Why don't more players catch the ball instead of swatting it on defense?

I was just thinking about how we always see guys swat shots.. or block them in general... but half of the time.. they could of probably just grabbed and held onto the ball and controlled it rather than sending it out of bounds to the other team. Why don't more players just catch the ball? I know super athletic bigs like DJ, McGee and Dwight could easily do this. DeAndre got good this year at swatting it to teammates but why not just catch it?

I understand swatting into the 10th row gets the crowd and team going.. but it's also not a really smart basketball play.

It's hard to catch the ball with one hand, even with huge hands. If you swat it but keep it in play, it puts pressure on the other team to re-group and avoid a 24 second violation.

Getting a block shot itself is hard. I can't even imagine how much harder it is to catch the ball without it being called a goal tend.

[QUOTE=D.J.]It's hard to catch the ball with one hand, even with huge hands. If you swat it but keep it in play, it puts pressure on the other team to re-group and avoid a 24 second violation.[/QUOTE]

I understand why you block a shot... but how rare is it to catch the ball? I've seen it like 10 times in 15 years of viewing the NBA. Like I said.. I know it's not easy but Dwight, McGee and DJ absolutely have the vertical, reach and hands to do this at least once a game. It shouldn't be a super rare play. I understand the timing required... but I'm talking about defense in the post, not on the perimeter on jumpers.

[QUOTE=Kensta]Getting a block shot itself is hard. I can't even imagine how much harder it is to catch the ball without it being called a goal tend.[/QUOTE]

Dwight averaged 5.5 blocks vs the Hawks in the playoffs. You don't think he could of caught 1 or 2 of those instead of swatting them into the 5th row? It's just something I noticed. If you can get up high enough to smother a shot and swat it really hard... why can't you grab it? Not saying it's easy... but I was wondering why it's such a rare play in basketball, especially for bigmen.

[QUOTE=Clippersfan86]Dwight averaged 5.5 blocks vs the Hawks in the playoffs. You don't think he could of caught 1 or 2 of those instead of swatting them into the 5th row? It's just something I noticed. If you can get up high enough to smother a shot and swat it really hard... why can't you grab it? Not saying it's easy... but I was wondering why it's such a rare play in basketball, especially for bigmen.[/QUOTE]


It's extremely hard to time it. Anyone with good athleticism and a minimal amount of timing can block a shot. But to actually catch it requires insane timing and coordination. Very few can do it and if it does happen, it's usually by dumb luck.

I do it all the time with MJ in 2K lol, I double a big guy when he's on the block

But I think its because:
A) Its cooler to smash the shit out of the ball
B) Timing has to be absolutely perfect, have to be ahead of the ball on its way up
C) Not many players have the ability to block shots, let alone time it perfect
D) Its cooler to smash the shit out of the ball.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qjLYrwQeOI[/url]


Simply put it is tough to do.

[QUOTE=Crown&Coke]I do it all the time with MJ in 2K lol, I double a big guy when he's on the block

But I think its because:
A) Its cooler to smash the shit out of the ball
B) Timing has to be absolutely perfect, have to be ahead of the ball on its way up
C) Not many players have the ability to block shots, let alone time it perfect
D) Its cooler to smash the shit out of the ball.[/QUOTE]

:oldlol:

[QUOTE=ThaSwagg3r][url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qjLYrwQeOI[/url]


Simply put it is tough to do.[/QUOTE]

:bowdown: . Rodman did it a few times I remember also. I'm sure the great Manute Bol could do it without jumping :lol .

[quote]It's extremely hard to time it. Anyone with good athleticism and a minimal amount of timing can block a shot. But to actually catch it requires insane timing and coordination. Very few can do it and if it does happen, it's usually by dumb luck.[/quote]

:applause:


[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpufnh4fmRk#t=2m20s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpufnh4fmRk#t=2m20s[/URL]

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXVS2MOh3_E#t=8m7s"] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXVS2MOh3_E#t=8m7s[/URL]

[QUOTE=Clippersfan86]I was just thinking about how we always see guys swat shots.. or block them in general... but half of the time.. they could of probably just grabbed and held onto the ball and controlled it rather than sending it out of bounds to the other team. Why don't more players just catch the ball? I know super athletic bigs like DJ, McGee and Dwight could easily do this. DeAndre got good this year at swatting it to teammates but why not just catch it?

I understand swatting into the 10th row gets the crowd and team going.. but it's also not a really smart basketball play.[/QUOTE]

Dwight Howard, for one, has specifically been told by people that he should try to keep his blocks inbounds rather than spiking the ball out of bounds, but swatting it out of bounds is something he deliberately does and is not going to change:

[quote]No player in the NBA blocks more shots than Dwight Howard, but there

[QUOTE=ThaRegul8r]Dwight Howard, for one, has specifically been told by people that he should try to keep his blocks inbounds rather than spiking the ball out of bounds, but swatting it out of bounds is something he deliberately does and is not going to change:



So... grabbing the ball to keep it in-bounds and gain possession for your team, essentially turning the other team's attempted shot into a turnover is showing off, but swatting a shot out of bounds isn't.

:facepalm[/QUOTE]

:applause: Great post dude. I agree 100 percent with you as well as that article clip.

the first time is fine. sends a nice message to the other team and the ball shooter.

the 2nd and subsequent times seems excessive. but then again not all shots are the same and not all shot blocks are timed right. most of the time its a finger block and thats all is needed to send it to the 5th row.

and if you can get a full hand on the ball, its likely you're either a tall ass player with long ass arm like dikembe or someone who has insane leaping ability who can only get a full hand because of their athleticism and arms are in the swatting motion.

[QUOTE=DuMa]the first time is fine. sends a nice message to the other team and the ball shooter.

the 2nd and subsequent times seems excessive. but then again not all shots are the same and not all shot blocks are timed right. most of the time its a finger block and thats all is needed to send it to the 5th row.

and if you can get a full hand on the ball, its likely you're either a tall ass player with long ass arm like dikembe or someone who has insane leaping ability who can only get a full hand because of their athleticism and arms are in the swatting motion.[/QUOTE]

McGee, Dwight, DJ and even Bynum all fit into these categories. Best wingspans, standing reaches and even verticals for bigmen (besides Bynum). They definitely should be able to catch 1 a game.