In my opinion, it does deflate the energy of the game somewhat and it becomes a bit of a flat way to end the game. Its not particularly great for the overall spectacle of the especially when there is such a slim chance of winning (eg being 10 points down and still fouling).

Obviously its a tactic used. Come to think of it, its probably more disrespectful of the losing team doing it, than the player of the winning team hoisting up a 3 at the end, especially if the game is realistically out of reach ;)

I don't like it, but I've accepted it as a part of the game though it only makes sense if its a close game, such as being 5 points down, giving the losing team a fair chance to still win the game. Maybe its one of the rules that should be reviewed at some stage by FIBA?

For me, its not the fouling that slows the game down. Its the timeouts that are used to advance the ball, particularly in nationally televised NBA games.

Changing the rules to try and stop the "intentional" fouling will do more harm than good.

"For me, its not the fouling that slows the game down. Its the timeouts that are used to advance the ball, particularly in nationally televised NBA games."
The fact that the NBA seems to have unlimited timeouts per team and a TV timeout every possession doesn't help.

FIBA's capping timeouts in the last minute or two to one, regardless of timeouts remaining, next year. Which will probably just result in teams taking it, because you're going to lose it anyway, thus potentially increasing the number of timeouts taken (as there are situations in which teams would end the game with timeouts still on the board).

Yeah 1 timeout per team in the last minute would be good.


If changes were made on deliberate fouling in the last minute then it would just tempt some coaches to start the timeoutfoul game early I guess.

Agree - totally frustrating.

I guess really the only option to stop it is give the team being fouled possesion if it's seen as intentional by the refs. Then it relies on some muddy waters as to what an intenional foul is.. could be dangerous (with some of the current ref standards anyway).

We did genuinely rely on the current lack of intentional foul penalty on sunday to keep us out of strife.. so I shouldn't complain too much, even if I do normally find it frustrating to watch :-)

I found yesterdays game to be an exciting finish. Adelaide hit (most of?) their foul shots when intentionally fouled, and CJ hit big threes down at the other end.

If the fouls were called intentional, and 2 plus possession was awarded, the game would have been over with a minute to play and we would have seen a game of keepy-off.

In the AFL, nothing frustrates supporters more than when a team plays keepy-off in the dying minutes. Even the home side that's winning the game gets booed by its own supporters. I always thought that was very moronic. But its not an issue that faces basketball alone. Other sports have problems with the finishing off of games.

Yeah maybe give the team the option for a side ball or FTs if it is a non-shooting foul in the last 1-2 mins.
But I guess that would mean that if you are in front with less then 24 sec left you win unless you have a turnover.

I think it is a combination of all the FTs and the timeouts that really drag the game out and frustrate some people, my wife included :)

It isn't a major issue, it just bores some people.

The AFL should enforce a rule that states when the score margin is under 'X' points in the last 'X' minutes, all marks from backwards kicks from the team in the lead are automatic play-ons.

As someone who does basketball match reports though, that time spent walking to the other end and shooting free throws is sometimes a godsend haha.

It's a tough debate -- do we take away a team's faint shot at winning for the sake of entertainment? Because on the surface, it seems as though the only way to streamline the end of such games is to deny the trailing team a chance to win.

I do admit that on the pretty pointless last foul or two of the Perth-Melbourne game I was yelling something along the lines of "Anstey, you peanut, it's over, give it up already!"

"Or, go back to the old rule whereby the offence had the choice to take the side ball."
Offensive team takes the side ball, because that doesn't require giving up possession. Defensive team continues to foul unless they get a steal, with no offensive possessions in between to break it up a bit and no increase in the margin to discourage fouls.

That would make it worse, which is why they got rid of that option in the first place.

What about one FT plus side possession for non-shooting fouls in the last 2 minutes?

Problem is that hard D becomes way too much of a risk.

Fouls that don't involve a play at the ball are already a USF, it's pretty much all you can do. As long as the teams are sane about it (and with point differential mattering, at some point you have to play margin which helps in that regard), it's really not that bad.

CJ should have been pinned for the USF against Gibbo. Clearly fouled prior to in bounding the ball.

If you ping players for flopping, they stop flopping. Ping players who foul in the last minutes with an USF and surprisingly they stop fouling.

Tech the coach on the 4th time they carry on like an idiot 2 minutes into the game and watch them spend the rest of the game coaching instead of critiquing every call.

I don't like to raise the dead however a number of previous referees were known to wildly penalise and throw T's and IF's around and guess what? Nobody played up when they were refereeing.

Gleeson needs to shut up, Fearne needs to shut up. I'll give Joey and Anstey a fair go here, they ain't that bad. Even Shane Heal is better behaved then Gleeson.

Not all coaches are Gordie

You do wonder how focussed a coach can be on their game plan if they're spending the whole team moaning about refs calls. Why don't they leave that to an assistant?

Chris "Ordinary Human Beings" Anstey ain't that bad with the ref whinging?

Uh, no, I think you're wrong there.

"koberulz that would never happen. Players would foul out."
Eventually, sure. But it'd take a while.

Good point in that a team has earned their way to a lead so fouling can be seen as lacking in sportsmanship. But you have to make use of the rules/loopholes at your disposal. Rupert Murdoch did and it got him $882m! Just by...sorta playing by the rules.

I really don't think late-game fouling matters too much in the NBL. Different story in the NBA with all the extra timeouts and media breaks they have. You can't say whole chunks of your life are lost with late-game fouls.

And it gives the opportunity for things like CJs clutch threes this weekend, Paul Milsap's barrage against the Heat last season, Paul George's barrage against Portland earlier this season. (If anyone can remember.)

Gibbo's foul should have been unsportsmanlike. There was nothing sportsmanlike about it.

As frustrating as it is, the object of each game is to win it. Teams will do everything in their power to win the game. The game is not over until the final siren has sounded. Don't forget, the fouls are not unlimited. They are limited by the number each player is allowed before they are ejected from the game. Also a losing side with a player like Jarrid Frye on the opposition side has every reason to want to gain an advantage by fouling a player like that. Frye could not buy a basket to save his life at the foul line.

Sure wouldda liked a sideball option when Frye was here. I played in deliberate fouls and sideball option, but things were a little quicker then, you see.. A coach wouldn't be allowed to yell out ' foul him, foul him.'.. I used to care, but things have changed.

Fro these scenarios where the team fouled gets possession back, what happens with the shot clock? It re-sets to 14 seconds every time a foul is called, so technically I team could go a LONG time without giving up posession if they keep getting the ball back and a new clock. As people have said, it encourages the defense to play soft and the penalty for fouling becomes too extreme.

How about no fouls called in last minute - like street ball. Get it in or get smashed trying...

In all seriousness though...the endless fouls and stoppages towards the end of the game are frustrating. They do put off casual fans - I've heard this comment quite a few times from people who have only watched a handful of games.