In basketball, players must dribble the ball in order to advance up court. Once a player picks up his dribble and quits bouncing the ball, he must either shoot or pass to a teammate. Basketball rules govern the legal ways to dribble the ball and outline several illegal violations, including carrying.
Description
Basketball players need to bounce the ball with the palm of their dribbling hand facing down. Failing to do so leaves the player vulnerable to committing a carrying violation. Carrying, or palming, occurs when a player places his palm under the ball at the height of the dribble, essentially holding the ball in the air and stopping his dribble.
Function
Quick, aggressive point guards tend to commit the most carrying violations. By slipping his hand underneath and carrying the ball, a player can perform a sudden, sharp change in direction, executing a maneuver he normally wouldn't be able to pull off with a legal dribble. Players may also carry the ball to guard against a potential steal attempt. Basketball rules prohibit carrying because it provides the offensive player with an unfair advantage over the defender. Carrying stops play and results in a loss of possession.
Considerations
While the most common form of carrying involves placing a hand under the ball, carrying also occurs if a player dribbles the ball higher than his shoulder. A player can bounce the ball above his shoulder if he then catches it without letting it bounce. However, once he dribbles the ball again, he commits a carrying violation.
Misconception
Carrying often gets confused with traveling, another common dribbling violation. Traveling occurs under a few different circumstances. First, if a player starts moving without dribbling the ball, he commits a travel. If a player picks up his dribble and then takes more than two steps, he commits a travel. Once a player picks up his dribble, he must keep one foot, his pivot foot, planted on the court. While he can step and move his other foot however he wants, he must keep his pivot foot anchored in place. Moving the pivot foot commits a traveling violation. Finally, if a player picks up his dribble, comes to a complete stop and then jumps, he commits a travel upon landing with the ball. The other most common form of dribbling violation is the double dribble, which occurs when a player stops his dribble and then starts dribbling again.
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