This is going to sound like whining from a bitter Celtics fan, but it’s actually something I’ve been annoyed with all season long. Allegedly the NBA has a rule stating that you’re not allowed to hang on the rim unless you need to for safety purposes. The result of such is supposed to be a technical foul. I looked it up, and it’s listed in the official rulebook under “Hanging on Rim (Deliberate) 12A IV a 40.”
But in reality this “rule” does not exist; kind of like “travelling.” Which is OK, but then the league should just admit that it doesn’t exist. Guys do it all the time. The great king LeBron himself swears by it.
Slapping the backboard is supposed to be a technical also. As is lifting your head above the rim “chin up” style. On Tuesday night with 4 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter of the Celtics/Knicks game Kenyon Martin did all three of these on the same play (it’s at the 20 second mark of this clip):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cc0nto0SPF4
That’s about as easy a call as there is to make, but there was no whistle.
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