Greetings in that Divine and Most Precious Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
The NBA officially adopted an anti-flopping policy Wednesday, announcing a new rule that will fine repeat offenders this season.
Any player who flops during a regular-season game will be subject to a series of penalties, beginning with a warning for first-time violators. After the warning, players will be fined in increments of $5,000 for each additional flop over the course of the season. The fines increase to $30,000 for a fifth offense.
ESPN.com
About time Stern bosses up!
Haha, ESPN had a great article with accompanying youtube clips of the 25 worst flops in the NBA naming names yo! (what
would the sports world do with youtube??)
A Field Guide to Flopping I like that Chris Paul and James Harden (why James why?) are rightfully called out as the two worst offenders since Vlade and D-Fish practically invented these moves in the NBA world.. Also honorable mention to Lebron, though whenever I watch replays of his flops it almost seems that he is being facetious, doing it SOOOO obviously on purpose to almost make fun of more serious floppers.
Of course I couldn't help but notice something missing, Kobe Bryant's patented
Pump-fake /tear drop flop..
Kobe is one of the best jump shooters since and including Michael Jordan, in fact, this season if Kobe finally learns like Jordan did that he is getting old, and he can't drive to the basket all the time like he was D-Rose or D-Wayde (by the way, considering BOTH these guys have had significant season ending injuries playing so recklessly, perhaps even they should learn the same lesson??) so he needs to do like Jordan did and become the BEST post-up shooter in the game (which he has the potential to do btw)..
So here is the Kobe flop, it deserves his name because I don't know of anyone else that does it so consistently and with such sophistication.
So whenever Kobe gets pressured by a defender when he is on the perimeter, instead of driving in or kicking the ball out like most players do, he posts up and takes the shot. However, what he does is his patented and beautiful pump fake/tear drop shot. When it isn't a flop, it is truly a remarkable and beautiful shot considering the combination of dexterity and footwork it requires. However, when he knows the shot is a bust, he draws on the pump fake to lure a defender into reaching in and making contact on the wrist or arm going after the ball. If he had released the shot like expected, the defender would have had a great chance at a block. However, since he DOESN'T release the ball but stays lingering in the air for a split-second before launching the shot, he almost ALWAYS draws the defender into contact and gets the foul. Now to be sure, many times it is a sincere foul, but it is also a very disingenuous move because it is intentionally drawing the foul, and further it generally is accompanied by some grunting and facial gestures to exaggerate the contact.
The question is, starting in November will Stern have the machismo to actually call Kobe out and fine him
stay blessed,
habte selassie
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