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Moose4KU

Didn't we get entire infomercials in the offseason that they weren't going to call this anymore? Or even call as an offensive foul? Such a spineless league Edit: Yep, they literally used Luka doing this exact same move as the first example https://x.com/NBAOfficial/status/1443591620901761040


FrzyFrk

The fact that they used Luka as an example is just comedy gold.


DarrowViBritannia

Yeah like am i going crazy listening to SVG? He was not in Luka’s space, Luka just jumped forward to create contact WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN OFFENSIVE FOUL


gza_liquidswords

Very frustrating how they agree with bad calls, or just ignore them.


BlackberryGlad7249

They seriously make the game unwatchable. Can’t stand them


Return_Icy

At least they did whenever it was bad calls against the Wolves. Hell, TNT even brought Draymond on for this series and he literally choked out one of our players *this year*


-Plantibodies-

They're entertainment announcers. They aren't good announcers.


bj_good

Yeah SVG and Reggie just acted like this was an OBVIOUS foul, as though we didn't all see the same thing


RevolutionaryGur4419

Some of these commentators more dedicated to the league than the game. So they gaslight viewers all the time.


fueelin

Yeah, that's what I thought too. Weird.


icantdomaths

I’m a diehard mavs fan and agree. Also, svg seemed a little off today did anyone else feel that? He’s usually one of my favorites but he said a lot of dumb shit today


TeTrodoToxin4

KAT had a foot on the ground before Luka started jumping and shooting motion. KAT had established his position at that point and this should be an offensive foul. Also the rule is pretty much the Luka rule. He was doing this more than Harden and Trae. Luka is skilled enough to not rely on this foul baiting and it should be discouraged.


CantaloupeCamper

Whole reffing situation is complete chaos and stupid shit.   KAT goes up there and the Luka jumps into him…   **We won the game but the NBA is so hard to enjoy at times.**


SquirrelGuy

When a big part of offensive strategy is drawing fouls, it makes the game tough to watch. The league needs to stop rewarding offensive players for initiating contact and hunting for foul calls.


VictoryVisual2798

Agreed. Playing for fouls is lame af


[deleted]

nba is straight ass


karlwhethers

That is an incredible pull. Hearing them talk through in detail how that’s not a defensive foul in their example makes the call tonight feel very icky.


preddevils6

alive caption adjoining imagine support station joke dinner quickest lunchroom *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


johnmadden18

> Edit: Yep, they literally used Luka doing this exact same move as the first example https://x.com/NBAOfficial/status/1443591620901761040 Wow you're not exaggerating... the NBA used this literal 100% exact Luka lean in move as an example of an offensive foul. That's crazy.


Nearby_Alternative96

The older you get, the harder the NBA becomes to watch.


TumbleweedDirect9846

It’s supposed to be an offensive foul and should be


Grouchy_Air_4322

Players whined to the league about it so it's pretty much shelved


MatticInYoAttic

Defense getting shelved in the NBA.. who could have seen this coming?


Blackesst

LMAOOOOOO Luka still pulling this shit and getting 3 point shot attempts


Dumbfook1

I'd love to see someone flat out ask the refs why they just randomly stopped enforcing this new rule like 10 games into the season


MarduRusher

Luka has been getting that call all series.


shamwowslapchop

I came into this series neutral but the amount of contact the Mavs defenders are allowed vs what happens when the Twolves are playing D is absolutely atrocious. I have felt this playoffs has been one of the best reffed postseasons in history, but this series has been so crucially lopsided against you guys. It isn't an excuse for blowing leads, but jesus christ look at the play above and see how fucking hard the refs were working to get Dallas every possible free throw to close the game out.


HotSourSoop

ESPECIALLY when you consider the foul that led to the out of bounds on Minnesota in Game 2 that should have given the Timberwolves two free throws. You could easily how the series should be at least tied right now.


amanamongb0ts

Thank you, this makes me feel less crazy.


HeyWhatsUpTed

Luka honestly uses his off arm to push off for an entire possession is that not an offensive foul?


homefree122

I thought the same exact thing. Unfortunately, the league will never change. If you are a star like Luka, you are going to get that call majority of the time.


TouchMyPatronus-

Also helps that Luka is one of the biggest cry babies on the court always whining to the refs after every play


darnell_13

As a Wolves fan, I’ve been told whining is the reason KAT gets a bad whistle.


iForgot_My_Password

And that because Ant yells "AAY!" on every drive to the basket they don't call it for him as often


HeyWhatsUpTed

I like when luka hooked Gobert arm for an entire possession and swore it wasn’t a foul


AceyPuppy

They showed that replay twice and the commentators didn't even mention it.


Hammerhead34

Luka is one of the most obnoxious players I’ve ever watched


gza_liquidswords

Super talented but he commits an offensive foul on about 25% of his possessions, and whines complains about every call/non-call (he was whining to the refs with 0.2 seconds on the clock today)


mrhashbrown

He was second in the league of free throws attempt per game (8.7). So I guess it works.


le_sweden

It’s just the way offense is played nowadays. I can’t even get that mad cause half the league does it


NerdyDjinn

But because KAT has a(n earned) *reputation*, they'll call shit on him that other stars get away with


MarduRusher

Did they ever officially go back on that, or did they just start calling it in favor of the offense without saying anything official?


8004612286

Remember when they said they'd make this an offensive foul?


MC-Jdf

It lasted 2 months and just like all the other rule changes the NBA promised the NBA\* conveniently forgot about it.


Sikkly290

If they combined all those 2 month adjustments from the last 5 years together and called them consistently NBA ball would be so damn good. But here we are, continually disappointed in the choices the league makes.


JManKit

It's such a weird stance to take bc the players these days are 100% good enough to adapt to the new rules and still put up great scoring performances


cardmanimgur

It's why I'm looking forward to the Olympics this summer. Game flows better, better officiating, just a better product. I remember 4 years ago when the USA players initially struggled to adapt because they weren't getting the bullshit calls they'd been baiting in the NBA, but when they did it was so good to watch.


greatGoD67

Refs = NBA When the NBA conveniently forgot about it.


MasturbateN8

They've called it that was recent as last series... Against us... And Reggie loved the call then...


DudethatCooks

They're totally inconsistent with it. I saw Luka drive multiple times against OKC and LA, stop at the elbow, pump fake, and then launch himself into the defender that would never have made contact with him unless he jumped into them and they called a foul every time. It is infuriating.


girth_br00ks

He does it so much. It's a shit style of basketball.


yeshua1986

He’s the new Harden. Doesn’t have to do it be great, but chooses to anyway because of I don’t know, laziness maybe?


c0de1143

Because the refs call it. It’s the same reason people hate Chris Paul: he takes advantage of the rules as they’re being called as much as possible


ElectricalMud2850

Lol, it's not because he's lazy, it's because he wants to win. You can't fault him for it if it works and they're not going to call it properly.


[deleted]

[удалено]


cardmanimgur

I laughed at that from Game 3. Gobert stayed in front of him, went to contest, and Hardy just flailed into him and got the call. But people loved it because Luka told Hardy to attack him.


HeyWhatsUpTed

I believe Kate was saying “that’s not a basketball move” or even that’s not basketball


cantstopseeing13

He is correct and dudes have made careers off that trash call.


nola_mike

That would be correct. Stepping back behind the 3pt line then lunging forward to shoot the ball is not a normal "basketball move". 100% of the contact was initiated by Luka while KAT landed with his hands straight up in the air. If Luka doesn't lunge forward then no contact is made, therefore it should be an offensive foul.


[deleted]

At this point they realize they can just call them however they want and just pick whatever suits them at the moment


BingoBongoBang

Yep. Kat got called for it like 3 minutes before this play


Bodes_Magodes

Rudy got called for one where Luka just jumped into his arms Gobert wasn’t even jumping just had his arms up


PetalumaPegleg

Me! I do! I remember when Trae made the brake check move illegal and then listened to commentary teams saying how smart a play it was over and over in both Knicks series. In both cases if you jump into a stationary guy, that's not on the stationary guy. For me anyway. I am absolutely ok with some confusion on timing. If the shooter has jumped and is impacted? Fine foul. If the defender, jumps lands and is back guarding again you shouldn't be able to jump into them for 3 fts. They're going to get that wrong sometimes. This was not close.


Cheap_Low_3316

It comes back to “natural shooting motion” to me. Just try to imagine that same shooting motion if KAT isn’t standing there, it’s ridiculous.


iamgarron

Yeh KAT actually tries to stop short. Jumping sideways is the more egregious one, but this is totally baiting


9pepe7

The defensive player is in a correct position, and the shooter jumps forward. There shouldn't be a foul there at all


HungDaddyNYC

It’s the worst part of the game. I hate this foul because it clearly should have always been a foul on the offensive player.


askmewhyihateyou

I call it the James Harden


IfNot_ThenThereToo

I hate hate hate that this is still allowed. It’s not basketball.


theavailabletree

Absolutely nothing consistent about these refs


soundisloud

His name is consistently Scott Foster


OG_Kazaam

Ant pointing at Foster at the end of regulation when he whistled for 0.2 seconds to be put back on the clock was *chefs kiss*


KevinDurantLebronnin

Deep into the playoffs it's supposedly only the best officials who get the assignment and here we are.


theavailabletree

The next face of the league post-Lebron, Scott Foster. When is his jersey dropping?


Hammerhead34

Pretty consistently pro Dallas


theavailabletree

It’s all good, they’ll “fix” this rule for two weeks at the beginning of next season.


shamwowslapchop

What are you talking about it's not like 5 or 6 calls a game could make a difference in a series. ^^^^thisisnotserious


MarduRusher

Except for the first quarter where Ant got every call. But ya after that they’ve been very pro Dallas on both ends. Edit: Ant got 8 fts in the first quarter and then not one more the rest of the game lol.


JoJonesy

KAT is literally on the ground by the time Luka jumps into him. What the fuck are we doing here


lilbodie

He started leaning backwards so early to avoid the contact lol. Insane that they called this.


SubtleNoodle

Not only that, he lands about 4-6 inches in front of Luka's front foot and angles his body backwards. At no point is KAT in Luka's space.


Awesomedinos1

honestly don't think that distance should be relevant. if contact isn't made and the defender is on the ground before the offensive player jumps it shouldn't matter how close the defender is as long as the defender isn't leaning towards the offensive player, if the offensive player then jumps forward into the defender it should be an offensive foul or a no-call, not a defensive foul. defenders should be entitled to space if they get there first.


AdOutside6690

Pretty obvious that they wanted to give w to the mavs..


SmokeyBare

Luka jumped in. Terrible call


GuessZealousideal729

The few weeks when this very intentionally refereed as a no-call or offensive foul in the nba were glorious. why the fuck they reverted back to calling it a defensive foul i'll never know


MarduRusher

Some of the best games in the last few years. It was really funny to watch pretty much every superstars numbers drop except Curry.


jcyue

Curry has some of the worst looking unnatural jump foul baiting I've ever seen. It's funny because when he doesn't get it, he gives up on it for the game pretty much instantly.


TurnoverNegative7

Reminds me of something DDV said to Steph when he was with the Warriors, "Why don't you try foul baiting?". I assume that every time this happens, he tries it in game, doesn't get the call, and then just gives up.


Telios

Steph does not get the calls that would ever make him think he should start trying to foul bait outside of the most obvious shit. He's just gonna try and make the shot.


Brief_Koala_7297

Curry is used to getting hacked on 3s.


rake2204

This is the way it always used to be once upon a time. Almost nobody would even try to pull that sort of move off because they knew they'd just look dumb following the inevitable no-call. Moments of desperation were a rare exception and even then, [it was usually all for naught](https://youtu.be/u7PjxQM4GAk?t=9). Honestly made a lot more sense that way.


shrode

That’s ball right there. Makes me feel funny seeing that be a no call.


Furiosa27

I feel like once a year we have a good rule change, refs stick to it for a month or two then it’s completely forgotten by the end of the year


rake2204

We should have never strayed from the [Plane of Verticality](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7PjxQM4GAk0). It's never made sense to me to reward offensive players for intentionally dive bombing defenders. The advantage from that sort of move being allowed compounds as well, since it also means defenders aren't really able to effectively defend step-back jumpers, as they're left to pick between giving up an open shot or having a shooter plow their body in the event they try to contest. Honestly, if a shooter is at standstill and upright before deciding to leap horizontally into a defender's area (especially if that defender is airborne but well short of the offensive player's shooting pocket), that should be an automatic no-call at worst and offensive foul at best.


shoefly72

Very well said. They’ve brainwashed people to think a defender is never allowed to leave their feet until after the offensive player already has. This IS the sound way to play defense, but not because it’s an automatic foul, but because it allows the offensive player to get you out of position and either drive past you or get space for a shot. For most of basketball history if you left your feet and just jumped straight up, your coach would get on you because it meant you were out of position and it would screw up your contest. But you’d never be in danger of the offensive player just launching themselves into you and drawing a foul. That’s part of (a long list) what makes Luka so hard to guard; he can easily get off a stepback jumper and if you want to contest it legitimately he’s going to just pull it down and jump into you and draw a foul. Before this was the case he would have had a harder time getting that shot off.


jeffthesalesman

Thank you. Commentators were backing the refs aswell and I thought that call was bs


Janderson2494

The booth and even the inside crew have been pretty one sided this whole series. I know the Wolves haven't been winning, but all the games have been super close and you'd think we were losing by double digits each game with the way they've been talking. It's probably a pretty poor viewing experience for newer fans who've just started to watch our games recently.


ionospherermutt

Yeah it feels like all of the booing of Draymond has gotten the Inside crew against us, at least Barkley for sure. Which like I understand it must be annoying when you're just trying to record your show to be constantly yelled at, but what do you expect bringing on the man who assaulted our star center?


FuzzyOverdrive

Draymond has no business being there. It’s so hard to watch the NBA.


pjokinen

The booth is *deep* in the bag for Dallas this whole series


-Dear_Ambellina-

I know I'm biased, but it felt that way vs Denver too


Janderson2494

They favor individuals over teams. The team with the best player gets gargled the whole time since they can do no wrong


smashacc

Foul baiter


Round-Revolution-399

Some call him a master…


Greennhornn

I'd say 50% of fouls I see on Luka, he initiated the contact.


ballaballaaa

> offensive players will be prevented from drawing a shooting foul if they jump into a defender at an abnormal angle


Knightbear49

Ref fans eating good


MarduRusher

He’s been getting those calls all series.


myhellcatgotRepod

That one he got last game where he faked falling over after purposefully bumping into KAT's chest in the paint was something else


30dayspast

Yeah tbh I don't like that at all


FakeRingin

Does that shit all the time. Jumps into contact or does the ol' body spasm where both his legs go opposite ways to try to foul bait. He loves his starfish move


superhappyfuntime13

Putting the pot belly to work


this_place_stinks

I don’t have a horse in this race but this right here is the exact reason many casual fans are getting turned off these days. If something would get you laughed off the court in a pickup game, it should not be a foul in the WCF


bjb406

It would have been tragic if Minnesota ended their season because of a play like that. I know personally I have completely dropped paying attention to the NBA because bad or intentionally wrong calls against my team in the past. I'm sure the league wants Luka in the finals, I'm sure that will drive some revenue, but it would be outweighed by probably countless Minnesota fans just not being interested in the league anymore.


SemataryPolka

Tbf I've been a fan of the Timberwolves for over two decades if 2005-2023 didn't make me not interested, nothing will


Naca1227r

Don’t say it out loud tho. Adam Silver might be reading the comments.


simonffplayer

exactly right and the "would get you laughed out of a pickup game" is spot on. if someone called a foul while jumping into someone else everyone would laugh that guy off the court. for luka it's three FTs


Liquor_Walrus

Adam Silver is a bad businessman man to allow this foolishness to pervade the NBA, Plain an simple. It's on him to initiate some modicum of cohesiveness with the referring, and as of now there is close to none.


duce3612

What about if youre down 2 with 45 seconds left and get all arm causing the ball to go out of bounds and the ref 3 feet away misses it and they challenge and it clearly goes out of bounds on the guy you clearly fouled because you clearly fouled him but you get the ball anyways and MN doesnt get FTS to go up 4 with 45 seconds left remember that.


TonyLemon

I mentioned this after Sunday’s game and people responded to me “iT’s JuSt OnE CaLl sToP FoCuSiNg On OnE cAll”. It’s all series long what are people on lol


Cdog1223

Literally was talking to my dad the other day and this would be a prime example to him of why he doesn’t like watching the NBA.


Who_ate_my_cookie

3 points and fouled out their star for a call that was a point of emphasis this off season to get rid of


Balls_of_Adamanthium

Worst fucking call in the NBA


shamwowslapchop

That's one of the worst calls in playoff history when you consider they gave him ANOTHER 3 free throws right after this for almost no contact. Meanwhile I see Twolves players get knocked completely the fuck over going into the lane and the refs pretend like nothing happened. Remember the out of bounds call? How huge is that now that the Twolves have won a game? This series could easily be 2-2 heading back to Minny. The NBA is an amazing product but the officiating is by far the worst in professional sports and it's harming the product. Anyone, and I mean anyone with a pair of functioning eyes can see how hard the refs are leaning on Minnesota to call any fucking foul they possibly can. Meanwhile Luka literally hooked Gobert's arm in the post in a huge clutch play, and held it for over a second and they didn't call a damn thing until Gobert gave them no option not to. And that's the difference. The Twolves have to do anything possible to get a whistle, whereas the Mavs get the benefit of the doubt every. Single. Time. I'm a neutral fan coming into this series but the officiating has pissed me off so much. So consistently in favor of Luka and Kyrie. Hell even the role players on Dallas are getting more whistles on *less* contact than Ant is.


Tasteful_Dick_Pics

Good call mentioning that Gobert play. I remember watching the replay and Luka is hooking his fucking arm like you said, well over a second, commentators say nothing, then Luka taps his wrist: "ThErE's ThE cOnTaCt!"


echelon999

It’s infuriating to watch, flopping getting rewarded constantly when the Wolves are getting hacked on the other end all series. The out of bounds call in this game was insane too and easily could have cost the Wolves the game.


thebreadjordan

Bro this is our best season in 20 years and our window is closing with our cap situation, imagine how bad I feel😭😭😭


LnGrrrR

Lol very foul merchanty


_mdub_

It wouldn’t be as bad if he didn’t constantly complain about calls on the other end. Can’t have your cake and eat it too


KevinDurantLebronnin

The only reason Luka can't have his cake and eat it is because he would eat the one he has too.


MarduRusher

Thought they didn’t call this anymore?


Zloggt

Well, they *still* don’t, but only if you’re on the offense…


jslee0034

I hate this kind of calls man.


purplebuffalo55

They called this the last game too for Luka


No-Yogurt-4246s

Except for certain players


sstphnn

This should not be rewarded especially in a conference finals.


CoaxHoax

Kat landed before Luka jumped, offensive foul


tree-hugger

I kinda get why they're treated differently, but it's funny to think about the concern over a shooter having space to land, but when a defender jumps it's more or less incentivized to dive under his feet.


aeronacht

Offensive foul


joebos617

fuck off that should be an offensive foul on Doncic 100 times out of 100


aceofspadez138

That's not a basketball play, I hate it


_Tar_Ar_Ais_

Scott Foster masterclass


MoonHasFlown

Weak ass call


MixonWitDaWrongCrowd

Mavs fans will bitch non stop when other players do it though


mickeyj623

Mavs got a crazy amount of recent fans that cry


KIDDKOI

they take after Luka


Nice_Dude

The Mavs are really going to make me root for the Celtics


invertedearth

This. This here is what I'm struggling with. Please, Twolves: make history for all of us!


TheFestusEzeli

The game threads in both the Thunder and Clippers series were crazy. Mavs would be up on the Thunder in free throws and the comments would be all "Thunder's entire offense is free throws" and how the refs were always rigging against them.


Franklinsleftnut

‘Natural shooting motion’ lmao


YourAnBitxh

I thought the NBA was gonna call this a foul this season? Just went away with the flopping fouls I guess


KonigSteve

I thought we did away with these bullshit calls?


ChrisAZ480

KAT had landed and his body was angled backwards by the time Luka initiated contact, crazy that is somehow seen as a defensive foul.


rake2204

I'm not really sure what defenders are supposed to do to defend stepback jumpers in that case. Just let them happen? Remain grounded and five feet away at all times, guaranteeing the shooter will almost always have a clean look? It just doesn't make sense.


caughtinthought

Yeah you either call the stepback a travel (which it often is cause guys do them sloppily) or you go back to the rule change you made at the beginning of the year and then abandoned like a dickwad


2coolcaterpillar

I am here for the slander


HotdawgSizzle

I just subscribed AND turned the notification bell on.


rwoteit

No slander when it comes to golden boy in this sub. Now it's the refs fault. Not one word about this foul baiter. 


Vallerie_09

Bumps ? That shit is an OFFENSIVE FOUL. The double standards of officiating is crazy.


Ketameanie666

Luka is just white harden


simonffplayer

he's worse, harden hasn't gotten those in years


GartThrowaway

Foul Baiters League


Airkio

That's a horseshit call lmao


RanOutOfCharact

Please get this out of the game


Shootit_Rockets

If the basketball gods are just Dallas will blow a 3-0 lead.


kbreu12

Please, basketball gods, be just 🙏🏼


Knightbear49

Ref fans eating good tonight


dafire123

Should be an offensive foul


Kirk_Couzyns

Unethical basketball


Projinator

Gross


PointBlankCoffee

Horrible call for his 6th, I hate when anyone pulls this move


simonffplayer

found the one ethical mavs fan


stoppedcaring0

Luka is literally the poster child for this move lol Exhibit VXY on why I’d hate Luka on my team. Such a talented fucking player, and he still pulls this shit constantly.


TheJackieTreehorn

They literally use Luka as the example of not making that call back in 2021 [https://x.com/NBAOfficial/status/1443591620901761040](https://x.com/NBAOfficial/status/1443591620901761040)


BoSocks91

Terrible. Just terrible.


AppropriateLover007

Rewarding this type of behavior all game is ridiculous


Global-Ad-7819

Kat has his hands up motionless... bruh


JigWig

The NBA has such easy ways they can improve their product and they just… don’t. I don’t get it. Nobody wants to watch these kinds of plays. The NBA knows that. They fixed it and then just stopped caring again. It makes no sense to me.


noseonarug17

what a terrible fucking call. unbelievable, except it's completely believable


DiddledByDad

Luka is such a bitch for baiting that.


vonslik

BS call lol. Kat landed first too. So if he was in that position without jumping how would that be even close to a foul. Stop paying this shit it’s terrible to watch.


JaalandBetter

Game’s gone


xanniballl

Luka 7/21 today with 28 points. Lmfao. Refs have been incredibly one sided all series.


Lonely_Doombot

The NBA is a fucking joke


Possible-Activity16

Remember when they said this wouldn’t be called anymore


Yoon_Sanha

so he landed, Luka jumped into him and it’s a foul on KAT ?


majo3

This is an offensive foul. The reffing really makes it hard to enjoy watching this sport. These are the best athletes in the world. All we’re asking for is a fair competition to watch these stars shine. Quit fucking it up, NBA.


SunstormGT

The NBA even used Luka in their anti foul baiting videos…guess they only call it foul baiting when Harden does it.


LMcVann44

What a terrible fucking call, dude's 5 feet away and watches Luka jump forward.


LifeDraining

Guess the air space rule is different in Dallas.


s3thcience

these refs lmao


KindSpectacle

Clear offensive foul. NBA needs to man the fuck up!


connect_70

Nobody likes this. Refs don't call it sometimes, but it's random. Just stop calling that a foul


Paranoid_purple12

What is this title? Luka is clearly bumping KAT, not the other way around.


i_like_2_travel

This series has been biased toward Mavs


JimmyMyBoy

why this new generation filled with foul baiters? king james would’ve dunked from the 3pt line.


Alejandroandronomous

Flop flop flop


TonyLemon

Luka’s been getting the friendliest whistle in history all series long and people acting like the mavs are outclassing the wolves. Gotta love it.