The NBA has given officials two new points of emphasis for the 2017-2018 season. One is something the Spurs are unfortunately all too familiar with: reckless closeouts that put jump shooters in danger. While the league started calling fouls on defenders who interfered with a player’s landing space several years ago, they are putting a new emphasis on it after Zaza Pachulia’s dangerous closeout took Kawhi Leonard out of the playoffs.
With the new rule, officials will now have the power to use video replay to determine if a closeout foul warrants a flagrant should it be determined that a defender recklessly positioned himself under a shooter.