Comparing European and NBA travel calls

For some reason, many Europeans - especially Spanish players - complained a lot about the referees not calling the U.S. traveling.

In some way, I really do understand both sides. Traveling in the NBA and the United States is not called the same way as it is called in the Euroleague and Europe. It looks like both sides just do not know better and do not understand why the other is so upset. To defend the US continent, NCAA and FIBA rules are almost the same, while the NBA just has a few minor changes.

During my trip to the U.S. this past summer (yes, summer is almost over!), I followed the US team’s pre-Olympic games as well as the Olympics. Before every game, the commentators talked about the differences between FIBA and NBA rules, such as the size of the court and even the size of the ball, but they never explained the important thing: TRAVELING.

Time to bring some light into the darkness of those made/missing travel calls! (Watch out where you click to start the video - the middle button is advertising. To start the video, click the left corner)

Here are the essentials of FIBA and NBA rules for traveling:

The NBA/WNBA rule is a little more liberal than the current NCAA and FIBA rules when a player is coming to a stop. The NBA/WNBA rule is identical to the pre-1994 FIBA rule; in essence, once you have come to a legal stop, you always have a foot to pivot with. NCAA and current FIBA rules can leave a player without a pivot foot. As well, if you land with a staggered stop (i.e. one foot, then the other, with one foot clearly in front of the other), the back foot is the pivot foot in NBA/WNBA. In NCAA/FIBA, the first foot to touch is the pivot.

Sounds easy right?

Here comes the problem: Why did the referees not make these calls in Beijing? It is obvious that at the Olympics, the teams have to play with FIBA rules, and that TEAM USA HAD to travel just because they are used to different rules. When you play basketball every day, you are not thinking about your steps - you just know them - so Team USA really had to travel, just because they do it - according to FIBA rules, of course - every single day in NBA games.

In case you don’t believe me - just watch this video where we have proof of travel:

We know now, that Team USA did travel at least 5-10 times a game, but the referees did not call it, but would that have changed the outcome of the Olympics? I don’t think so.

Still, why did the referees not make those calls? Any referee in a 5th division team in Europe would have made the calls that you saw in the video. I just hope there wasn’t any “higher” influence.

Live from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Kris Santiago, a FIBA.com blogger, is in Athens right now, following every game of the pre-Olympic tournament. Here are his notes from today:

• Slovenia is getting better from game to game and could be facing Puerto Rico or Croatia (but I would go with Puerto Rico, as they are looking quite good on the perimeter) in the quarters. Lakovic is solid while Nesterovic feels comfortable attacking the boards. Slokar showed a good all-around game, hitting shots and doing the little things right (Finally some positive news about Uros). Becirovic completes the team that received some help from Miha Zupan in the first game.

• Canada played weaker than expected. Former Skyliner Dave Thomas stepped up during the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Carl English and Samuel Dalembert could not repeat their performances from the test games against Germany. Veteran Rowan Barrett is a steady scorer, but the team looked bad on the defensive end.

• Cape Verde is the first team to fly home. The “Trindade” got pounded again, this time by Germany. Young talent Jeff Xavier certainly has some upside (a solid shot and good ball-handling) but is a shoot-first point guard and had some problems adjusting to the game. If his dreams of playing in the NBA don’t come true, he may play in Europe. In order to be effective, Xavier really needs to work on his passing game.

The same goes for most of the players that never played at such a high level in FIBA-organised competitions and struggled against bigger guys like Femerling or Kaman.

• Germany used the game as another test, and had no trouble finishing from the three-point line or under the boards. Kaman is not looking fluid in his actions, as he is still trying to find his niche in the German game. Demond Greene hit some 3s in the beginning, making it crystal clear which team was supposed to win. Young gun Philip Zwiener was the surprise of the day, as he made the starting five and showed off a solid performance, which could lead to a permanent starting job. I personally like Konrad Wysocki; he should be getting more time on the court, getting six points in ten minutes and was ready for more. Oh, I forgot to mention Dirk Nowitzki, who was not flashy but left his mark, was able to rest a lot due to the big lead and should be more tested more against New Zealand tomorrow.

• Puerto Rrrrrico is getting the best out of Carlos Arroyo (Flashy as ever … behind the back, no look, you name it) and … (A real surprise to me) Ricky Sanchez, who was left open at the three-point line and scored at will. Daniel Santiago got some minutes but was not nearly effective as in Malaga, and P.J. Ramos looked better (Well, not his look but his game) against Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje. J.J. Barea is having some trouble displaying his scoring qualities but does his job which includes passing and defending.

• Cameroon is here with a bad karma. They were angry and disappointed regarding their government which failed to support them in a professional manner. Now Harding Nana had a good first game but struggles to find his shot against Puerto Rico. Boumtje-Boumtje is fighting like a bull on both defense and offense, but Cameroon really sometimes lacks the IQ on the court, as they repeatedly left Sanchez alone instead of guarding him closer and made mistakes when switching the player in the wrong moments. Parfait Bitee looks ready for Europe, as he is really doing a great job here, scoring mostly from outside and keeping Barea and Arroyo constantly under pressure. Brice Vounang is a short-sized center with a wide body and knows how to bang but may need to lose some weight in order to perform faster around the basket.

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you posted…

UPDATE: Kris just sent us some more thoughts:

• Cameroon’s Harding Nana got his shot back in the second half and Parfait Bitte, who may land a contract in Europe soon (The D-League is not an option, and his agent Keith Glass is already receiving offers), did his part to bring Cameroon back into the game, but it was Larry Ayuso’s three-pointer that killed Cameroon’s hopes of advancing.

• Cameroon’s coach Lazare Adingono was certainly disappointed with the way things ended for his team, and hopes that the government has seen the positive outing of his team in Athens and tries now to support the team financially so they may bounce back with another strong outcome at the 2009 African Championship in Libya.

• George Felton, director of player personnel, scouted Alexis Wangmene (Texas University) closely these days to see if he is capable of playing against bigger competition. Wangmene was not a big factor offensively while helping out well in limited minutes on the floor on the defensive end, but has a long road to go if he wants to make it to the NBA.

• Brazil is currently destroying Lebanon, and they look quite confident on the floor with Marcelinho Huertas and Murilo Becker da Rosa having already reached double digits in scoring. Now all the players are set to score, and even NBA bust Baby Araujo is doing well on the floor, having no trouble scoring in the paint at all.

Monday’s cigarettes

After a long weekend, here are the cigarettes for this Monday after a short delay.

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New FIBA rules in for 2008-2009

We’ve already talked about the rules changes that FIBA has made in order to improve the game of basketball . Tonight, the French basketball federation published a report about the FIBA/ULEB meeting of 14 May concerning the organization of next season. Read more

General questions about international and European basketball

Over the last few weeks, we’ve received a few interesting questions from Luke T. Johnson of the “China Daily ” and we decided to make them open to the public. Here you go:

1. How have international teams from Europe and South America managed to close the gap on the US?
I am a huge European and South American basketball fan, but I would not say the gap is closed yet. In terms of marketing and especially investing into the sport, basketball in the United States is still a step ahead. Over here in Europe, you will only find basketball diehards to invest money into a team. If the team is not successful or if the investor does not like the decisions made by the coach or president, he pulls back and the club is no longer a top team. Since there is no draft in the NBA, the teams also do not get the opportunity to get great talented players like Cleveland’s Lebron James, who took his team to the NBA finals last year. In Europe, the best players are on the wealthiest clubs — CSKA Moscow, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid …

2. What has been the most significant factor (or factors) that has enabled the rest of the world to catch up with the US?
Basketball overseas has been made interesting for good basketball players mostly by the money they are able to pay now. Players that do not get that much playing time on a NBA team can become important players on Euroleague teams. This makes the sport more attractive to fans that follow the NBA mostly. With the recent wins of European teams against NBA teams in exhibition games, domestic fans have seen that it’s worth cheering for their home team again.

3. What do you think about the reported World Club Championships for next year? Will it actually happen? Will NBA teams compete? How would the Euroleague clubs match up against top NBA clubs?
The Word Club Championships will happen, simply because FIBA just announced so, but will it be successful? Will NBA teams and even Euroleague teams participate? Under the circumstances FIBA released this new championship, probably not. Neither the NBA or the Euroleague will participate with the schedule produced by FIBA; without the best teams from those leagues, it won’t be successful. Even if both leagues can agree on a better date, I doubt that we will see the matchup of CSKA Moscow against the 2008 NBA Champions - although I think this would be a very interesting game, if both teams play with they best players, but right now this is only a big dream.

4. As someone who seems to have seen a lot of both the NBA and Euroleague, how would you compare the two experiences — not just the game itself, but how popular it is, how fans react, the personalities of the players, the rivalries, and so on?
If you want to see passionate fans, come to Europe and watch the Euroleague. Actually you don’t even have to come to Europe. Last year’s NBA vs. Euroleague preseason games proved how passionate European fans are, when they filled the arena in Houston, Texas, for Panathinaikos playing the Rockets. Rivalries are more comparable to NFL rivalries, where some fans really hate each other and being a fan is not just putting on a basketball jersey and taking the kids to see a basketball game for two hours: You live your life for this club.

Another big difference between the NBA and the Euroleague: Players aren’t the most important and most known thing - it is all about the team. When Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Kevin Garnett are the trademarks for the NBA, you will see names such as CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid or Maccabi Tel Aviv in Europe representing the league. This has been formed over the years through the basketball culture in Europe and reflects on how fans see teams: team basketball.

5. What do you think of the FIBA rule changes? How will this impact the global game?
Finally the NBA has no chance to complain anymore! Oh, I am sure they will complain that their ball is smaller … NO - I am just kidding - both leagues will profit from these rule changes when it comes to national team play. Hopefully the European leagues will be able to adapt the rules quickly and we will see at least every first division team in Europe use them. Don’t forget: Only 30 NBA teams have to bring the three-point line closer, while thousands across Europe alone must - Time to open a business to print these lines on basketball floors!

6. Basketball outside of North America is known for its passing and team-first approach. Is there another explanation for the “international style” than just a foundation in soccer?
The explanation for the “international style” being linked to soccer is new, too. At least, I never though about it. In my opinion, the style played by European basketball teams is firstly linked to a different approach to the game. While the US system promotes the stardom and the 1-on-1 play through its rules and media, the European basketball doesn’t face this type of promotion. In Europe, you talk more about CSKA or Panathinaikos than about Siskauskas or Diamantidis.

With this “education,” European players don’t have much intention to develop into individual superstars. The fact that in younger years, the European player normally gets the whole package in terms of basketball fundamentals also favors this type of basketball. If you have centers that can pass, that gives a whole different game than a situation in which the big guys merely set picks and dunks.

7. Who do you predict will be in the final game in Beijing?
I think that Team USA will make it to the Final. The second team to qualify is very difficult to predict because already you don’t know all the teams that will be there. But I think that Russia will have a good chance to qualify. Argentina I don’t think that they are strong enough to qualify for the Final as their generation is getting older. The same counts for Greece. If Lithuania really gets Zydrunas Ilgauskas to play, they can also be contenders for the Gold Medal.

8. Are there any countries you think will be “surprise teams” in Beijing?
Here again, it is difficult to say as not all the teams are known so far. Angola can eventually be a surprise by beating some of the “established” teams as they did in the 2006 World Championships. Another team that can go for some surprising wins may be Australia who a generation of young players growing in important roles.

9. Any else you’d like to add about the international landscape?
The International basketball is closing the gap to the US basketball but the general basketball fan is still considering the US basketball way above. When you live in the United States, the fan is more concerned about high school basketball than the Euroleague. Even the losses of NBA teams in the preseason against Euroleague teams did not change the superiority complex of American basketball fans.

Basketball headbutt loses Austrian game

Ivanhoe from Austria emails:

…as I live in Austria, I follow the Austrian League very closely. Last week, game 5 took place between Basket Swans Gmunden (the ULEB Cup Team who lost against Juventut, as you know) and Fürstenfeld.

In a crucial game 5, something strange happened. Fürstenfeld had posession up 1 and about 3-1/2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. They lost the ball. Peter Hütter of Gmunden came up with the ball and headed for a fastbreak, no one near him for an uncontested dunk, but as he dunked the ball hard, the ball went through the hoop, bounced off his head and went out again. The ball never went through the net completly. Fürstenfeld gained control and hit a 3 pointer. Ball game. That’s not something that happens everyday.

Here is the video:

Let’s look up the FIBA definition for a made basket: A player scores when he manages to put the ball into the basket from above. To me, it looks like the player did exactly that. Now Ivanhoe says that the ball has to go through the net? All we know is that Furstenfeld went to the next round of the playoffs and Gmunden is out.