The travelling rules internationally

[Andre]

Hey guys, I'm watching US Vs Serbia....and again sometimes the referees call travelling and Bill Walton wonders why....

Let's try to make things clear (I'm european):

The rule says that once you receive the ball while running, you are allowed to make a maximum of 2 steps. For example: if you receive while you are running toward the basket on the right wing...you'll step with your right foot first, then your left foot to jump and shoot with your right hand.

Truth is that in the NBA most of the times players do 3 steps. In europe we have always make fun of this...and we always have wondered why...since it's against YOUR RULES too.

You think that in international basket travelling is called randomly? actuallywe think is called randomly in the NBA...sometime you call it..sometimes not. Instead we ALWAYS call it when a player does more than 2 steps.

I hope this clarify the matter a litle. Any feedback is welcome.

[ilpez]

the fun is when a referee calls travelling and a us player can't understand why

I only saw a couple of actions of the match against S&M, and I saw a travelling not called, S&M in action with a lost ball, USA again in action with a us player that made a mistake under the basket... funny

btw then next two matches are against Turkey and will be easier than Italy, Germany and S&M.

[wangster]

I don't know about international basketball, but in the NBA, most travelling calls are called when the player with the ball moves his pivot foot. IMO, it's pretty rare for an NBA player to get called for taking three steps. Most of the travelling calls come from the player for example jab-stepping with the right and taking the first step on the drive with his left or vice versa.

[Gripni]

The reason players in the USA are often allowed 3 steps is because it doesn't make a difference and calling it takes away from the flow of the game and is annoying to see for the fans.

[j.23]

i can't count how many times i've seen lebron travel.. there was this play on the courtside countdown where he was playing against the jazz.. he was on the fastbreak, eluded like 2 defenders and threw in a crazy reverse off the glass.. thing is tho he took 3 steps and it was so obvious, sucks how the ref didn't call it.. i know it's entertainment and all but sometimes you gotta be fair.. if christian laettner or shawn bradley did that out it'd be over. lol

[Riot]

The refs always call KG for traveling when he is on the baseline doing his unstoppable fade-away J. I think it's cus he changes pivot foots in the middle of it.

I agree, 2 step is the right call but like someone stated before me, it keeps the flow of the game. Fans would get angry. In the end, it's all about the fans because without the fans...no cash!

[Carlos Boozer]

Allen Iverson= Travel agency

[bchogan]

I don't believe that the refs in those exhibition games were, for the most part, making traveling calls based on the actual rules. Most of the traveling calls against the US were made when a player moved from a standstill to a dribble, not on the two steps you are allowed when attacking the basket. The refs were calling traveling based on the assumption that the US players must be traveling rather than what they were actually doing, which is taking a step while starting the dribble, which is not considered traveling in any rule I'm familiar with. The way I interpret the rule is that the ball does not have to reach the floor before a player's pivot foot moves, but the player does have to be in the act of dribbling, which means that he can't be holding the ball. The US players called for those traveling violations were making quick moves, often acompanied by fakes, which may appear to be traveling if you don't look closely. From what I've seen, international players aren't usually explosive, quick, athletic players, so it stands to reason that international referees are unacustomed to dealing with players who have those skills.
I won't say that the US team never traveled, but I'd bet that a lot of those calls were wrong. However, I didn't see replays of most of the traveling calls, so I can't say for certain that the calls were bad. And I have seen some bad no-calls made in the NBA regarding traveling, but most of those are on the way to the hoop (3 steps instead of 2). And I've thought that traveling should've been called in situations like I described above. But I often found on replays that I was wrong and the NBA refs were actually right.
Getting back to the US exhibition games, the refs also made confusing calls, like when A.I. was fouled in the act of shooting, but wasn't awarded the basket, but was given two free throws even though the other team wasn't in the bonus. Or when A.I. made a basket in the last game versus Turkey and Turkey tried to inbound the ball but were stopped by a late whistle that turned into an offensinve foul against A.I., wiping away the basket. There were situations where the US's opponents shuffled their feet and were not called for traveling. And physical play in general was not called as fouls, moreso in situations detrimental to the US. If the refs want to allow for more physical play or tighten up on traveling, fine. They can do that as long as it's done consistantly. The only consistancy those refs showed was mediocracy.
We assume that the the world is catching up the the US in ability, but these games showed how the refs have a long way to go.

[J@3]

We assume that the the world is catching up the the US in ability, but these games showed how the refs have a long way to go.

It's a fact, the rest of the World is catching up. People can't use the excuse that the USA don't have the best possible team out there, because those players are still All-Stars/future All-Stars so surely they should be better than every other team in the World.

As far as travelling goes, you see so many travels when players go for dunks in the NBA it's unbelievable, I think 90% of it is the fact that European referee's dont give a shit if it's a spectacular dunk because it took the guy 9 steps to do it.

[bchogan]

We assume that the the world is catching up the the US in ability, but these games showed how the refs have a long way to go.

It's a fact, the rest of the World is catching up. People can't use the excuse that the USA don't have the best possible team out there, because those players are still All-Stars/future All-Stars so surely they should be better than every other team in the World.

I was talking about the international refs not being up to NBA standards, not players. I don't dispute that international players are catching up. But if every other country competing had 13 of their top players refuse to be on their team, they'd suck nuts. That's a fact. And the U.S. players are better individually than almost all their competitors, but the biggest difference is in their experience as a team, and what type of players were invited (lack of perimeter shooters, defensive stoppers, etc.). I think we can all agree that a team doesn't have to have a roster filled with great players to win. That's why people watch the NCAA tournament. Everybody's got a shot because it's a team game.

As far as travelling goes, you see so many travels when players go for dunks in the NBA it's unbelievable, I think 90% of it is the fact that European referee's dont give a shit if it's a spectacular dunk because it took the guy 9 steps to do it.

If you wouldv'e read what I wrote, you'd see that I didn't dispute calls where U.S. players took three steps before dunking in international play or in the NBA. If the NBA refs have truly been instructed by the league to let those type of traveling violations go, I would like to see it stopped. Those should always be called. But out of all the travelling violations called against the U.S. in their exhibition games, I can only think of a couple that were on attempted dunks. The rest were on guys out on the perimeter making quick dribble drives & fakes, which I've already discussed as being poor calls.

[J@3]

I wasnt responding to your entire post, just that small part I quoted which I did in that first paragraph. The rest of it was me stating my opinion, not questioning yours.