Mutombo to Yao: Big Men Don’t Take Charges

Traditionally, stars don’t regularly take charges because you don’t want them battered over nothing. This precaution has led to the belief that stars are wusses who don’t care about anything but scoring, and maybe rebounding, unlike the real competitors who rack up charges. Charges are the heart of what little integrity the NBA has left, right? That is, unless they’re doled out too liberally, refs duped by so-called “floppers” often spirited over here from foreign shores. Supposedly that’s stopped, but the fine line between man’s man and coward can be tricky.↵
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↵Now, from the immortal Dikembe Mutombo, we have a new angle on the charge controversy. He’s told Yao that under no circumstances should a tall dude, whether star or scrub, look for those calls. From The Houston Chronicle:↵↵⇥“I’m very critical,” Mutombo said. “Those are bull. I told him that. He’s too tall to be taking charges. He needs to learn to play defense without using his chest. You don’t block a shot with your chest. Maybe Yao is listening to Shane (Battier). Maybe he wants to be a guard or something. Maybe he’s planning to lead the league in charges. So I have to stop him. I have to teach him to lead the league in blocked shots, not charges.”↵↵The implication here is that Battier, one of the experts in this field, can catch charges with honor because he’s not so tall. But to hear Deke tell it, big men, by virtue of being big, should have more pride than that. Whether they’re Yao Ming or Jamal Magloire. I just wonder if Mutombo has ever heard of Samuel Dalembert.↵
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↵Every center mentioned above is from another country. Draw your own conclusions.↵