5 players that will be most affected by the NBA's change in foul-baiting rules
The NBA is determined to clean up the game as offensive trends in the NBA continue. On a zoom call on September 23, Monty McCutchen, the NBANBANBA vice president who overseareferees on the floor, said the NBA will no longer call unnatural fouls - instances where a player intentionally creates physical contact with the defender outside of the game's parameters. If a player attempts to initiate physical contact to cause a foul call, that player will be called for an offensive foul. Many players over the years have been masterful at getting referees to call common fouls and get to the line. There will be no more of those outside of pump fakes or normal cases where the defender is the initiator of contact. With that all being said, who are the offensive players that will be most affected by such a rule change?
#5 Damian Lillard
I would say that Damian Lillard is not as guilty as the rest of this list in manipulating the rules to draw fouls. He's so crafty in how he separates himself from the defender that he doesn't have to create contact to get to the line when the Portland Trailblazers need a spark. When you're are a great as Dame, of course there will be times where he leans into a defender on either side of him to create contact, and I'd say that this rule change will ultimately make Dame even more effective by challenging him to utilize every bit of his offensive talent. It wouldn't be in the best interest to foul he career 89% free throw shooter, who gets to the line six times per, and while his game won't change, the subtle differences aligning with the rules changes will be most evident in a player like Dame Lillard.
Denver got railed by the officials to end that half. Porter gets called for a leg kick thanks to a Dame flop that would be free throws for Lillard 100 times out of 100 then Dame flops again on the jump after great defense by Rivers. Just atrocious and unacceptable star treatment. https://t.co/n0t8MaBRdK
#4 LeBron James
I gotta have fun with LeBron James here. Arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen, LeBron is also one of the NBA's biggest floppers the game has ever seen. His 6'8" 250 pound frame has been so dominant over the years that many fouls have not been called on defenders guarding LeBron. His estimated 44 million dollar stake in first place Liverpool of the Premier League, could be a reason why he flops, as the sport of soccer is known for a flop or two, yet LeBron does it so much in the NBA he's become the subject of many memes and the butt of NBA fan jokes. LeBron James is the top superstar in the game that drives all the page views at the mere mention of his name. The NBA is fortunate to have him get to the line so the brand can be spoken by the announcers as he shoots from the charity stripe, yet it will be interesting to see if the rule change will be enforced as the flopper's flopper flops in front of NBA refs.
LeBron James... Flip, FLOPS!👀 #RipCity https://t.co/l3r3fslDBH