Toronto guard Kyle Lowry squarely planted his feet and braced for contact with Milwaukee Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo barreling down on him.
Lowry, one of the best in basketball at taking a charge, absorbed the punishment and drew a foul against the 2.1m Antetokounmpo, but these days, not everybody is willing to do what Lowry does.
“I think it’s kind of a lost art,” DeMarcus Cousins of the Golden State Warriors said of taking a charge.
Photo: AP
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would not argue that sentiment.
“It seems so, doesn’t it? You can count on one hand how many charges are taken over the course of five or 10 games, in some situations,” Popovich said. “You see it a lot more in college than you do in the NBA. Maybe they’re protecting their contracts, don’t want to get hurt, I don’t know.”
Successfully taking a charge is difficult and even those who are willing to try will not always do so, but it is a play that can change the momentum of a game.
The 1.85m Lowry went into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday with a league-best 11 charges during these playoffs, a stat the NBA keeps under “hustle plays.”
The Raptors have drawn 16 charges and the Warriors were at 16 going into Thursday night’s Game 2 win in the Western Conference Finals against Portland.
There are several keys to it: Anticipate. Get in position. Solidly square your feet and prepare to be run over, knowing the foul call will not always go your way.
Golden State defensive leader Draymond Green thrives in the middle of the action, but he knows firsthand about calls not going his way.
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 the next day ruled that a charge should have been issued.
There are players in the league who stand out for consistently doing it well and getting the call — Lowry, Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, Boston’s Marcus Smart and Cousins.
“It’s a big play. All of us can’t be up there and be rim protectors and dunk the ball,” Rockets star Chris Paul said. “It can definitely ignite the crowd. Charges are huge and there’s not a lot of guys in the league who do that.”
Not many teams have elite shot blockers anymore either, so taking a charge has become that much more important.
“It’s funny, I took a lot of charges as a player and I had guys who just would not take charges,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “I don’t think it’s a lost art, though, I think there’s a lot of guys [doing it]... What’s lost is that a lot of the bigs don’t do it anymore.”
Cousins enjoys using his 2.1m, 122kg frame to draw charge calls — despite the pain he knows is part of it.
“It’s fun,” he said. “Not only does it help your guys, but it also puts the opponent in a tough position. It’s a turnover and a foul for them... I don’t feel a lot of guys want to sacrifice their body.”
In the modern NBA, there are often fewer opportunities in games to take charges.
Teams do not drive as much in the half court — layups often come in transition, open space. Charges also are typically taken by the player who helps, not the primary defender.
“You’ve got to be smart to be a charge-taker because you have to be there early,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You have to anticipate the play that’s coming.”
Golden State’s Klay Thompson, known for drawing a tough defensive assignment, believes the ability to take a charge is underappreciated.
“I think it’s a stat that should be accounted for, charges taken, because that’s just as good as a steal, it’s just as good as a block,” Thompson said.
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