{"id":23948,"date":"2019-05-19T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T22:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/not-every-nba-player-will-put-their-body-on-the-line\/"},"modified":"2019-05-19T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T22:16:00","slug":"not-every-nba-player-will-put-their-body-on-the-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/local-news\/not-every-nba-player-will-put-their-body-on-the-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Not every NBA player will put their body on the line"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.8642803877703\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-366115-333\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Morry Gash \/ AP File Photo | AP | The Toronto Raptors' Kawhi Leonard is called for a charge on Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova during the first half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series in Milwaukee on May 15. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>The Toronto Raptors&#8217; Kawhi Leonard is called for a charge on Milwaukee Bucks&#8217; Ersan Ilyasova during the first half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series in Milwaukee on May 15. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won&#8217;t always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.<\/strong><br \/>Morry Gash \/ AP File Photo | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec.jpg\" alt=\"The Toronto Raptors' Kawhi Leonard is called for a charge on Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova during the first half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series in Milwaukee on May 15. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aaron Gash \/ AP File Photo | FR171181 AP | The Detroit Pistons' Langston Galloway reacts after drawing a charge during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee on April 17. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>The Detroit Pistons&#8217; Langston Galloway reacts after drawing a charge during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee on April 17. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won&#8217;t always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.<\/strong><br \/>Aaron Gash \/ AP File Photo | FR171181 AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-1.jpg\" alt=\"The Detroit Pistons' Langston Galloway reacts after drawing a charge during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee on April 17. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Rick Bowmer \/ AP File Photo | AP | Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) takes a charge from Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale, rear, during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Salt Lake City in April. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) takes a charge from Utah Jazz forward Royce O&#8217;Neale, rear, during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Salt Lake City in April. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won&#8217;t always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.<\/strong><br \/>Rick Bowmer \/ AP File Photo | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Taking_A_Charge_Basketball_84954-a8eec-2.jpg\" alt=\"Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) takes a charge from Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale, rear, during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Salt Lake City in April. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won't always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/not-every-nba-player-will-put-their-body-on-the-line\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/not-every-nba-player-will-put-their-body-on-the-line\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Toronto guard Kyle Lowry squarely planted his feet and braced for contact with Milwaukee Bucks athletic big man Giannis Antetokounmpo barreling down on him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Lowry, one of the best in basketball at taking a charge, absorbed the punishment and drew a foul against the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo. These days, not everybody is willing to do what Lowry does in the fast-paced, open-floor NBA game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think it\u2019s kind of a lost art,\u201d DeMarcus Cousins of the Golden State Warriors said of taking a charge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Spurs coach Gregg Popovich won\u2019t argue that sentiment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt seems so, doesn\u2019t it? You can count on one hand how many charges are taken over the course of five or 10 games, in some situations,\u201d Popovich said with a chuckle. \u201cYou see it a lot more in college than you do in the NBA. Maybe they\u2019re protecting their contracts, don\u2019t want to get hurt, I don\u2019t know. There aren\u2019t very many, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won\u2019t always do so. Yet it\u2019s a play that can change the momentum of a game during the pressure-packed postseason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Charges are a stat the NBA keeps under \u201chustle plays.\u201d Led by Lowry\u2019s league-high 11 charges in advance of Sunday night\u2019s Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 (2-0 Bucks), the Raptors have drawn 16 charges and the Warriors were at 16 going into Thursday night\u2019s Game 2 win in the Western Conference finals against Portland. The Warriors lead 2-1 after a Game 3 victory Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There are several keys to drawing a charge: Anticipate. Get in position. Solidly square your feet and prepare to be run over, knowing the foul call won\u2019t always go your way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to stand in there. The one thing I\u2019m super proud of our defense is we stand in there and we take hits, and we take charges,\u201d Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. \u201cI don\u2019t have the numbers but we\u2019ve got to be up there really close to leading the playoffs or leading the league.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Golden State defensive leader Draymond Green thrives in the middle of the action, but he knows firsthand about calls not going his way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Green failed to get the favorable whistle in the final minute of an overtime road loss against Houston in the last round. Green seemed to have position when James Harden drove the lane but no call was made. Replay showed what appeared to be a textbook charge, and the NBA Last-Two Minute Report ruled the next day a charge should have been issued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The play came outside the restricted area, which is defined within the NBA rules as an arc of a 4-foot radius measured from the center of the basket and an area in which a defensive player cannot step in to take a charge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAt the end of the day if that\u2019s something you like to do you\u2019ve got to be all right with some of them not going your way because they are really subjective,\u201d said Golden State guard Stephen Curry. \u201cWhether you were slightly moving side to side or your feet were planted or the charge circle debate, you\u2019ve just got to take the good with the bad. The ones who do it well get the benefit of the doubt more times than not for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There are players in the league who stand out for consistently doing it well and getting the call \u2014 Lowry, Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, Boston\u2019s Marcus Smart and Cousins.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a big play. All of us can\u2019t be up there and be rim protectors and dunk the ball,\u201d Rockets star Chris Paul said. \u201cIt can definitely ignite the crowd. Charges are huge and there\u2019s not a lot of guys in the league who do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not many teams have elite shot blockers anymore either, so taking a charge has become that much more important.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s funny, I took a lot of charges as a player, and I had guys who just would not take charges,\u201d Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. \u201cThere are also guys who don\u2019t know how to take charges. Then every once in a while when we get a guy who never takes one and he takes one, we realize he didn\u2019t take one, he got charged. There\u2019s a big difference. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a lost art, though, I think there\u2019s a lot of guys (doing it) \u2026 what\u2019s lost is that a lot of the bigs don\u2019t do it anymore. There used to be this thing that if you don\u2019t block a shot you\u2019re not a rim protector but rim protection is protecting guys from getting to the rim and I think the charges are another part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Cousins enjoys using his 6-11, 270-pound frame to draw charge calls \u2014 despite the pain he knows is part of it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s fun,\u201d he said. \u201cNot only does it help your guys, but it also puts the opponent in a tough position. It\u2019s a turnover and a foul for them. \u2026 I don\u2019t feel a lot of guys want to sacrifice their body. It\u2019s not fun taking them, obviously. It hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Nuggets forward Torrey Craig simply chooses not to take a charge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou want to know my honest answer? I\u2019ve never taken a charge before in my life. I\u2019d rather block a shot,\u201d he said. \u201cI tried a couple of times overseas, to take charges, and ended up bumping knees with some guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the modern NBA, often there are fewer opportunities in games to take charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Teams don\u2019t drive as much in the half court \u2014 layups often come in transition, open space. Charges also are typically taken by the player who helps, not the primary defender.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be smart to be a charge-taker because you have to be there early,\u201d Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cYou have to anticipate the play that\u2019s coming. DeMarcus is really smart, he\u2019s a great center fielder for our defense, so he plays behind the play and anticipates and a lot of times will step in outside that charge circle and take a charge. Ironically there have been several this year where he\u2019s taken a charge and the officials have immediately come over to me and said, \u2018Ah, I might have missed that one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Golden State\u2019s Klay Thompson, known for drawing a tough defensive assignment, believes the ability to take a charge is under appreciated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think it\u2019s a stat that should be accounted for, charges taken, because that\u2019s just as good as a steal, it\u2019s just as good as a block,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cWe have a lot of guys who are good at it \u2014 Andrew (Bogut) is good at it, Draymond \u2014 these guys lay their bodies on the line and it\u2019s kind of like a momentum shifter when you take a charge like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But not every player is willing to do it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/not-every-nba-player-will-put-their-body-on-the-line\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toronto Raptors&#8217; Kawhi Leonard is called for a charge on Milwaukee Bucks&#8217; Ersan Ilyasova during the first half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series in Milwaukee on May 15. Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try won&#8217;t always do so. Yet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-11 03:19:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KIFT - The LIFT FM","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23948\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}