Grant Williams alerted officials Sean Corbin, Brandon Adair and Tyler Mirkovich less than five minutes into the preseason about a rule they'd been trained to enact and emphasize into this new NBA season. Mason Plumlee fouled Jaylen Brown after he grabbed Terry Rozier's miss and ran alongside the Boston bench, where Plumlee reached to stop Brown and drew a whistle.
"Take foul! Take foul," Williams recalled shouting from the bench. "I'm the king of take fouls and I'll call it."
The NBA eliminated the ability for teams to foul opponents in transition to prevent transition play, which had been so abused that you'd see players accidentally commit the take foul with their teams in the penalty. Players, coaches and officials agreed, suggesting to heighten penalties in those situations in a move that drew widespread support from league executives before the Board of Governors enacted them this summer.
Officials can now award a free throw plus possession when they deem a player fouled simply to prevent a transition runout. The rule defers from the clear path foul, which states that a player needs to be ahead of the entire defense with a clear lane to score on the opposing basket, which carries two free throws and possession.
"I think universally, everybody wanted this rule in there, and I still think there'll be some further changes with it," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said pregame on Friday. "I think the take foul is pretty clear. The clear path, I think, can still get cleaned up a little bit, but everybody wants to see fluidity and if there's a fast break opportunity, you don't want that taken away. So I think everybody kind of had input about it, it was one of the few rule changes where I don't think there was a lot of debate about it. Everybody was just like, 'let's do it, let's go.'"
The call happened sparsely throughout the Celtics' first six preseason and regular season games, Plumlee drawing it to hand Brown one point before Boston missed a three on the follow-up possession. Bam Adebayo told Boston Sports Journal the key is to make a play on the ball, much like the factor that differentiates common fouls from flagrant ones in the half court. The league didn't want a new series of reviews and parade of free throws. It wanted to remove a play nobody seemed thrilled to make, but carried such a strategic advantage that it spread like wildfire and plagued the game.
During the Olympics in 2021, fans of the world's top basketball league got surprised by the pace of the international game. Referees held wide-ranging authority to award free throws for unsportsmanlike take fouls that prevented fast break opportunities. The tournament featured seamless end-to-end play capped by an American gold medal and conversations among league personnel about instituting a similar preventative measure in the NBA.
"It hasn't been a huge deal yet," Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, who coaches Team Canada, told BSJ in Montreal last week. "Our guys in Toronto have heard me say that we had to go through, coaching the national team, it's very similar to the FIBA rule, the take foul rule. So when I get our NBA players with the Canadien National Team, we have to show it on film, talk about it, go out on the floor and drill it and then they do a pretty good job with it. So we're in that process. We saw it all on film the other day, we haven't really talked about it much, we haven't even taken it to the floor and drilled it. The FIBA refs, and it looks to me the same in the NBA, that if you just use two hands in the open floor, that's going to be automatic. So we're just saying don't do that for now until we show them how we drill it and work on it, but it hasn't really come up that much."
The call went against the Celtics midway through the first quarter on opening night when Jaylen Brown lost the ball guarded to Tyrese Maxey and fouled James Harden as he charged toward half court. Harden converted his free throw and Philadelphia missed their follow-up possession, not a devastating penalty, and the only one for or against Boston to start the season. It's just enough of a slap on the wrist to leave teams unable to benefit from stopping runouts by fouling. Joe Mazzulla, who showed film briefly to the Celtics on the subject, said it'll add pressure on them to not turn the ball over.
Boston, a team that wants to get out on the run, should also see benefits from the floor opening up. The Celtics led the league by far through two games by scoring an astounding 1.57 points per possession (out of 2.00) in transition, shooting 72% on the run and adding 23.5 points per game. They finished tied for 26th with 1.08 transition PPP last year offensively.
"It's a big adjustment," Horford told BSJ on Friday. "It's a really big adjustment. It makes the game much faster. I like it, but it is a big adjustment. It's very different. It puts a real onus on getting back in transition defense, but I think it's going to be for the better. For our group, it's very beneficial. It's gonna add another layer to it, we want to play faster. (Defensively), we addressed it and just kind of kept it moving. Maybe we did some of it, but there are some teams that were really doing the take foul a lot. I don't think it's going to impact us."
Max Strus said he's never committed a take foul in his life and Marcus Smart similarly noted the Celtics weren't among the teams that emphasized utilizing them despite their prevalence around the league. Boston allowed the fourth-fewest PPP (1.08) on transition plays last year, and both the Celtics and Heat gave up the top-10 fewest number of fast break possessions per game in 2022 before their meeting on Friday where neither side committed a take foul. Boston won the fast-break scoring category, 12-6, over their Eastern conference rivals.
Over the first four days of NBA action, officials only called 35 take fouls and of those, 20 came in late-game intentional fouling situations with two free throws allowed in the bonus. That means teams already adapted away from the strategy and haven't forced referees to obstruct play. The call fell on Plumlee against the Pelicans again, though, after receiving the first of the preseason in Boston on a play Grant later admitted shouldn't have been called a take foul despite his own lobbying for one.
"It's just a matter of discretion, referees are going to call it a certain way, different referees will call it a different way, so I think the rule is if you make a play on the ball and you're actively not trying to take a foul, it's not a plus-one, but it's a chance that you're risking, because then it's plus-one and possession," Grant told BSJ. "You just have to be conscious. You have to get back in transition. We have to do our best job to make sure we take good shots and get good opportunities, because it's a little advantageous for the offense. We just have to do our job and if we see somebody trying to take a foul, you just have to take advantage of the rule a little bit. That's kind of how it was with Mason, he knows that probably wasn't a take foul, but (I yelled) right when it happened."
Here's what else happened in the NBA this week...
Atlanta (2-0): Beat the Rockets, 117-107, behind 43 points from Dejounte Murray and Trae Young in their first game together, even while shooting 15-for-41. They staggered minutes and occasionally connected, combining for 23 assists and helping fuel a 19-for-25 night with 46 points from John Collins and recently-extended De'Andre Hunter. The Hawks got a deal done with Hunter, worth $95 million over four years, just before the deadline at the beginning of the week to secure their core into the future. Collins discussed that future ahead of opening night after a few uncertain years in ATL.
“Me and Trae, we weren’t too efficient,” Murray said. “We have to be better. We missed a lot of shots that we usually make. But as far as getting dudes the ball, I think we did a great job. My goal for me and Trae the whole year is to get dudes better. Make our teammates better and share the ball.”
Boston (2-0): Blasted the 76ers, 126-117, behind a runaway third quarter and 35 points each from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in a fast-paced effort fueled by 15 assists from guards Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon in his Celtics debut. Joe Mazzulla received his first win as interim head coach, winning a challenge, navigating Al Horford foul trouble by utilizing Noah Vonleh, Blake Griffin and smaller lineups, while Smart scuffled with Joel Embiid after getting wrapped up on a rebound, received a technical foul and unleashed one of the great early quotes of the season.
"I’m the only one that gets a tech," he said. "Everybody saw it, I don’t have to keep talking about it. If I did that, I’m probably ejected, suspended three games, four games, fines. The fact that I’m the only one that got something out of that is kind of beyond me, especially defending DPOY? And that’s how he gets treated? Like I said, it’s maturity. I could’ve cracked his head open, but I didn’t.”
Robert Williams, recovering from knee surgery, received a PRP injection. Brad Stevens told 98.5 The Sports Hub his return period remains unchanged.
Brooklyn (1-1): Started sluggish, trailing 16-4, and never recovered in a lackluster 130-108 loss to the Pelicans on opening night. Ben Simmons flopped in his first real game action since June 2021, allowing 25 points to Zion Williamson in his own return from a similar hiatus. Simmons shot 2-for-3 and fouled out in 23 minutes, with Brooklyn getting outscored by 26 points in his minutes. Shooters Joe Harris (foot) and Seth Curry (ankle) missed the game dealing with injuries stemming from last season, soreness in the same foot he received ankle surgery on for Harris, and surgery recovery for Curry. Harris returned for 18 minutes, scoring three points in a win where Simmons took only five more shots in 33 minutes without reaching the free throw line.
“I just think (Simmons is) rusty. The guy hasn’t played in over a year,” Steve Nash said. “He’s still getting used to referees, defense, offense. This is a process for Ben … He’s shown obviously glimpses of the player we know he is and can be, but it’s not easy. We’re here to support him.”
Charlotte (1-1): Beat the Spurs, 129-102, behind 44 points from Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier, but saw more legal trouble face one of their players when police arrested second-year guard James Bouknight on DWI charges on Sunday. He was released on $2,500 bond after reportedly being found in a parking lot asleep in his car with a handgun on his lap. Bouknight, who shot 0-for-5 in 14 minutes in the opener, appeared in only 31 games as a rookie after Charlotte selected him No. 11 overall in the 2021 draft. He's due in court on Nov. 10.
"I just wanted to apologize for being a distraction before the start of the season for my teammates and what we've got going on," he said at practice after.
Chicago (1-1): More concerning injury news hit the Bulls when Zach LaVine (knee) would miss opening night and Friday's game as he manages his left knee he underwent cleanup surgery on. LaVine characterized the absence as cautionary rather than reactionary to any flareup, joining Lonzo Ball (knee) on the sideline for the team's 116-108 win over the Heat. DeMar DeRozan picked up the slack for his fellow guards with 37 points and nine assists, receiving 17 points from second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu in a spot start. Chicago went on to lose to the Wizards, 102-100, on Friday.
Cleveland (0-1): Darius Garland left the Cavaliers' season-opening loss against the Raptors with a left eye laceration on the inside of his eyelid. Gary Trent Jr. and Garland collided in the second quarter and Garland left for the rest of the game. He missed practice on Thursday, but avoided structural damage to his eye. It's likely he'll miss Saturday's game at the Bulls. Cleveland struggled with Toronto's size in Donovan Mitchell's debut, the star finishing 12-of-21 with 31 points and nine assists, but struggling to find consistent offense from his wings aside from Cedi Osman. Caris LeVert started the game and shot 2-for-7, while Isaac Okoro only played 11 minutes.
Dallas (0-1): Lost a 22-point lead to the Suns, losing 107-105, after Luka Doncic and Christian Wood found chemistry midway through the game and combined for 60 points. Wood, who came off the bench as expected, saw his minutes dwindle in the second half before he finished with 24 minutes to Doncic's 36. He exited in the fourth quarter with Dallas ahead by 10 and return with Phoenix ahead by one and under three minutes remaining.
''We played for 3 1/2 quarters, then we run out of steam,'' Jason Kidd said.
Denver (1-1): Bounced back from an odd opening night loss to the Jazz with a convincing win over the Warriors. Nikola Jokic posted a 26-point triple-double as he aims to become the first three-peat MVP since Larry Bird. Offseason signing Bruce Brown closed the game out with nine points in the final minutes to finish with 20 and help seal the win. Jamal Murray, who sat out the win as he eases his way back from ACL surgery, shot 5-for-13 with 12 points against Utah in a defeat he felt satisfied walking away from as the first step back. Michael Porter Jr., who appeared in both games, is shooting 11-for-22 with seven three-pointers and 32 points to mark his return from back surgery.
Detroit (1-1): Blasted by the Knicks, 130-106, after a solid opening win over the Magic. Bojan Bogdanovic made his Pistons debut, leading all scorers with 24 points alongside Cade Cunningham's 10 assists in that game. Cunningham held New York even in his minutes, but the Knicks unloaded on Detroit's second unit of Cory Joseph, Kevin Knox, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo. Rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren shot 10-for-20 with 25 points in the loss after combining for 25 in the opener too.
Golden State (1-1): Impressed against the Lakers and disappointed against Denver to open their title defense. Steph Curry already scored 67 points in 69 minutes, making you think there might be room for one more MVP trophy in his case. Andrew Wiggins added 44 after signing a four-year, $109 million extension to stay with the team long term. Jordan Poole also inked a new contract before the deadline, $140 million over four years, leaving Draymond Green as the championship core's only potential free agent next summer. He returned from his punch on Poole to play well in both games, but as the team hoped to move on from the incident, Green relived it in a new TNT mini documentary that provides Green's most in-depth assessment of it yet.
“I was told, the world has been able to see one of your worst moments,” Green said. “Look at all the upside you have now, and it’s a totally different way of looking at it. ... And I can live with that.”
Houston (0-2): Former Celtics center Bruno Fernando surprisingly won a starting center role with the Rockets to start the season, posting seven points, seven assists and nine rebounds in a close loss to the Hawks on opening night. Jalen Green went off for 33 points, losing a battle with Ja Morant and the Grizzlies after. That's what Houston needs to hope for in what'll likely be another lost season, progress, flashes and some direction around their young core. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. got off to a rough start, shooting 3-for-14 against Memphis, who outscored Houston by 31 during his minutes.
Indiana (0-2): Bennedict Mathurin scored 26 points in 28 minutes against the Spurs in his second NBA game, building on a debut against the Wizards where he posted 19 points and seven rebounds.
"(Mathurin) has got a really great knack for a young player of finding the cracks in the defense and then being able to get in there and avoid charges, get contact and, in many cases, finish. It is a craft that a lot of players take years (to figure out). Every once in a while, there is a young player that comes out of college whose game is much more suited to the NBA than college and I think Benn might be one of those guys," Rick Carlisle said.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 53 points with 19 assists in his first two games, while Jalen Smith flashed more of the potential the team invested in by adding him after Phoenix declined his team option. Former Celtics forward Aaron Nesmith is shooting 5-for-17 with 12 points and eight rebounds, gaining consistent playing time under Carlisle for now.
Clippers (1-0): Kawhi Leonard returned for his first real game since 2021, helping beat the Lakers 103-97 in a bench role, scoring 14 points with seven rebounds on 6-for-12 shooting in 21 minutes. John Wall made his return from a similar hiatus, closing the game at point guard and finishing with 15 points on 7-for-15 shooting despite Reggie Jackson starting. Both players will miss Saturday's game at the Kings as part of injury return management.
Lakers (0-2): Played excellent defense, received a spirited Russell Westbrook effort and avoided injury to Anthony Davis. Lonnie Walker IV even added 26 points, and the Lakers still lost to the Clippers after dropping the opener to the Warriors. Adrian Wojnarowski reported LA won't make a trade until at least Thanksgiving, but the team's schedule could set them up to finish .500 at best over that stretch. Westbrook finished 0-for-11 in the loss to LA, Kendrick Nunn shot 0-for-7 and the Lakers are 19-for-85 from three through two games. Matt Ryan, the Celtics' two-way guard last year, plays significant minutes for this group. It's all bad again, and could become even worse than last year. Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant injured their fingers.
Memphis (2-0): Ja Morant scored 83 points in the Grizzlies' first two games while Santi Almada comfortably stepped into the injured Jaren Jackson Jr.'s shoes with 24 points and 20 rebounds. Bringing back Tyus Jones looks crucial for a Grizzlies team that can legitimately attack in waves, while its star left Jalen Green's big game for Houston falling short. This team is outstanding and you have to consider Morant an outside threat to win MVP.
Miami (0-2): Something feels off here. Erik Spoelstra avoided directly discussing Kyle Lowry's game, addressing him more with accolades like hall-of-fame quarterback amid two rough games to open his second season in Miami. Max Strus, who shined in the opening night loss to Chicago, disappeared against Boston as did Jimmy Butler for large stretches of that game. Bam Adebayo found his shot early on Friday before meeting foul trouble in the third quarter. Then, Dewayne Dedmon entered launching bad jump shots. The Heat could've beaten the Celtics, but squandered too many possessions, watched Boston beat them to loose balls and struggled to contain Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in another uncharacteristic effort for this team.
Milwaukee (1-0): Giannis Antetokounmpo, once again an MVP favorite entering his 10th NBA season, scored 21 points with 13 rebounds and eight assists to narrowly beat the 76ers, 90-88. Giannis and Brook Lopez held Joel Embiid to 15 points and The Athletic's Eric Nehm documented a far more intriguing showdown with teammate Sandro Mamukelashvili in training camp that reflects how Antetokounmpo continues to motivate himself.
Minnesota (1-1): Rudy Gobert only mustered nine points in 38 minutes against his former Jazz teammates in a shootout loss to Utah on Friday, but opened the season with 23 points, 16 rebounds and shooting 10-for-15 with five field goal attempts coming in the first quarter. He only received that workload 6.35% of his time with the Jazz, signaling early efforts by the Timberwolves to let him touch the ball. Karl-Anthony Towns set Gobert up with some brilliant big-to-big alley-oop actions, and Jaden McDaniels scored 19 points in both games, marking an encouraging start for Minnesota.
New Orleans (2-0): Scored at least 124 points in consecutive wins over the Nets and Hornets to welcome Zion Williamson back to the starting lineup. He's shooting 18-for-41, below his usual dominant efficiency, but averaging 20.5 PPG. Jonas Valančiūnas poured 30 points and 17 rebounds on Charlotte, after posting 15 and 13 on opening night. GM David Griffin can rejoice over another great move again, with the big man averaging 17.9 PPG and 11.5 RPG since joining the Pelicans in the Steven Adams trade. This could have a legitimate western conference contending ceiling.
New York (1-1): RJ Barrett recovered from a rough opening night performance against Memphis with 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting against Detroit. Jalen Brunson started 13-for-30 with his new team, averaging 16.0 PPG and 7.5 APG. Seeing more minutes for Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin is encouraging (36 PTS, 11 REB, 15-26 FG vs. DET), as is Derrick Rose returning from an injury-plagued season with 13 points and six assist in 16 minutes in the win. Quentin Grimes, who missed both games, hopes to return soon from a sore left foot that persisted after taking some time off on training camp.
Orlando (0-2): Paolo Banchero posted a historic NBA debut, scoring 27 points with nine rebounds and seven assists, the first time someone posted those marks since LeBron James in their first game. Banchero followed that up with 20 more points in a loss to Atlanta, the first rookie to score that many in their first two games since LeBron. Aside from his efforts and a strong Franz Wagner showing his second season though, this team still has several steps to go toward competitiveness. They host Boston tonight.
Philadelphia (0-2): James Harden scored 66 points with 16 rebounds and 16 assists in the 76ers' first two losses, showing shades of the old Harden as a jump shooter while also disappointing as a defender. Joel Embiid and Harden haven't connected well in the pick-and-roll, while Tyrese Maxey got targeted on defense and taken out of the opener against the Celtics. Matisse Thybulle strangely fell out of the rotation in both losses and it's worth wondering how long Doc Rivers can last if Philly starts slow.
Phoenix: Damion Lee hit a game-winning fadeaway to beat the Mavericks, capping a 22-point comeback on opening night, but the Suns haven't played well early this season. Chris Paul started 6-for-17 only played for 30 minutes in a 1-for-6 effort against Dallas. Cam Johnson scored only five points in an overtime loss to Portland and the bench has struggled mightily with the Jae Crowder trade request still unresolved.
Portland (2-0): Jerami Grant looks good in Portland next to Damian Lillard, who marked his return with 20 points and eight assists in a close win over the Kings. Anfernee Simons fit in seamlessly off-ball next to Lillard, while stepping aside to let the star go off for 41 in overtime against Phoenix. They're competitive. We'll see to what end in a competitive west.
Sacramento (0-1): Tough start for the Kings believers, including myself, as Mike Brown hilariously stated he didn't recognize the team playing on the floor in the loss to Portland. Sacramento squandered a 10-point third-quarter lead and got outscored 11-2 to close the game. De'Aaron Fox' facilitating wavered in those final moments, finishing with eight turnovers despite hitting five threes and helping set up Kevin Huerter for six of his own.
“For us, tonight, I watched us do stuff in this game that we haven’t done all of preseason, all of training camp,” Brown said. "I’m excited to go watch the film, as crazy as it sounds, because I did not recognize the team that was out there most of the night."
San Antonio (1-1): Old friend Josh Richardson scored 27 points in 28 minutes in a win over the Pacers, featuring equally strong games from Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poetl, who it's hard to imagine not playing elsewhere this season alongside Richardson as effective veterans. Johnson is clearly the centerpiece prospect for this group at the ground floor of its rebuild. They need to figure out who else can join him into the future.
Toronto (1-1): Pascal Siakam led six double-figure scorers for the Raptors in an opening night win over the Cavaliers before a setback against Brooklyn. Siakam finished with a 37-point triple-double against the Nets, but Toronto otherwise struggled to keep pace with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant's 57 points. It's a similar story to last year here, adaptive and disruptive as any team on defense and facilitating by committee on offense.
Utah (2-0): Will Hardy is undefeated with wins over top west contenders Denver and Minnesota in a start reminiscent of Brad Stevens' early victories after taking over the Celtics. It's still easy to see this season going south as the 2014 Celtics' eventually did, but Hardy is helping stack double-figure scoring throughout his lineups in an equal-opportunity offense while the defense helped slow Nikola Jokic and Denver. It'll be interesting to see how Danny Ainge tinkers with the roster to prevent them from winning too many games, because they still have plenty of effective veterans.
Washington (2-0): Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma combined for 45 points in an opening-night win while Kristaps Porzingis added a 15-point double. They look like they can compete with all three of them available, but it's unclear how many nights that'll happen, and the offensive ceiling appears lower than some of the other top offenses in the NBA.