.....But for as shrill as this year's cacophony of whistles has been at times, few coaches and players seem legitimately worried. Most believe the refs will stop calling the incidental contact once the regular season gets underway. "Every year it's the same story," said one coach who wished to remain anonymous. "Give it two or three weeks, and it'll be back to the way it was."
Unfortunately, it has at times led to confusion on the court -- with coaches and players seeking clarification from refs during breaks in the action -- and taken the flow out of many games while turning them into glorified free throw shooting contests. A whopping 86 fouls were called in one Bulls-Hornets overtime game, with a combined 104 free throw attempts. In last Friday's TNT doubleheader, the Hawks and Heat combined for 68 fouls and 81 free throws in the first game while the Clippers and
Lakers combined for 63 fouls and 86 free throws in the nightcap. (50 for the Flamers, 17 for Kobadiah :fire: Springfield zero for the Clippers starting guards
combined. So some calls will not change at all.)
entire article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writ...ouls/index.html
