The NBA sent teams a memo on Tuesday morning saying it was going to crack down on “discontinued dribbles” — better known as carrying. The referees in the Golden State Warriors vs. Miami Heat game later in the day were on top of it. There were at least four carrying violations called in the game, with three of them going against young Warriors guard Jordan Poole.
The NBA is enforcing carrying now, and Jordan Poole was the first victim
Jordan Poole was busted for carrying three times with the NBA’s new point of emphasis.
Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Here’s a video compilation of Poole getting whistled for a turnover because of carrying.
The refs also called Miami’s Caleb Martin for carrying during the game.
Steve Kerr talked about the league’s new point of emphasis after the game, saying Poole got busted so often because the coach he didn’t check his email and see the memo. Kerr said that the entire league has been guilty of carrying violations since Allen Iverson convinced the refs it was a legal move. The coach admitted that Poole does carry the ball.
Draymond Green also spoke about the carrying rule after the game. “Every guard in the NBA carries a lot. If it’s a point of emphasis all year, let’s see it.”
Here’s what the NBA rulebook says on carrying:
A player who is dribbling may not put any part of his hand under the ball and (1) carry it from one point to another or (2) bring it to a pause and then continue to dribble again.
Here’s an excellent video from Thinking Basketball on how rule changes like carrying helped juice scoring in the NBA. Does the league really want everyone to go back to dribbling like Bob Cousy? Probably not.
With most NBA points of emphasis, it’s enforced early and then typically forgotten about. There’s a certain type of fan that always wants ball handlers called for carrying or traveling, and now they are getting their wish. Well, be careful what you wish for. The game is more fun when ball handlers have more control over the ball.
One thing is for sure: Poole is one of the blatant offenders of carrying in the entire NBA. It will be fun to see how this rule is enforced and how players adjust to it throughout the season.
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