NBA to Crack Down on Hits to the Groin, Traveling in 2016-17 Season

With the NBA season nearly a month away, the league is planning to crack down on shots to the groin and pay closer attention to potential traveling violations.

On Thursday, the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com) reported NBA referees received instructions on how to enforce rules against such infractions during their preseason meetings.

Hits to the groin became a talking point during the postseason, particularly involving Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. 

Green repeatedly hit opponents in the groin, notably Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the Western Conference Finals and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James in the NBA Finals. 

The punch to James in Game 4 resulted in Green being assessed a flagrant-1 foul. He was later suspended for Game 5 due to accruing four flagrant-foul points during the postseason. 

NBA senior vice president of replay and referee operations Joe Borgia told the AP that the way players are using their bodies to create space is one reason for more closely monitoring the situation. 

"Now all of a sudden legs are coming out in different directions at weird times, they're coming higher," Borgia said. "Well, for the protection of the players, we're going to stop it."

The emphasis on traveling came about after coaches discussed the lack of calls regarding the issue with referees at the meetings, per the AP. 

In particular, per the AP, referees will look at players who spot up at the three-point line with the intent to shoot, only to be chased away by a defender and take additional steps before starting to dribble. 

Given the speed of today's NBA, it takes a sharp eye to notice every instance of traveling. There will always be calls that get overlooked, but at least the league is taking steps to figure out how to lower the percentage of missed calls.