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The Push-Off

A Plague Rapidly Taking Over the NBA​

The list of the stars currently in the NBA that primarily use the push-off as their main move on offense is increasing drastically.

What is a Push-Off?​

A push-off is when a player, typically at the 3-point arc, begins the drive and using his off-arm (the arm opposite the one dribbling the ball), to push his defender away. The key is that he is pushing deliberately and forcefully. This is a relatively new phenomena in the NBA as far as to the degree it is happening. Today, there are several high level superstars who rely on this move quite heavily:

  • James Harden (prime offender)
  • LeBron James (perhaps the pioneer)
  • Luka Doncic
  • Nikola Jokic

Remember Jordan against Byron Russell?​

Remember all the fuss people made about Jordan pushing off Russell in his glory moment? What players are doing nearly every posession today is far more egregious than that was. Not even close. Just in the latest series with the Lakers vs Nuggetts, Jokic drove and elbowed Kuzma then smacked him in the groin in one big windup, and no call; one of many such moves all game long. This is (in 2020) probably in the aresenal of most, if not all, the top 20+ superstars in the league. There is no justification for this move. This is almost "reverse hand-checking" in a sense. And the calls resulting from it are HIGHLY inconsistent.

Why does the NBA allow this?​

The NBA benefits in many ways from this play. It would be easy for the NBA to address this play; it is not that hard to figure out. However, it allows them an opportunity to

How Defenders are Adjusting​

A common way defenders are adjusting to this tactice is to do actions that bait the ref in their favor. So now the plays are turning into both sides just trying to get a call. Some defensive tactics are listed below:

Sticking your face into the offensive player​

  • Since hand-checking is technically not allowed, when the offensive player starts driving with the push-off, the defender is now sticking his face right into the body of the offensive player. Recall that the purpose of the hand check was simply for balance defensively; it wasn't necessarily some great advantage to the defender. But now, without that balance, sticking your head into the player is now the common tactic.
  • Sticking your face in creates the opportunity for an offensive foul call in the defender's favor. If the driver makes contact with the face, that is a foul. This is a terrible way to play defense, but it is necessary due to the ridiculous NBA environment today.
  • This also is more dangerous than before because of the lack of balance the hand check provided. Feet will get more tangled. Elbows and faces will get hit more. There is more body contact as the players are trying to initiate contact and receive contact. Awful. And people wonder why there are more injuries.