Doing whatever is necessary to keep the opposing team from driving the lane for an easy layup. “Bully Ball” is what ESPN writers are calling it. Everyone remembers when the Pistons bullied their way to two National Basketball Association championships by “ushering in a no-layups area.” Any person entering that no-layups area knew that they were about to be punished. NBA Commissioner David Stern is against this style of play and believes that it is bad for business. “The last thing David Stern wants at the end of his watch is for his league to revive something he’s spent decades eradicating, the fouls he called “ludicrous” in the Hack-a-Shaq era,” according to Henry Abbott of ESPN The Magazine.
NBA teams use “tackle basketball” because it works! “SportVu, a company with unprecedented NBA player movement data captured by cameras arrayed around the court, finds that a typical NBA possession is worth about a point. Drive into the paint, though, and SportVu says you can expect 1.22 points on average,” according to Abbott. This research proves that driving to the lane generates more points than the alternative, which is why NBA players tend to drive to the lane when they are behind in a game. But one player’s points on average driving to the lane surpasses that percentage, LeBron James is that player and his average is 1.68.
In a recent playoff game against the Miami Heat the Chicago Bulls went into the game knowing what they had to do. Head coach of the Bulls Tom Thibodeau promised a “Cage Match” before the game and that is what viewers got. James was slammed to the ground by Kirk Hinrich, hit in the head three times by Taj Gibson, and “slammed in the face by Nate Robinson,” according to Abbott. The Bulls were doing something right because they beat the Heat and put a stop to their 27 game winning streak. The playoff game that took place after was called a little differently by the referrers in a attempt to mediate the tension so the game wouldn’t get too out of hand. No one wants to see a professional athlete get seriously hurt and everyone benefits from good competition. Playoff games get really intense and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the games turn out.
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