Three PBA rules NBA may consider
There are three PBA rules that the NBA may consider to apply for the good of the game and PBA technical director Eric Castro yesterday singled out the provisions for contact on a jumpshooter’s landing spot, deliberate foul to eliminate the Hack-A-Shaq and the four-referee system.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver took a close look at how to deter landing spot contact after Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last season when Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia slid a foot to obstruct San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard’s descent. Pachulia was called for a regular foul but Leonard limped off the court, never to return to the game and the rest of the playoffs. Starting this season, NBA referees were cleared to consult the video replay to determine whether contact on the landing spot should be a regular or flagrant or technical foul.
The PBA recognized the danger of the landing spot contact in 2009 during commissioner Sonny Barrios’ term. Before the 2015-16 season, commissioner Chito Narvasa reinforced the crackdown on players stepping under a shooter. Today, under commissioner Willie Marcial, contact on the landing spot without dire consequence is an automatic flagrant foul penalty one and a flagrant foul penalty two with dire consequence. In the NBA, the penalty isn’t automatic and is subject to a video review.
“If there is no contact on the landing spot with a legitimate challenge, no foul,” said Castro. “With contact but no dire consequence, it’s a flagrant one and with dire consequence, it’s a flagrant two. Our guideline is there must be a legitimate challenge where a defender jumps to contest a shot. If there is no contact and no challenge, it will be a technical foul under tripping. If there is contact but no challenge and no dire consequence, it’s a flagrant one.”
The PBA’s rule on deliberate foul or contact without an attempt at the ball takes away the incidence of the Hack-A-Shaq which is an eyesore and a time-dragger. NBA coaches resort to the Hack-A-Shaq to put a poor foul shooter at the line on the possibility of changing possessions without giving up a point. Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan are often targets of the Hack-A-Shaq. In the PBA, the Hack-A-Shaq is not an option because it will mean two free throws and possession. In the NBA, the Hack-AShaq is permitted except in the last two minutes of every quarter where the penalty is one free throw and possession. The NBA rule used to allow the Hack-A-Shaq except in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter but Silver made the adjustment this season. He said some coaches want to retain the Hack-A-Shaq option as a tactical ploy and it will take a 2/3 vote of team owners to eliminate the rule completely.
The third PBA rule for the NBA to consider is the four-referee system introduced by Narvasa. It allows the Commissioner or technical director to substitute a referee at any time during the game for whatever reason, including injury or exhaustion or poor performance. In the NBA, a backup referee is assigned only during the playoffs.
Early this NBA season, referee Mark Lindsay couldn’t work a game between Boston and Houston because of a bad back and referees Tony Brothers and Gediminas Petraitis were left to do the job. Boston came back from 26 down to win, 99-98, as Houston’s James Harden was called for two offensive fouls in the last 7.3 seconds. Harden blamed the lack of a third referee for the loss. The NBA instituted the three-referee system in 1988-89. Several NBA referees have gone down during a game without a replacement. Tommy Nunez, Jr. was injured in the first quarter of a Spurs-Los Angeles Clippers game in 2011, Joey Crawford went out in the second period of a Denver-Clippers game in 2015 and Scott Wall exited in the second quarter of a MinnesotaDenver game in 2016.
In at least three rules, it appears the PBA is a step ahead of the NBA. But the defunct MBA is credited with pioneering the eight-second rule to cross the timeline in 1998 way ahead of the NBA and PBA. The rule was instituted in the NBA in 2001-02 and in the PBA, in 2004.