July 27, 1999
SportsLine wire reports

BOSTON -- New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy needed only 33 seconds to decide that he doesn't like the NBA's new crackdown on contact.

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That's how long it took for the referees to call three fouls on the Knicks during an exhibition game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. New York first-round draft pick Frederic Weis picked up the first one just 10 seconds into the game, and he had three total in its first three minutes and 16 seconds.

"I don't think NBA players are going to be asked to play like that. You don't want the best athletes in the world to try to play with no contact," Van Gundy said. "It's OK in the summer leagues with Frederic Weis. But I don't think people want to pay to see Allan Houston sit on the bench with two touch fouls, or Tim Duncan."

The pace of the whistles eventually slowed as the players learned what the officials would allow. But there were still 76 fouls in the 40-minute exhibition, about twice the rate of a typical NBA regular-season game.

"It's tough for me, because every time I touch somebody, they call a foul," said Weis, who learned to play rough in, of all places, France. "In Europe, you can push, even kill somebody, and there's no foul. After I learn how you play defense here, I'll be OK."

THE NEW GUIDELINES WERE created this summer after a panel of coaches, general managers, players and owners brainstormed over ways to improve the quality of the game. The consensus: Cut down on the pushing and grabbing that make it impossible for the offensive player to make his move.

"You've got to let scorers score," said Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, who served on the panel and would like to see a backdoor pass or pick-and-roll every once in a while. "Those were the great things about basketball during the '60s, '70s and the early part of the '80s that we don't see anymore."

Many of the "new" rules are just a crackdown on practices that have long been outlawed. Veteran NBA referee Dick Bavetta, monitoring the new rules in four summer leagues, puts the changes in four different categories:

Post play: Any attempt by the defensive player to "dislodge or displace" the offensive player from his position will be considered a foul.

Cutting: When the defender uses his shoulder, forearm or anything else to "reroute" the offensive player trying to cut through the middle, it will be called a foul.

Screens: The offensive player setting a screen must give the defensive player a chance to go around. In other words, no more moving picks. -

Off-ball contact: Clutching and grabbing to prevent the "fluid movement" of the offensive player is a foul.

WE'RE TRYING TO DIFFERENTIATE between aggressive play and rough play," Bavetta said. "We will allow aggressive play. We will not allow rough play."

Bavetta spent four hours Sunday night teaching the officials what they should be looking for, and talked to each team before its game. He will report back to the league, which will decide whether to continue the experiment in the exhibition season, and then there could be more tinkering before the regular season starts.

Still, it might take a little while for individual players to adjust their games to the new fluidity. And some teams that have tailored their rosters towards a physical style could be in for a major overhaul.

If the rules stick, that is.

"I think the league is committed to going in this direction," said Boston general manager Chris Wallace, whose team played a 50-minute first quarter when the rules were being tested in Los Angeles earlier this summer.

"It's going to take a while to filter out. This is what summer leagues are for."