Although we have known for several days that it has officially been approved by the NBA franchises for next season, the « transition take foul » was for the moment known only in broad outline via its application in Europe. However, the details of the latter are gradually beginning to be revealed, allowing us to better project ourselves. We decipher here what we already know about this new rule.
It’s a small revolution, which you will have to get used to very quickly. If we know since last Tuesday that the take foul will be part of the NBA regulations from the 2022-23 season, we still need to understand how the latter will be applied. Because although it has existed since 2018 in the G League or this year in the Summer League, not everyone is familiar with its details. We can therefore thank Ben Dowsett forESPN who was responsible for summarizing on his Twitter account what we could already remember to better understand the application of this new law. Already, a little reminder: will be considered as a “take foul transition” any voluntary fault committed in order to stop a counter-attack. That’s it, now that that’s said, let’s get into the more technical aspects. As expected, in the event of an infraction, the sanction will be dissuasive: a free throw and possession behind for the opposing team. However, it is important to specify that the rule will not apply in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, nor in the last two of overtime. Because if the goal of this refereeing evolution is also to promote the spectacle with a maximum of counter-attack, it could however have prevented incredible comebacks by giving a significant advantage to the leading team in the clutch. Furthermore, the latter will also not apply if the attacker is shooting, in which case the old rule will be used.
Per league sources, some details on the new transition take foul approved at this week’s NBA BOG meetings:
-As reported, 1 free throw (any player on court can take) + possession to the fouled team
-New rule *does not* apply during last 2 mins of 4th quarter/overtime
(Cont)
– Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) July 14, 2022
Obviously, the innovation will tend to remind us of the “clear path foul”, which simply penalizes a fault on a player leaving alone at the basket of two throws and possession. However, the ESPN insider insists that the latter will still exist, but will be distinct from the take foul by a crucial element: the possibility of reviewing the action to make a decision. Indeed, the take foul can only be whistled at time T, unlike the clear path foul which can be verified via a replay. Let’s put ourselves in a situation to understand. LeBron goes to the circle on the counterattack, Westbrook rips off his arm from the start of the action (how do they play together?) and the referees then whistle a classic foul. LeBron grumbles as he knows how to do by claiming a take foul, that is to say the throw + the possession behind. It’s already too late, the referees can’t go see the replay to reconsider their decision. They can nevertheless try to check the VAR to whistle a clear path foul if LeBron went alone to the basket, but that’s it. Moreover, if a clear path foul is whistled from the start, impossible either to transform it into take foul watching the slow motion. Understood ? The difficulty will therefore be in the fact of being able to judge whether these are voluntary faults or not, since the latter will now lead to drastically different consequences, and above all irreversible.
Per league sources, some details on the new transition take foul approved at this week’s NBA BOG meetings:
-As reported, 1 free throw (any player on court can take) + possession to the fouled team
-New rule *does not* apply during last 2 mins of 4th quarter/overtime
(Cont)
– Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) July 14, 2022
Ben Dowsett also takes the opportunity to recall that the NBA refereeing body is already working hard to adapt to the new rule, but also to prevent possible circumvention of the latter. Because yes, we see them coming old veterans like Chris Paul who already have a list of things to do to avoid getting caught voluntarily stopping a counter-attack. First example: charge like an ox the guys who capture the rebound to completely prevent the counter-attack from starting. The good big strategy of tarba. Second example: try to take a forced pass in transition, which is the best way to plead innocent while having voluntarily stopped fast play. Malinx the lynx. It is therefore to be expected that the take foul, which will be officially registered in October/November in the rules, may evolve during the season according to its results. There is no doubt that it will change the game in the NBA far and wide, and perhaps even for the better.
If all these details remain very abstract today, even vague, it will probably be easier to understand the specificities of the take foul looking at its application from the preseason games. In the meantime, we wish good luck to the referees, who will inevitably end up being targeted by criticism, not having the possibility of reconsidering their decision when it is bad.
Text source: Ben Dowsett’s Twitter account
