NBA's new foul guidelines: How players such as Trae Young and James Harden have adapted
Published: December 16, 2021 US time
Publisher: ESPN
Article by Brian Wenhorst
Article translated by de Gaulle
In the first two weeks of the season, Hawks player Trey Young has begun to feel his prospects for a new season are bleak.
Because before the start of the season, the NBA introduced a series of new rules that focused on cracking down on acts and moves that deliberately create fouls on defensive teams on the court. And Trey Young is undoubtedly the key person targeted by the new rules, because in the four example videos officially produced by the NBA, Trey Young alone temporarily occupies two seats, which is simply the "negative model" under the new rules.
In this context, Trae Young's performance on the field and his personal data have shrunk to a certain extent since the start of the new season. His personal mentality has also changed a lot, he will growl at the referee on the field, and he will also openly express his dissatisfaction in an interview after the game. On October 28, local time, Trey Young went to referee Ben Taylor theorized after the referee was indifferent to one of the opponent's movements, and also had physical contact with Taylor. Although Trey Young repeatedly said he had inadvertently run into the referee, he was whistled for a technical foul and fined $15,000 afterwards.
Just after this incident, the NBA official held a small press conference. In addition to the explanation and explanation of this incident, it was also clearly declared that the Alliance was very satisfied with the change in rules and the impact it had. The league's statement is actually to inform all players that the new rules are no longer changeable, and everyone had better seize the time to adapt.
In such a situation, Trey Young can only choose to accept reality.
"I know I can't win a confrontation like this," Trey Young said in an interview last week, "I've learned that the referees are not going to be on my side this season." So I had to put aside the referee and go forward alone. ”
Therefore, if you look at Trey Young's game now, you will find that he will basically not do the actions that the league will focus on this season, such as suddenly "braking" to create a defensive player's collision with himself during the advance, and then hooking the opponent's arm to create physical contact during the breakthrough or shooting process. In contrast, the disappearance of these actions has also allowed those players who started by defense to return to their favorite rhythms. Warriors' Draymond Green has said the league's new rules this season have greatly helped defenders.
Now, the NBA's new season has been playing for more than two months. Compared to the beginning of the season, the players have significantly less complaints about the new rules, and the referees seem to have revised some of the blow-off standards, which are no longer as harsh as they were at the beginning of the season. However, the impact of the new rules is already emerging, and by comparing the data between seasons, the average number of free throws per game so far this season has been 1.5 times less than in the same period last year.
"We did make some mistakes early in the season, but we, like the players, slowly made some adjustments," said McCarthyn, NBA vice president and in charge of referee development and training, "but we can keep the gains from this change going." ”
The rule change, in addition to reducing the number of free throws per game, also reduced the average total score of both teams per game by about 5 points compared to the same period last season. The average shooting percentage of each team is down 1.5% compared to last season. Coupled with the shortened offseason time, as well as the impact of factors such as the ball used in the new game, the overall offensive and defensive rhythm of the NBA in the new season has decreased to a certain extent.
So many changes in the data are listed, but through observation, it can also be seen that in terms of the average number of referee blows per game, the value so far this season is not particularly different from the same period last year. And this is actually the effect that the league hopes to achieve through the change of rules, the official is not hoping that the fouls will be reduced and the confrontation will increase, but that the actions of those "cheating fouls" will be reduced until they disappear.
"We all know very well that things will eventually calm down," said James Harden, another player targeted by the new rules, "not just myself, but the whole league is slowly adapting." One thing we all understand is that the referees definitely want to be the best they can on the field, and they, like us, watch the game video repeatedly. Therefore, this matter needs to be worked together. ”
As Harden said, the whole league is slowly stabilizing. After a sharp drop in free throws at the beginning of the season, Harden has recently slowly found a way to return to the free throw line. Currently, he averages 7.4 free throws per game, which is basically the same as the number of free throws he averaged last season.
"At the beginning, we were faced with a situation where when James (Harden) hit the basket, he seemed to be the focus of the target," Nets coach Nash said, "There were too many similar situations in the game at that time, and I really didn't care what the specific clauses in the rule book were, but it was a foul." And the league and the referees have realized that, they've done a good job of that, and we're in a better position now than we were at the beginning of the season. ”
In addition to waiting for the rules of the league to gradually retrace the defensive rules, there are many players who are looking for new ways to play under the new rules. For example, the Suns' Devin Booker has averaged 1.6 fewer free throws per game this season than last season. But before his recent thigh injury, he fully improved his offensive efficiency in sports warfare. His three-point shooting percentage has reached 40 percent this season, a nearly 6 percentage point improvement over last season.
Of course, not everyone can adapt and change so well. Lillard of the Blazers has not been able to find a rhythm that suits him since the start of the season. Compared to last season, Lillard averaged about 2 fewer free throws per game, and his athletic shooting percentage dropped a lot. This has the impact of abdominal injuries, but the implementation of the new rules is also a factor that cannot be ignored. So far, Lillard's average of free throws and points per game is at his lowest level since his rookie season.
Back to Trey Young, after experiencing dissatisfaction and resistance to the new rules at the beginning of the season, he has also slowly adapted to the way he plays under the new rules. Trey Young currently averages 2.5 fewer free throws per game than last season, which is a big impact on a modest defender like him. However, Trae Young's average of points per game is more than two points higher than last season, and behind this improvement is his improvement in his three-point efficiency. Currently, Trae Young is averaging 39 percent from three-point range, up 5 percent from last season and a career peak.
"I've talked to him about this before, and he's always had a frustrated mood," Hawks coach McMillan said of Trey Young, "but now he's just focusing his attention on playing games and trying not to let the referees affect his pace and direction." ”
That's why players are rarely heard talking about the rules these days. Because in the adult world, many times things change people, and people can't change things. "Even without the referee, I've played some good basketball games," Trey Young said, "and I've always played well in situations like this." ”