The NBA is making a strong effort to punish players who misfire this season by issuing in-game technical fouls. But, it doesn’t appear to have any consistency at all, in typical NBA way.
Joel Embiid is one of those players that pushes the boundaries of what constitutes a flop in game after game. He only runs into rivals with enough force that it allows him to roll all the way to the floor without a flop being called. Actually, he’s just getting more and more free throws as compensation.
The Portland Trail Blazers shoved Steph Curry in midair last night, and he rolled onto the ground to shield himself. Curry didn’t wait for a call, didn’t voice his displeasure to the officials, and returned to defense right away. Nonetheless, the NBA chose to assign him a flopping technical foul during the play for an unknown reason. The video is below.
The primary issue with this regulation appears to be the same one with the charging rule. It is completely objective to what the referee considers to be a failure from their point of view. The call will not, and has not, always be placed in the same way. It’s not like making travel calls or goaltending, where the call is made 95% of the time.
Though the Warriors were fortunate to still overcome the Portland Trail Blazers, the responses to this moment would not have been as positive had they lost.
Leave a Reply