NBA implements flopping penalty, awards second coach’s challenge

On the NBA’s opening night last season in a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, James Harden was dribbling near the top of the key with Marcus Smart in front of him.

Harden dribbled left and Smart matched the movement, getting to the same spot at roughly the same time.

Harden, in this familiar chess game between superior ballhandler and defensive stalwart, stopped his forward momentum and stepped back. Smart, either anticipating a shove from Harden that didn’t come or trying to convince the referees that he was pushed, sent himself flailing backward.

Arms waving. Body falling. Butt scooting on the floor, as though he had been on the wrong end of a moving truck, even though Harden didn’t touch him. According to a league rule change, Smart’s theatrics, more commonly known as a “flop,” will be called as a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul during the…