The Impact of 'No Flopping'

The NBA's decision to start fining floppers next season set the basketball world a'twitter, with plenty of jokes (see above) at the expense of Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejao. But let's get a touch serious here (just a touch): what's the real impact of the rule? Which teams benefit? Which will be punished?

It's hard to tell, actually. As you see above, the league's best floppers don't only leave their sneakers on faux-charges -- you can flop anywhere on the court. (Even on a screen!) However, considering offense sells tickets and the NBA has proven in recent years to be all about fortifying offensive basketball (see: hand-check rules), let's assume the number of offensive fouls decreases and thus, the number of charges drawn decreases (which assumes the value of $5,000 or whatever is higher than what basically equates to a steal, which is questionable). Who's at risk?

Big dudes. Andrew Bogut, Mikki Moore, Jermaine O'Neal and Joel Pryzbilla rank high on the charges drawn list. Unsurprisingly, none commit too many offensive fouls. As this rule change likely benefits the drive, you'd expect this fellows to suffer somewhat.

The Houston defense. Luis Scola and Shane Battier -- key parts of the Rocket D -- draw tons of charges but almost never commit them. As with the guys above, this could hurt.

Who will be helped by the rule change?

Slashing guards. Guys like Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin, Dwyane Wade -- the same youngsters who owe at least part of their stars to the hand-check rules -- should be bolstered by this decision.

Us. This one seems obvious.

What's the real impact?

Once again, offense rules. If at some point in the future NBA players actually toss the flop into the trash bin, it's a plus for league offense. There's no telling how much the leaguewide offensive numbers could rise -- as we said, flops aren't limited to defense, just largely concentrated there. It could be significant, it could be minor. But we know it won't be helping defense, that's for sure. (Actually, relatively speaking, it will help those defenses which have not relied on the flop; as those who have lose steam, the honest brokers will see their stock increase.)