Abolishing Fouling Out

[Andrew]

I'm a bit late in posting this, but during the TNT broadcast of Game 5 of the Cavs/Wizards series, Jeff Van Gundy suggested that the fouling out rule be removed from the NBA. He asserted it wouldn't encourage players to foul freely because of the foul limits and the fact it would be giving up free throws and that the game would greatly benefit from key players not being forced to the bench through foul trouble.

Does anyone agree with that suggestion? Personally, I'm not convinced.

If players fouling out was such a huge problem, we'd be seeing at least three or four players fouling out per team per game. We wouldn't be seeing players log 40+ minutes per game if foul calls and the foul out limit were far too restrictive. On top of that, I just don't think a longstanding rule in basketball needs to be changed because significant players sometimes run into foul trouble; that's all part of the game.

[J@3]

I'm completely against it. Guys would be fouling on every lay-up, every dunk etc. I don't think anyone would be put off by the two free throws rule, and the whole point of running a successful team is that you have those guys who can step up when the main guys go out. By his reasoning we should abolish injuries aswell since they keep key players from games.

[Matt]

the games have enough FT's as it is. If fouling were allowed there would be no fastbreaks.

Teams could also "reach" constantly and hope they get lucky and steal the ball.

This rule would essentially cover poor defenders. Fouls are usually called because guys play with their hands instead of their feet.

[Fitzy]

i disagree too, if there wasnt a limit on fouls there would be alot of blood drawn at the games

[Laxation]

Stupid idea, for all the reasons posted already, especially Jaes.
A good team is rewarded for having a deep bench that they can go to when someone is in foul trouble.

[The X]

JVG is an idiot....it would help his team, but is a very bad idea....if you play against Shaq, you foul him every time....forget about the penalty, who cares....

[Fitzy]

Shaq would kill someone if there was no foul limit

[Nel]

I think jvg is trying to look at it on the fans perspective. Seeing you're fav player on the bench clearly sucks but it can be avoided. He thinks the quality of the game suffers when superstars aren't playing. Yeah he maybe right but it depends on the teams that are playing. Stupid idea of him though...

[Cloudy]

Haha, this rule can apply only for Yao!

[Stevesanity]

Shaq would kill someone if there was no foul limit

He sure would.

Umm in soccer theirs no foul limit except you do tend to get carded if you frequently tackle or go for a hard tackle but if you apply that to b-ball it wont work. The game will lose its pace and their would be lots and lots of jump shot attempts but most of all it'll be a FT fest. I think the foul out rule should be kept as it is, although if someone does come up with a good idea where you can control fouling but at the same time reduce the chance of fouling out well then I'm all for it.

[Its_asdf]

Fouls would go up, and slow down the pace of the game. I think it'd be more boring to watch if everyone was just fouling everyone.

[BIG GREEN]

Jeff van gundy is a nut job. This rule abolishment would totally fuck up nba basketball.

[Laker Socks]

A rule like that would definitely favor Yao Ming and would bring hell to the miami heat.

[Laxation]

Can you imagine a Pistons/Heat game? It would take 53days to complete, what with all the hack-a-ben/shaq

[Drex]

Could you imagine a 7-game series between them?

[Fitzy]

they could show a marathon on espn

[benji]

Danny Fortson would be an All-Star.

Anything that makes Danny Fortson better is a bad idea.

[Mazzocchi]

yeah, Don't abolish it.

MAYBE, maybe give a player 1 more foul in overtime.
Or increase the foul limit in overtime by 1.

That I could deal with but not completely abolishing it

[cklitsie]

MAYBE, maybe give a player 1 more foul in overtime.
Or increase the foul limit in overtime by 1.

Maybe, but what would happen then when someone fouls out in the 4th? Get him back into the game?

[Ruff Ryder]

Imagine a "hack a team" strategy when one team just fouls everytime the opponent comes down the court.

[Axel]

I think it could work if some other modification were made. I would assess FT penalties by how many team fouls have been committed. For example, Shaq, Lebron, etc could foul as much as they want, but once the team gets over a designated number (say 7 fouls in a quarter) the other team shoots three free throws, thus placing an emphasis on defense rather than fouling every play. With that strategy, star players would not be forced to the bench, but a premium would be placed on actually making the play rather than putting poor FT shooters on the line.

[Anthony15]

Imagine a "hack a team" strategy when one team just fouls everytime the opponent comes down the court.

Perfectly fits the non-defense Suns!

[benji]

If the Suns are a "non-defense" team then what would that make the Sonics, Raptors and Blazers? Or the Jazz for that matter, since they gave up 1.4 more points than the Suns.

[Axel]

Imagine a "hack a team" strategy when one team just fouls everytime the opponent comes down the court.

Perfectly fits the non-defense Suns!

You really are an idiot... the Suns fouled the least of any team in the NBA.

[Laker Socks]

Imagine a "hack a team" strategy when one team just fouls everytime the opponent comes down the court.

Perfectly fits the non-defense Suns!

Hell no. That would mean the suns would settle for a halfcourt set. Suns and halfcourt set dont really fit in the same sentence.