[Highlight] Shai Gilgeous-Alexander baits Pelle Larsson with a pump fake and takes a shot while being hit by Pelle. The officials call an offensive foul on SGA late in the 4th quarter (with replays). Heat and Thunder commentaries
It should be called as an offensive foul more often. It’s not a shooting motion and the only reason to do it is foul baiting.
Agreed. The fact that it’s never called as an offensive foul though does make it suspect when the refs decide to do so lol. 10 games ago SGA would’ve gotten free throws for this without a doubt. Hate how the league is dictating this shit.
You all don’t understand the rule and then complain about it. This exact clip is a textbook offensive foul, because SGA jumps sideways to create contact, which is deemed unnatural shooting motion.
The other calls where the defender jumps up and forward, and then the offensive player jumps into the defense, is still a shooting foul as it can be deemed as a natural shooting motion.
I can say with relative confidence that this exact sequence has not been called this way consistently this season.
Nobody here is confused about what this should be called. We all understand the very obvious distinction you are saying and why it should be offensive.
The point is that isn’t the way refs have actually been calling it. This exact play is always called a defensive foul. Trust me, check the flair…
Upvote for honesty. SGA is an insanely skilled player and I just wish he’d do this stuff less. He’d honestly be my favorite player in the league if he cut down on the gimmicks. He doesn’t need them to be successful.
Don’t forget the two weeks at the beginning of the season a few years ago when it was a point of emphasis where they called it a lot then stopped.
True but I’ll take the calls now! SGA did this so many times vs the nuggets last year in the playoffs
It should be an offensive foul literally everytime
This is only an offensive foul because of the fact that SGA jumped sideways to create the contact.
It’s still a shooting foul if the defender jumps into you and then you jump forward into the defender.
You can also add that there is pretty much and direct shoulder contact here… if he puts in less shoulder I think shai might have gotten the call. But that’s almost a shoulder tackle.
I agree but more often than not players who jump sideways still get that call and that’s the problem
Maybe. Then why isnt it regularly called that way?
It’s a whistle (heat) check. “How obvious an offensive foul contact can I initiate and still get a whistle in my favor?”
Lol, Pelle is literally doing acrobatics to not get in SGA’s way and as soon as Pelle is in the air, SGA changes direction and jumps sideways & throws his shoulder into defender to initiate contact and chucks a ball in the general direction of the basket
It’s a strong indicator of just how ludicrous the SGA whistle is, that he even tried that shit.
Not even ashamed about it. He should be embarrassed for trying to act like he got fouled. Fuck, I hate SGA’s ref treatment. He finally got called for this offensive foul here, maybe because of all the fan social media backlash at the joke officiating around him. It’s why I loathe OKC and hope anybody else wins the title (even though there’s no beef between them teams I like). That bullshit foul grifting makes me turn off the games, no matter which other team is involved.
Hold up. Are you trying to say players don’t lean in with their shoulders and jump sideways to shoot jump shots?! What basketball are you watching. I always do a shoulder shove, head lean, and elbow poke as i one plant one leg with zero power as im not looking at the basket and throw somewhere in it’s vicinity.
Yeah, I hate the palms up “what do you mean?” posture he adopts after ramming into Pelle.
Damn and your guy is one of the main culprits of this… interesting take 💯
Not OP but I don’t fault Shai or Deni or Dame or Embiid or Luka or any of the people who do this all that much considering it’s usually rewarded and getting to the line is a very effective way to score if you’re a good free throw shooter. I would like to see the league start treating this type of thing as an offensive foul more often to deter players from doing this.
Lmao this was one of the refs’ “points of emphasis” for 2 weeks last year, and like the rest of their points of emphasis, almost completely abandoned calling it after the time was up. Hope they do start calling them offensive fouls again.
For sure, I think the free throw rates are down quite a bit compared to the start we had too, but next thing you know we are giving calls for guys swinging their legs, or pushing off and jumping on the defender trying to get back pr jumping to the side for no reason to get contact in the playoffs
Exactly, like if someone jumps under your feet intentionally à la Bruce Bowen, that’s a foul. But if you jump 3 feet forward into a guy’s feet that jumped straight up and down, and you land on his foot, that should not be a damn foul on the defender.
That pisses me off because they’re stealing that shoot and fall down immediately schtick from Curry, but at least Curry wasn’t doing it to draw fouls. He was doing it to protect his ankles and it wasn’t for a gimmicky advantage. If that’s the rule then Curry should lead the league in FT’s
It’s also a classic Reggie Miller shot. Kick your legs out so defenders can’t get close without getting a whistle.
Reggie’s shot mechanic reminded slightly of a fadeaway, which is honestly fine… What is not fine is when players jump FORWARD to land 3 feet inside the 3pt line.
Dillon Brooks did this exact move to Ausar Thompson on Thursday. Brooks shoots behind th 3 point line, but jumps about 3 feet forward into Ausar’s space. Ausar’s feet never got close to the 3-point line. Referees called it a flagrant on Ausar for his “reckless” close-out
I find that rule nonsensical the way it’s called right now, on a three pointer you need to give the attacker some room to land leading to weak contests or even no contests at all (also because of the things you mention, kicking the legs out, jumping forward)
But on midrange shoots you can clothesline the offensive player and thats a no call? (I explicitly remember this happening to Knecht on the game against the Hornets for example) You can defend the offensive player close enough that you both fall to the ground after the shoot and thats a no-call
There is literally a line drawn at the three point line where landing space stops mattering
Exactly. Refs calling them now to change narrative so the can control the outcomes in the playoffs
Exactly. They’ve intentionally made a lot of the rules super ambiguous so that no matter the player or situation the calls can go either way and they can move a game any direction they’d like to.
It’s the main difference in foul baiting. For example, Kobe absolutely foul baited, but he did it with a skilled array of moves that would get defenders hungry to get in his space. That way, a natural shooting motion would result in a foul, and he’d be taking legitimate shots to not only draw the foul, but attempt an and-1.
Nowadays, offensive players are moving into defenders’ space and initiating their own contact, then flailing using non-basketball moves to show “contact”. Defenders are entitled to their own space as well, but the refs have completely abandoned that part of the rule book.
The rules have not changed much at all, they’ve actually improved in many aspects. But the refs do not follow the book anymore and just decide based off of antics and calls from the league executives on what they decide the rules are for that night. So many coaches bitch about how there’s no consistency in officiating but can’t say too much without getting fined.
Pierce’s pump fake was deadly too. If the defender jumps forward into you then you elevate straight up into jumper that is a clean and successful drawn foul.
If the defender jumps straight up and you elevate forward into defender as a ref I might be less inclined call that a foul.
If Im reffing and I see an offensive player jump directly into a defender then im giving the offensive player a foul for undercutting. How long until we see a reverse Kawhi and Zaza
At some point, maybe 10-15 years ago. “Drawing the foul” became a legit strategy in basketball and has devolved into an entire generation of skilled players performing these moves on autopilot. As you mention, drawing a foul used to be a strategy to get an and-1…the players were still attempting to make the shot. Now the goal is to “get fouled”. The head snap on a dribble drive is almost a given at this point. The goal is now a dumb game of trying to trick the referee into blowing the whistle. The goal used to be to score the basketball. 🤷🏻
This literally happened last game in the bucks spurs gsm where the shooter got the guy in the air and jumped sideways to get contact. Unfortunately they gave the shooter FTs. Just be consistent is all I want
This is sga’s signature go to move, haha
“Where did he make contact???”
2 seconds later
“It’s unfortunate he got hit in the stomach, but…”
That thunder announcer is such an annoying cunt
They are the worst
Up there with the warriors, sixers and kings for worst announcers.
Yeah. I’ll also point out that the Celtics announcers were amazing. I’ve only ever heard them against the Spurs last week and they were fantastic. Completely fair and hyped up players and coaches on both teams.
Obviously, they had a lot of love for Kornet. There was one play where I think either Kornet was called for a foul or out of bounds and Kornet was protesting. They said something like, “If Kornet said he didn’t do it, no need for a review. He’s a stand up guy and would lie to us.” It was great lol.
Scalabrine will often be mad at a call against the Celtics, see the replay, and be like “ok, yeah, that’s the correct call” while laughing at himself. He’s really improved as a color guy and has found a good balance of rooting for the Celtics while also being impartial to calls. And we all love Kornet. That’ll never change
The annoying thing about Scal is the stuff like “I’ve never seen a player like Payton Pritchard” and so on. Every Celtics player is an unbelievable superstar. Maybe he’s trying to channel Tommy Heinsohn
He does that for the other teams players aswell though..
Maybe sometimes, but he’s certainly a homer
They definitely get hyped and love when the Celtics do well, but Scal and Drew do such a good job of praising other teams and their players. Scal just loves good ball and correct calls. There has been a lot of times where a call has gone the C’s way and he has said he disagrees with it. Makes it better imo as a fan of either teams knowing a guy has your back when your rocking but will also keep it a buck if the team is ass and not blame it on the refs or something else.
As a Warriors fan I agree, our radio guy is amazing though.
worse than the Dubs?
1a, 1b. I think Thunder are worse but it’s probably because some of the Warriors were likable
oh no we really are washed
“He’s jumping forward”
“He’s on the side of him”
Can’t seem to make up his mind
yup, already decided he’s going to disagree with the call now he’s got to figure out why, while watching it be a blatantly obvious offensive foul.
I cant stand announcers who cant just see the fucking play and agree with the correct call. This is why i love Scalabrine.. Dude calls a foul a foul no matter who it benefits and immediately calls himself out if he was wrong on the initial call and sees the replay.
The white mamba is one of the best for sure.
I love their pre-pubescent voice inflections
Haha cant make this shit up
Dawg, SGA does a push off with his arm at 28 seconds before the foul is even called. Pushing off like that is a foul as well and they never call that shit on him it’s nuts. But Thunder fans think it’s an okay move because he gets away with it all the time.
They don’t call it on anyone anymore. It’s incredibly frustrating
yea, and sga drives on most of his points. so he does that every time
He’s definitely not the only one. It’s basically the whole league.
Thats the Tatum special
Tatum loves doing that lol
The Lebron special special. Can’t tale that away from the game now.
“he didn’t even hit him!”
“look he’s jumping off to the side! we don’t make those calls!”
i love it
He never says it wasn’t a foul either. He just says “you don’t make that call!”
I put our announcers with the Warriors’ announcers as the top two homerific broadcasts I can’t listen to. It’s bad bad.
Guess we got blind people in this sub. A normal pump fake will always result in a shooting foul, you can’t fucking jump sideways into a defender cause it’s not even a shooting motion.
there are times where i feel like shai tries to bait fouls at the expense of an easy bucket.
like in this clip. the defender is jumping to the side and behind him. he has a ton of space to his left. he can take a little step to the left and have that wide open mid range 2 that he loves to take. instead of taking the easy shot that he makes most of the time, he tries to foul bait.
Being in foul trouble changes the way players play defense. I see the strategy there. I fucking hate watching it but I see what he’s doing.
yeah, it’s the smart thing to do. i understand why he does it. it’s just infuriating to watch and it goes against the spirit of the game. makes the product worse to watch.
it’s also not even getting larsson into foul trouble here. guys got 3 fouls and 1 minute left. it’s just how shai has programmed himself to play
100%
being in foul trouble
There’s only a minute left in the game though. Pelle had 3 sure but he’s not gonna play meaningfully differently with 3 vs. 4 fouls with that little time left
Yeah I was speaking more generally about his approach to basketball.
It was a close game though so he might have been considering overtime, in which case racking up the opponent’s foul count still kind of makes sense.
Great comment. You got him with the fake JUST TRY AND MAKE THE SHOT instead of this foul baiting bs.
Love watching old Jordan clips, had defenders bite on pump fakes all the time. Then he puts the ball in the ring for 2 points. Didn’t need to jump into defenders and shoot free throws to get he’s ppg
Lmfao what, Jordan was one of the most prolific at going for the ribs of a pump fake defender
https://youtu.be/-SOFTlUoHck
0:25
He absolutely did wtf are you talking about
Well u can they just happened to call it properly this time , shit like this is regularly called as a defensive foul
0:49-1:37 These announcers are so terrible.
You just remember this is what thunder fans listen to every night so when they get in here in argue with us, they watched and listened to a completely different game than we did
Ethical basketball. Get in here thunder fans
We had the same problem in Boston with so many of our fans taking Heinsohn’s homerism literally. It was painful.
Nobody did it like Tawmmy
Pot, meet kettle.
You think homer commentary is your ally? You merely adopted the homer. I was born in it, molded by it.
“Weres the contact? It’s unfortunate he takes the shot [to the stomach], but you don’t make that call.”
Bro’s just yappin.
Yeah what were they watching
Their eyes don’t go higher than SGA dick so they can’t see the play properly.
This sounds like a “divide by 0” situation
They, unfortunately, don’t have access to good optometrists in Oklahoma because all of the good ones left.
Everyone complains about the Warriors home announcers, but OKC’s fly under the radar. Worst in the league by far.
Typical OKC flared redditors
They all gonna come out now by the dozens and argue and insult.
What do you expect from a state that red and barren?
The Thunder announcers are so terrible.
Awkward silence in a late game scenario, into one guy commentated it, into one guy complaining and lying at the same time like a child. Thunder broadcast actually sucks.
Eric Reid is a gem in comparison.
Be great if they called this all the time. Jumping lateral for a shot, yeah nah.
Yeah because if they called a foul on Pelle here, genuinely what tf are you supposed to do to defend this, literally can not defend this. he gets up but one leg stays so naturally the defender has to contest without fouling, but then he immediately gets back on both feet and jumps into Pelle as he is coming down from the jump for no reason at all? And then shoots the ball? The sad thing is I am not sure fi they would call it if Pelle didn’t fall to the floor, maybe they would give the defensive foul instead.
Probably had to do with the fact that this time he jumped into Larsson after already faking him out and leaving the shot uncontested. Even these refs can’t ignore that Pelle had 0 part in initiating contact and it could only go on the offense here, plus ofc him selling it definitely helped get the call.
As a “soccer” fan I am proud - Sweden is not the football country but he learned how to sell the call
Offensive player jumping onto the defensive player should be called an offensive foul though. Not even exclusive to SGA, they should call it on every player that attempt to foul bait by jumping into the defender for free throws.
Their is a full arm push off with an open palm the to abdomen in the same sequence , smh
If they start calling arm push offs all the iso players will get fouled out by the end of first quarters lmao
Good
Yeah good that illegal contract especially when it’s as blatant as this with a complete arm extension with a palm out. They are extremely lenient on push offs guys like Shai and Tatum do some of the most absurd pushoffs in the nba
Brunson would be fucked
Tatum wouldn’t have a career
They’ve allowed offensive players to push off completely with impunity. It’s sad honestly
They finally remembered they have this as a rule
“while being hit by”. lmao…dude jumped into the defender as always. glad its an offensively foul. now call a tech when he whips his head back like a bitch and were ready for the future.
I agree with this call, but i don’t agree with how subjective the ref’s keep calling it, the inconsistency is absolutely abysmal for the level the NBA product should be at.
I do actually support this being called more, but it has to be consistent. Rules mean nothing if they aren’t consistent
100%.
Just yesterday I saw a highlight from a couple days ago (might have been a magic game, i can’t remember) with a far worse sideways jump then this on a 3pt attempt, dieing seconds, and they called the defensive foul, fucking laughable.
I just want consistency, thats all.
Yeah that’s my only issue. If they want to call this a foul I’m fully on board. But it seems to me they let it slide like 75% of the time.
Very good call refs
For all the Thunder fans that are down voting to hell other fans in their community that think it is the right call, answer down here if you think it’s not, WITH ACTUAL REASONING.
Pelle starts off in LGP, in front of Shai and out of his cylinder. Shai pump fakes, so Pelle jumps towards his shooting hand, the right. By doing so, he’s able to not invade his cylinder at all by avoiding contact.
Shai makes a clear unnatural shooting motion on his attempt, charging into Pelle.
Is the league slowly healing? Thunder commentators are such rats lmao.
I’m more amazed the refs could see past their draftkings bets to call this accurately, never thought I’d see the day.
I really don’t understand how SGA gets the whistle he does, all he does is foul-bait and intentionally force indirect contact on every shot attempt, I mean sure you could blame undisciplined defense on a lot of the calls, but so many times he pulls this garbage fully knowing the whistle will come.
Honestly hilarious to watch his reactions when he doesn’t get the whistle, I hate this guy. OKC announcers are the worst sore losers behind GSW lmao
“A natural… action there” (ironically from the Heat announcers) as he dives diagonally into the chest of a defender 3ft away from him hoping for a call.
Ethical ball
Unethical Basketball
Sideways jump shoulder first into bro.
Good call
He even hit him with his patented fully extended arm push off right in front of the ref before the offensive foul.
Cry me a river OKC.
Flopper got outflopped here lol
That ain’t even a flop. that’s around the solar plexus, on a guy not expecting it, and an “MVP” who went his way to hit it expecting a call in his favor. being hit there will always make you flinch.
Not a flop, I’ve been hit where he was before it hurts like a fucking bitch
Correct call.
I hope this starts a trend as it’s gotten out of hand. And the Thunder calls showing again how much they’re homers
Please call this 3-5x a game on Brunson. Sga and Luka. Maybe it will go away. This attempt looks ridiculous and the right call.
This is what I’ve been saying. The game’s gotten harder to watch.
Harden made it obviously worse and since then we now have had Embiid, Luka, SGA, Brunson, Jimmy and others playing the same way and it’s unwatchable, unethical buckets.
For once called it
this should always be an offensive foul, like if you’re initiating contact as a shooter, that’s an easy call. this should be a standard, tons of shooters getting away with it.
That Thunder commentator trying to dispute it is an idiot.
Why is this an offensive foul now? I’m glad it is, but he does that multiple times every game and they always call the full on the defense.
Shai jumped sideways to initiate contact cause Pelle jumped to his right side.
If Pelle jumped straight into him, Shai could have shot normally and rightfully got a foul.
Good. Now call it every time he does it instead of once a month.
FINALLY!!!!!!!!
Good call. Now they just need to be consistent and call the egregious ones every time and ignore the others.
I loved that call
If they start calling the classic SGA push off on his drives, the entirety of the OKC fanbase might implode
Foul baiting Mfer
Also fully extended his arm for his signature move right before that.
See the push off with his hand before the shoulder check
Good. Stop making foul baiting part of basketball
Good. I hope they continue to call it. Jumping sideways is not his natural shooting motion.
“You don’t make that call” well you should more often NBA
And still some people be wondering why many don’t like this guy
That’s an offensive foul. That is not his regular shooting motion—foul baiting. SGA is a top-3 player in this league; idk why he has to play so unethically at times.
SGA the Thunder Flopper.
That was an offensive foul, glad refs are finally not giving him free throws for that.
How the fuck are you gonna try to foul bait if your shoulder actually sends the dude crashing down
Good call by the refs. Finally.
This is the right call. They should do this every time. It’s good for basketball.
This is one of the calls that will force SGA to change his game if it’s called consistently. Pump fake, silly unnatural motion, contact, throw the ball in the general direction of the basket, profit.
Good it’s a clear offensive foul and dangerous. Trash basketball
“Ethical basketball” on display again
If they were consistent with this Thunder would have double or triple the losses
Anyone who plays the game like SGA did there should be suspended. NO ONE wants foul baiting in the game.
Correct call by the refs. If the offensive player is jumping into someone forward like that it should be a offensive foul
That’s the correct call and I wish they called it more often
He does that shit every single game, about fuckin time
Fantastic
He looks like a cartoon character.
“while being hit by Pelle” sounds like you believe it was a bad call?
That’s a pathetic bag. Not shitting on shai but the league. Imagine being rewarded for this. Imagine thinking this is a good play and shot. Imagine a reality where it is. Well we’re in it. Imagine having the ball and thinking. Well. I’ll just push off. Then pump fake and jump into the defender. THATS NOT HOW YOU PLAY BASKETBALL.
“He’s a joy to watch. People don’t realize that they’re missing history being made.”
-OKC fans
Take that, foul-baiting Shai
Flop around and find out.
oh so this is why thunders fans seem so un self aware when talking about foul baiting lmao
He was doing way too much here. Bro is basically diving into defenders trying to hunt a foul instead of looking for a real shot.
I actually like Shai a lot but I’m glad this was called. Absolutely horrendous attempt to bait a foul lol
Two offensive fouls on one play from Shai.
Absolutely shocked that either were called…
If you make someone jump you need to use that time to create space and make a play. Intentionally jumping into a defender who cannot control himself (because he’s in the air) needs to be an offensive foul every time.
Pelle did not hit SGA lol. Caption is off
It starts with a full extension attempt at a stiff arm. sga is not fun to watch.
Damm SGA plays goofy ass Basketball.
Bitch move by SGA. Bitch move by so many NBA stars. Crazy how I at 5 foot fucking 8” and step back, pump fake, and get a clean step through layup/jumpshot everytime on a defender of any height, but the MVP of the fucking NBA has to weird-pivot step into someone’s chest to draw a foul instead OF JUST STEPPING THROUGH AND GETTING A FUCKING LAYUP???
I love it when this kind of crappy play fails. Foul baiting should be shamed. Instead of a penalty the opposing players should be permitted to throw the ball at your face and get possession.
You mean they are starting to get the correct calls on OKC finally ??
They are a physical team which is fine , but man do they push off and instigate contact a loooooot
Can’t stand this kind of basketball
What a loser. And OKC fans have the audacity to complain about unfair calls
The offense gets away with literal push offs every game.
That thinking basketball video really summarized the issues we have with basketball currently.
I like this call. Take this foul baiting crap out of the game. I’m all good if you catch someone on a pump and go straight up initiating contact while trying to shoot, but this play is just foul baiting and not fun to watch.
glory to chris finch for starting it all. refs finally got ashamed
They need to call this WAY more often. Can’t stand him.
Nature is healing
Just a great comparison for the caliber of commentators. Reid and Crotty are true gems. Call it even keel, even if it’s against their home team. So many of the other duos make you want to watch the game on mute.
Should be a flagrant. Nobody wants to watch that
This is hilarious, especially Shai being completely confused why he didn’t get the call like he usually does.
Also do OKC fans live in a complete state of delusion where they enjoy their commentators? They are making a strong argument for most obnoxious ITL over the last few years.
I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS
Turns out shoulder tackling a defender in the stomach is an offensive foul after all. Glad we figured that out.
Happy that this got called. Confused it was against Shai. Normally just breathing near him would be a blocking foul.
Thunder fan here. Absolutely an offensive foul.
The OKC announcer was shocked. YOU DON’T MAKE THAT CALL !!!
Good to see a ref actually make the rare correct call.
Well that’s great. Those are unethical imo
Now call it every time
Well it was an offensive foul he lean in with his shoulder.
Now call it like this for a whole season, refs can’t last more than 1-2 weeks
This is all we’re asking for
Give that ref a raise right now
“where did he make the contact with him” are you fucking blind
Wait, did the Refs actually got that right? Wow thats a shocker!
Bout time they called this!
Well thank the great good Lord for this! Now do the continuation fouls where they get touched and throw up some bullshit shot. I know I’m asking a lot.