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Show Goaltending is simple stat, but By JOHN ALLEN Chief Statistician for the Utah Jazz The Jazz are very predictable. It's highly unlikely a team will beat them at the Salt Palace, and it's unlikely Utah will beat the below-500 clubs on the road. Unfortunately, it is also most likely that the Jazz will lose to a team with a winning record if playing on that team's home court and usually usual-ly by a healthy margin. Philadelphia (115-102), Boston (116-103), and the Clippers (116-102) were good examples last week. Utah's recent stunning victory over the Lakers was an exception to the rule. Trailing 103-101, Karl Malone took a pass from John Stockton at the top of the 3-point circle and nailed it with 6-tenths of one second on the scoreboard clock. Being one of the biggest wins in Jazz history, it was only the fourth road win of the year against a team with a winning record which is very important when it comes to playoff time. Utah is now 13-13 on the road with a 39-16 overall record, the third-best record in the entire NBA. f ff Jug i With John Today's lesson is on goaltending. There are two types of goaltending in the NBA. One is basket interference, which usually occurs by the offensive team, especially on tipins. It is defined as when a player touches the ball which is within or touching the basket or touches the ball while any part of it is within the imaginary cylinder which has the basket rim as its base. The imaginary cylinder extends upwards up-wards above the rim for an indefinite height The other type of goal tending is called "defensive goal tending." Like basket interference, it can be done by either the defense or offense. Technically, goal tending occurs outside the imaginary cylinder. This would occur when, on a try for a goal, the ball is in a downward flight and is above the level of the basket. Remember, for goal tending to occur, the ball must have a chance to score. If it is a short shot, a player may retrieve the ball on its downward flight, but the judgment is made by the official. Also during a field goal attempt, a player may not touch the ball after it has touched the backboard below rim level and while it is on its upward flight If it is below rim level, you may not touch the ball after it has hit the board on its upward flight but could on the way down. If the field goal attempt has hit the board above ring level, you cannot touch the ball on its up or down flight until it has clearly no chance to go into the basket Trapping the ball against the face of the backboard is also illegal. Three things must happen at the same time to be a trap the hand, ball and backboard must come in contact with each other at the same time. What about dunking the ball? If your hand is touching the ball inside the cylinder, is it interference? No. If a player's hand is legally in contact with the ball outside the cylinder, the player may continue contact through the cylinder, through the basket, and even touch the rim. In the same sequence, if you have blocked the dunk attempt outside the basket and the momentum momen-tum carries your hand into the cylinder, it is not interference. The offensive player either makes the basket, or you block the shot If a player's attempted "slam dunk" hits him on the head prior to clearing the net, causing the ball to return up through the basket ring, he will be called for offensive basket interference. The reason is because a legal goal is only made when the live ball enters the basket from above the rim and remains in, or passes through, the net After a block of a field goal attempt, anyone may retrieve the ball, whether the ball is on an up or down flight, before it gets in the cylinder. What happens on a throw-in from out of bounds and the ball passes over the cylinder area and is grabbed at mat point? No violation is to be called. The ball must enter the basket from the playing court and is considered a pass from out-of-bounds, and either team can gain possession posses-sion of the ball. Another unusual play would be on a jump ball where the jumper taps the ball towards the basket and the ball is on a downward flight with a chance to score. Can any player interfere with the ball? Yes, and any player can attempt to gain control of the ball, even on its downward flight, until the ball enters into the imaginary cylinder area. If the ball entered the basket, it would be a successful field goal. If missed, however, it is not considered a shot attempt. Any offensive interference or offensive goal tending is scored as a turnover on the guilty player, and there is no shot attempt recorded. On the defensive side, the goal is scored and a footnote recorded as who interfered or committed com-mitted goaltending. As you can see, goaltending is a simple stat which can be very complicated. |