Chinese Basketball Association learns the price of physical play

January 17, 2:05 AMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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NBA scenes like this are becoming
more common in Chinese basketball, too.
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

One of the criticisms of Chinese NBA players like Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, and Sun Yue is that they can't stand up to the physical play of the American-style game. That came to a head in the Beijing Olympics, when the Chinese national team couldn't muster much of a fight, getting bounced in the quarterfinals by Lithuania, 94-68, with 24 of their points coming from the free-throw line.

The Chinese national team finished the men's basketball competition with a 2-4 record, its only wins against Angola and a surprise 59-55 defeat of Dirk Nowitzki and Germany, the latter contest won simply on the strength of Yao Ming's smothering interior defense.

But the team otherwise looked overmatched, losing its four games by an average score over 20. Only its 85-75 loss to the eventual silver medalist Spain was close to single digits.

The common thread in all their losses, according to Yao and other commentators, was the hands-off style of basketball practiced in the Chinese Basketball Association. And so, CBA officials told its teams to step up the contact this season, a dictum that has reached the stands as well as the players.

The CBA recently announced that this policy has led not only to a record amount of fines against players--they've peaked thus far to an all-time high of 960K yuan, or $140,500--but also to increased violence among fans. Whether this is due to an atmosphere of violence or misunderstanding is the central question behind this trend.

"Some [teams] have been punished for their misbehaving fans, who were outraged partly because they did not understand the new standards the referees must enforce," Liu Xiaonong, chief of the CBA, said. "The league has not done a good enough job in getting the message about physicality out."

Apparently, neither referees, fans, nor players are entirely clear on what constitutes a foul, and the misunderstanding has led to protests from fans and players alike. Fortunately, help is on the way: a working group is being formed, Liu said, that would better standardize the new rules.

Part of the process will involve NBA referees instructing their CBA counterparts in how to call fouls in a newly physical environment. This is consistent with the growing relationship between the NBA and the growth of Chinese basketball.

NBA fans, of course, might not think that our referees are all that clear on the NBA's rules, particularly the subjective "let 'em play" attitude that means few fouls are called in the waning moments of a game, or the "Jordan Rules" that mean that superstars are treated differently from rookies.

This lattter controversy has emerged in the NBA this season, as LeBron James was called for traveling in the final moments of an 80-77 loss to the Wizards; LeBron freaked out about it after the game, expecting the typical let-em-play (particularly when superstars like James are involved).

I can't help think of the frequent controversy surrounding Patrick Ewing's jump-step--which everyone but Knicks fans always called traveling--or Michael Jordan's game-wrinning shot against the Jazz in 1997, when he grabbed John Stockton's shorts in order to yank him out of the way. And of course, there's last season's controversy about gambling NBA referees surrounding the allegations against Tim Donaghy.

Even if it's far from perfect, the NBA's officiating style is more compatible with international play, which is not quite as rough, but still far more physical than what has been taught in the CBA. Both Yi and Yao faced questions about their durability and strength, issues Sun Yue is also facing as he tries to work his way into the Lakers' starting lineup.

Increasing the level of physical play in the CBA is certainly an admirable goal, but it does bring up these kinds of questions about the effects of increased on-court violence, and how it translates to fan behavior off the court.

Once Chinese players and fans learn the proper balance between hard-fought competitiveness and unfair, rough play, it's bound to help future NBA prospects who come from the East.