Flopping has been a part of the NBA for years. The most evident period I can recall personally was when Vlade Divacs routinely flopped against everyone, but most specifically Shaquille O’Neal.
During the NBA Playoffs this season, flopping has again been brought to the forefront. Grizzlies players have accused Blake Griffin & the entire Clipper team of flopping. Zach Randolph called the Clippers the biggest flopping team he’s ever seen.
Last night, David Stern was interviewed during the Heat v. Pacers game after handing LeBron James his 3rd MVP trophy in 4 years.
Aside from the conversation about LeBron, Stern was asked about flopping and I, for one, loved his response. In addition to saying that he’s been pushing for penalties to be leveled against “floppers”, he said the following:
“I think it’s time to look at (flopping) in a more serious way,” Stern said, “because it’s only designed to fool the referee. It’s not a legitimate play in my judgment. I recognize if there’s contact (you) move a little bit, but some of this is acting. We should give out Oscars rather than MVP trophies.”
I think Stern is right. Flopping has gotten way out of hand. We even saw a great display from the Heat in last night’s game.
The overall officiating was called into question last night as well as many fans believe the Heat received more than their customary share of “help calls” from the refs. Look, LeBron is going to get a ton of calls. He’s the best player on the planet, he’s big, fast & strong & can get to the rim whenever he wants.
The issue for me, is the ridiculous amount of calls Wade gets. Last night he drove to the rim & actual kicked the defender & the defender got the foul. Last year in the finals he routinely ran over & through JJ Barea & others & the Barea & other Mavericks got the fouls.
Wade will get his fair share of calls also. He’s a great player & drives & initiates a lot of contact. But he shouldn’t get as many as he does. He seems to get even more calls than LeBron & other superior players & if you look at his game, it’s almost solely built around creating contact, drawing fouls & getting easy buckets.
