No one could’ve known it at the time, but on Oct. 26, 2019, inside Houston’s Toyota Center, the officiating crew of a Pelicans-Rockets game provided a glimpse into the NBA’s future. During the opening half of a narrow Houston victory, then-Rockets star guard James Harden went through his full catalog of foul-drawing wizardry, a menu that can include subtly hooking the arm of his defender, leaning off-balance on jumpers in order to draw contact, and using the ball as a battering ram on drives. Much to Harden’s chagrin and surprise, friendly whistles were not forthcoming that night, culminating with a play at the first-half buzzer in which he futilely tried to fling his body into New Orleans’ Josh Hart while attempting a three-pointer. After that play again did not result in a shooting foul, an angry Harden slammed the ball into the hardwood, but the ball rapidly bounced back up into Harden’s beard, creating a GIF-worthy reaction from Hart.
If the NBA has its way during the upcoming 2021-22 season, every game will now be refereed similarly, as the league aims to stop rewarding unnatural offensive moves by crafty practitioners such as Harden, Trae Young and Lou Williams, among numerous savvy scorers. The change in rules interpretation already seems extremely popular among fans and media, but the decision may receive even higher marks from many players – particularly defenders who’ve been whistled for infuriating fouls in recent years.
“I love it,” said Pelicans forward Naji Marshall, who instantly smiled when the change was mentioned to him on Media Day. “As a defender, it’s good for me. It’s not very good for offensive players who do that a lot.”
“I was happy about it, because a lot of the (deceptive offensive moves aren’t) natural, or part of the beauty of the game,” agreed Pelicans wing Josh Hart. “The guys who were using it to their benefit, you have to give them some credit, for them having the basketball IQ to manipulate the game or the rules. But I was definitely happy about that change, so you’re not getting those BS fouls (on defense) anymore.”
The frequency of offensive players gaming the system to draw dubious fouls had become so ingrained that most NBA players simply decided to just accept it as part of the competition. Rather than complain about what many observers have decried as an eyesore for the sport, players were forced to face the reality that their only option was to adapt to the tactics, even if sometimes a defensive foul seemed unfair or unavoidable. A grudging respect developed for players like Harden, who averaged a whopping 11.8 free throws per game with Houston in 2019-20.
“I always looked at it like it was part of the game, that you can’t do anything about it, except learn how to adjust to it and play the best you can,” Pelicans All-Star forward Zion Williamson said. “But now that they’re changing that (interpretation), for me personally, I think it’s good, because the way it has been, it makes it very hard to play defense sometimes. If someone can do a weird, awkward, non-basketball movement, and you still get a foul called, sometimes those fouls are critical (in affecting the outcome). A lot of that happened to me in my rookie year, playing against vets who have high IQ and know how to draw fouls.”
Hart: “Especially guarding James Harden. He’s great at it, because he’s physical, but he’s also skilled and able to manipulate what the refs see within the game. But you’ve got to give him credit for being smart enough and skilled enough to do those things.”
Hart and Marshall emphasized their focus on key defensive principles that helped them avoid unwelcome whistles, including concepts that are drilled into high school and college players, such as not reaching in for the ball and staying on balance as much as possible.
“For me, it really started at Villanova, with Coach (Jay) Wright teaching you to keep your hands back when guarding a guy, to show your hands (so a ref can see they’re not making contact),” Hart said. “When you do that, it’s harder for (an opponent) to draw those fouls against you. Also after your first couple years in the league, you stop getting those ‘rookie foul calls.’ Having those fundamentals and being more established in the league, both of those things combined to help.”
“When I first started (playing last season), it happened to me a lot,” Marshall said of being whistled for aggravating defensive fouls as an NBA rookie. “There was a lot of new stuff I’d never seen before. The more games I played, I picked up on it a lot faster. I really got used to seeing it from all different ways.”
Marshall then laughed, realizing that his newfound ability to learn the tricks of the trade may not be as necessary under the NBA’s new rules enforcement in 2021-22. Still, he’s more than happy to put some of those skills on the back burner if it means fewer nightmares – and shrill whistles – for him on defense.
“I’m sure players are going to figure out other ways to draw fouls, but I really do like the rule (change),” Marshall said, grinning. “Of course, as soon as I got used to defending against it, they take it out of the game. But I’m very glad they did.”