Foul-baiting. It is a phenomenon utilized by many of the league’s stars. For good reason, a noticeable portion of them are polarizing to fans. Some professionals in this category include James Harden and Trae Young–both maestros in the technique of forcing the officials to call a foul on the victimized defender.

Fans of the sport have voiced their displeasure of these tacky calls, and the game with this absence has been magnified with the conclusion of the 2020 Olympics. With the event using the established FIBA ruleset, a multitude of NBA actions were not allowed in Tokyo. 

NBA Superstar Damian Lillard voiced his experience of the game overseas compared to the NBA, stating in an interview with Mikey Domagdala of the Inside Buzz, “Best scorers in the NBA score from three and get fouled in FIBA, not as many foul calls; more physical. Also, no defensive 3 seconds so the paint is more crowded and refs don’t blow the whistle. It’s hard. There’s so many things that allow scoring to be easier in the NBA”. 

It was only inevitable before the association took action. Preceding the 2021-22 NBA Season, the league determined that a multitude of typical actions taken by the players were “non-basketball moves.” Some of these include:

• veering off path https://streamable.com/3m6u2o 
• overt/leg extensions on jump shots https://streamable.com/oym12a 
• off-arm movement to initiate contact (hooking) https://streamable.com/krnqt5 
• abnormal launch angle https://streamable.com/9jgwlj 

With the first few weeks of the season proceeding smoothly, it seemed that free throw attempts were down across the board. 

With these changes altering the number of attempts, some notable offenders and coaching staff members outcry at the tally and the decision to not benefit the atypical movement.

“Sometimes, I feel like, coming into a game, it’s already predetermined. I already have that stigma of getting foul calls” said James Harden. In addition, his head Coach Steve Nash called him the “poster boy,” for the new rules, both seeming visibly upset in various games throughout the first month of play. Harden, through the first 20 games, had only averaged 6.8 FTA/game–down from his average of 10.4 throughout his stint in Houston.

Another star hit by the recent rule change, Trae Young, also had words about referees swallowing their whistle. Complementary to agreeing with Harden about the stigma players have noticed, he ends in an interview saying, “I just hope they call it within the rules because I know the rules, too. I’ve done my research and my book work, too.” Through the first 20 games, Young’s free throws attempted in each contest averaged at 5.5–down from 8.7 just a season ago.

Even with stars disagreeing with the rule modification, the players’ adaptation has caused a noticeable decrease in the number of shooting fouls called, but is this change here to stay? Or is it merely a temporary occurrence?

Looking at the remainder of games played for the two stars aforementioned, along with other players, their FTA has increased considerably compared to their first 20 games played.

*Jimmy Butler has played a much lower amount of games past the Heat’s 21st game; left early in multiple games through this span

Looking at the statistics, the players who take mostly jump shots (Young, Harden, Curry) have been most affected by the rule change in the first 20 games. All three of Embiid, Antetokounmpo, and Embiid take a large portion of their shots closer to the basket–an area that hasn’t been as targeted. 

Notably, every player’s free throw attempts after the first 20 games increased, excluding the injury-prone Jimmy Butler. The highest jumps (Young and Harden) have even upped their volume exceeding the amount totaled in their previous seasons.

Looking at the jumps between the two different points of the season, it is evident that officials have returned to benefitting foul maestros such as Harden and Young. But what exactly is the source for this resurgence?

A problem referees are facing is the health and safety protocol. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, more than ⅓ of NBA-level officials have been placed in the protocol, causing many games to undergo with either one fewer official or rookie referees taking the mantle. These prolonged absences can attribute to the resurgence of free throw attempts, with the understandable intimidation pushed upon inexperienced referees by the veteran NBA players.

With nearly half of the season remaining, the rule changes will be tested. Will the trend of free throw attempts stay as it has been? Or will the rule alteration prove successful with experienced referees returning to action? Regardless, with the sport rapidly changing, the association has to evolve.

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Through twenty-one games of the 2018-19 NBA season, the Minnesota Timberwolves don’t have many things to be excited about. Andrew Wiggins’ numbers are down drastically from last year, Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging less scoring on greater volume, and the Timberwolves hold a mediocre 10-11 record. Oh, and just to add on that bad news, their best player, who they traded for last season, requested to leave Minnesota. With all that being said, there is certainly one story trending in Minnesota’s favor and that is the performance of Derrick Rose.

Is Vintage D-Rose Back?

With a lot of eyes being on the Timberwolves due to the polarizing Jimmy Butler situation earlier this year, Derrick Rose has quietly been evolving back into the Windy City Assassin that we all know and love. This season, Rose is putting up career highs in field goal percentage and three point percentage, which is 10% greater than his previous career high, and he is putting up 19 points a game coming off of the bench. The highlight of the season has undeniably been his scorching of the Utah Jazz for 50 points, which is his career high, and a game-winning block. Not only has Rose been extremely efficient while shooting, but he is averaging the second least turnovers of his career, behind last season, when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers before signing with Minnesota. These various achievements combine to give Rose the highest offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of his career at 118.

The three pointer used to be such a small aspect of Rose’s game, but it has taken a massive change for the better. His three point shooting percentage is up by a total of 16%. This improvement is an extreme threat for teams facing the Timberwolves, as Rose is obviously more well known for his driving ability. Now, with an improved 3-point shot, not only do defenders have to stay in front of Rose and not allow him to get to the basket, but they will also have to be wary of him taking a step back and launching a triple. This change of playstyle can be compared to LeBron’s improvement at the three ball. Just like Rose, James was not known for his long-range shooting earlier in his career.

This season has been so eye-popping for Rose that it is actually quite similar to his MVP season, if not better in some ways.

Derrick Rose hasn’t just been stuffing the statsheets. His value for the Wolves can not be understated. The Timberwolves rely heavily on Rose’s play, and the stats prove it. When he has a positive plus / minus rating (+/-), the Timberwolves have an 8-4 record. Meanwhile, the Wolves are just 1-6 in games where Rose has a negative plus / minus rating. Whether or not Rose plays well coming off of the bench is a key factor which often determines the result of the game.

The Timberwolves’ Troubles and Trends

Recently, the Timberwolves have looked much better, but that didn’t occur until after they began the season losing 9 of their first 13 games. In his 5th year with Minnesota, Andrew Wiggins hasn’t seemed to be the star Minnesota fans were hoping for when the team traded for him immediately after he was selected with the #1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. His first 13 games were spent shooting 41% from the field and scoring 17 points a game, 2 points less than his career average. Karl-Anthony Towns was not meeting the high expectations that he has as an All-NBA player either, averaging just 19.9 points per game on 45.9% shooting, which is 8% less than his career percentage. Jimmy Butler also may have contributed to the Timberwolves’ struggles early on. Butler finished with a negative plus / minus rating in eight of his ten games played for Minnesota, seven of which resulted in a loss.

Even with the troubles the Timberwolves have faced, Minnesota fans have a lot to look up to. After the trade that sent Butler to the 76ers for Dario Saric and Robert Covington, the Timberwolves have six wins over eight games. The most notable game of this stretch was their blowout win over the surging Portland Trail Blazers, in which Derrick Rose scored 17 points while shooting an efficient 53.8% from the field. Not only are the Timberwolves winning games, but their defense has improved immensely and now looks very menacing. According to NBA.com, Minnesota ranks #1 in the league in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) since the Butler trade, validating Thibodeau’s reputation as an elite defensive coach.

Conclusion

Derrick Rose is a key player to watch this season and with no injuries holding Rose back, this could be a scary Timberwolves team in the playoffs. Not only do they have multiple scoring options in Towns, Rose, a hopefully more consistent Wiggins, and spot-up shooting from their new additions of Saric and Covington, but their defense has also looked tremendous since the Jimmy Butler trade.

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