I really don't understand casual NBA fans sometimes.

Well, they don't consider themselves actual casual fans. The lot of them thinks they know everything. The thing is they hate traveling and wants it to be called every single time and yet they want players to fist fight each other like 80s and 90s basketball and not call every foul. I don't understand how you want physical fouls to be called less but traveling to be called more.

So what is the explanation you would give to a casual fan that wants to know why traveling is a rule but also one that at the professional level is constantly and arbitrarily ignored? Is there an actual, official reason for it?

Like, in soccer the rules explicitly state that a ref should temporarily ignore any violations made against the offensive team if they have momentum and potential to score a goal. But in that instance it's specifically trying to prevent the defense from killing a strong offense via fouls. Traveling doesn't have that same impact.

I dunno how to properly answer you but for me as a fan all I would ask for is more consistently with every rule. Yes call all the travels but also call all the physical fouls as well. I don't want one thing to be regulated and another to be more lenient, that's just stupid. If I want people to be super physical throwing elbows and shit I'd watch MMA.

VeggetaX posted...

I dunno how to properly answer you but for me as a fan all I would ask for is more consistently with every rule. Yes call all the travels but also call all the physical fouls as well. I don't want one thing to be regulated and another to be more lenient, that's just stupid. If I want people to be super physical throwing elbows and shit I'd watch MMA.

Well we're in agreement there. Consistency in enforcing the game's rules should be better than it is. I'm also not looking for fist fights on the court either. That's what Hockey is for.

s0nicfan posted...

So what is the explanation you would give to a casual fan that wants to know why traveling is a rule but also one that at the professional level is constantly and arbitrarily ignored? Is there an actual, official reason for it?

A lot of the "travels" that people complain about aren't actually travels, they just don't fully understand the rules (often as simple as when steps actually start to count). Not to say there aren't also things like starting the dribble too late, switching pivots, or carrying that get missed, but I think a lot that are either missed because it's hard to see in real time, or let go if they didn't give an advantage.

VeggetaX posted...

yet they want players to fist fight each other like 80s and 90s basketball and not call every foul. I don't understand how you want physical fouls to be called less

There has certainly been a shift over the years in the way fouls are called when offensive players initiate contact - wanting defenders to get back their right to legally occupy their own space, basically, is not the same thing as wanting the dirty hits and such back. I do think people who complain about too many whistles/stoppages may not realize that the modern era has the FEWEST foul calls ever, but there are still legit complaints about what does and doesn't get called.

Yeah, consistency in reffing is, well, the one consistent complaint most people have, lol.