Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle?The news isn't good on the NBA officials' front. The league has locked the refs out and it appears they're ready to go the route of replacement refs. We think that's a bad idea, but if it's going to happen, here's offering some help to the new guys.
Keep your eyes out for these players, the top-five foulers in the NBA:
Anderson Varejao: He's got a constant need to interject himself into the action, and most of the time you'll find it's a split-second late. It's not the borderline flopping that's most bothersome, it's the fact he won't really acknowledge that's what he does.
Luis Scola: We're talking about a first-rate badger in Scola. He's a master in terms of timing and deception. Not only can Scola commit the hard foul, but he's also the kind of player who is always pushing, nudging, grabbing, bumping, you name it. When it's about getting under an opponent's skin, Scola is a first-teamer.
Reggie Evans: We're talking about a bruiser in every sense of the word here. It's not just that Evans will take a hard foul. We know he'll do that. But Evans also inflicts damage away from the ball, on the weakside where there's less scrutiny. Evans is one those guys who can be really scary ... because he doesn't even know how physical he really is.
Mark Madsen: It doesn't matter that he's unsigned at this point and may be done, Madsen deserves to be on this list regardless. He's that special kind of a fouler, the one who takes no chances when it comes to giving up a three-point play. Madsen averaged almost as many personal fouls per game (1.9) as points (2.2), a red flag in any league. The fear, of course, is that a player such as Madsen might have spawned a whole group of younger, less athletic hatchet men who haven't yet made it on the college or pro scene.Nick Collison: Thing about Collison is he isn't without athletic ability. He's got some, for sure, just not as much as virtually all of the players he must face each night in the frontcourt. He's smart enough to make up that athleticism gap with a timely wrap up or hard one.
Derek Fisher (Sixth man): Nobody brings physicality to the perimeter like Fisher. He might have lost a step quickness-wise, but the downside is he is more punishing now than he was in his prime.
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