where stakeholders realized… there are games you play in space with very skilled people and on top of that when you turn around and give them that extra footwork advantage they protect people is virtually impossible.”
McCutchen said the free-flowing nature and spacing of the modern NBA provided referees with an opportunity to focus on players who shifted their pivot foot when attacking defenses, adding that the league would miss such a call. He added that he had studied data showing that it would lead to additional defensive fouls. Creates an advantage that aggressive players can take advantage of.
“We focused on defensive players because that’s where most of our problems came from. We had to grow and evolve with the game,” says McCutchen.
“We’ve been talking about it over and over and over again [with our referees]: Now we need to find the legal pivot foot. Then you need to see a legal step his back or a legal dribble before shifting focus to the defensive player.
“We’re doing a much better job of this, which is why we’re seeing more violations.”
Curry agreed with Thibodeau and Bickerstaff: As long as the game is refereeed consistently, everyone adapts from there.
“Everything they called was clear travel. There’s not much to discuss,” Curry said after the Warriors beat the Rockets on Saturday. “We make adjustments based on how the game is called. We’re talented enough to do that.
“Again, we’re just making sure there’s consistency on both sides from match to match.”
The attention to travel wasn’t shocking, but the number of both carry and palming violations skyrocketed.
What caused the surge? According to McCutchen, the answer is simple. After looking at the first few weeks of the season and seeing how those involved reacted to the emphasis on movement, there was enough attention paid to both carrying and palming the ball. was not The same sequence of events highlighted to referees in preseason.
“My job as the head coach of our team, for lack of a better explanation, is to make sure the rulebook is enforced.” You have to use good judgment when picking up other parts of
When asked if he expects the number of calls to decline as the season progresses, McCutchen said it could naturally decline as players adjust. we’ve seen it in the past. Pelton’s analysis shows that moves per game have declined since his first 20-team game in 24 of the past 26 seasons, and his 2019-20 play was the last time movement was emphasized. including significant reductions.
Still, McCutchen said despite some of the high-profile nature of the recent call-ups, he’s happy with the progress the league has made, while at the same time keeping up with the league’s constantly evolving arsenal around them. He says he approves of the work of
“We’re always just a little bit behind. The key is to close that distance as much as possible through proper training,” McCutchen said of the NBA referee.
“You’ve heard me say it a thousand times. The referee’s role is to serve the game, and to know where we need to improve in serving the game.” It’s my job to make it happen when I’m told to.
And after the Knicks delivered their best defensive performance of the season on Sunday, Randle had an idea for how to build on that success.
“Hopefully,” Randall said with a smile.
ESPN’s Kendra Andrews contributed to this story.
