Sports

Controversial Goaltending Calls Shows That NBA Needs Rule Change

#NBA
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Karl-Anthony Towns

Getty Image / Stephen Maturen


Game 1 of the Western Conference, won by the Mavericks, 108-105, over the Timberwolves, was a fantastic basketball game. But, a controversial call late in the game has everyone talking.

With under two minutes remaining, Minnesota forward Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to have tied the game with a fantastic putback dunk. But, the basket was waved off due to basketball interference. Take a look.

Here is the applicable rule that makes what Karl-Anthony Towns did illegal.

Players Shall not touch any ball from within the playing area when it is above the basket ring and within the imaginary cylinder. -Rule 11, Section 1, B.

So, technically, Karl-Anthony Towns probably did commit basket interference. But, does anyone really believe that an offensive player, or a defensive player for that matter, shouldn’t be able to touch a basketball that has that high of a bounce off the rim? Clearly, players should be able to make a play on that ball.

In fact, in FIBA (international) basketball, the rule set that governs national team play as well as pretty much all overseas basketball, the ball is live to be grabbed or batted by both teams. This video explains it well.

This, in my opinion, would be a great rule change that rewards athleticism and pure shooting. You might think this would make it much harder to score, but that’s not really the case when you watch FIBA basketball.  In fact, you don’t even notice it for the vast majority of the game.

Plus, it would lead to a lot more highlight dunks, which I think is something we all want. And, maybe this is something that could increase the importance of athletic bigs who can’t shoot very well. That’s a demographic of player that has seen their importance diminish as the league has become more about guard play and spacing recently. Ironically, that applies much more to the other Timberwolves starting big, Rudy Gobert, than it does to Karl-Anthony Towns.

Wolves fans, I bet you agree with me that the rule needs to be changed!