What does foul to give mean?

Answer 1

In Basketball, teams are allowed to commit a certain number of fouls in a period or half without penalty. Once this number of fouls is exceeded, free throws are awarded when a defensive foul is committed regardless of whether the foul was committed while a player was shooting.

In the NBA, up until the 5th foul of a quarter, any defensive foul committed while the offensive player fouled is not shooting does not result in free throws. Once a team commits it's 5th foul, all of that team's fouls committed on defense result in free throws.

In U.S. College Basketball, up until the 7th foul of a half, any defensive foul committed while the offensive player fouled is not shooting does not result in free throws. Once a team commits it's 7th foul, all of that team's fouls committed on defense result in free throws.

You might hear the announcers say that a team is 'in the bonus'. That means that the other team has committed enough fouls (5 in the NBA and 7 in U.S. college) that each time the team is on offense and the other team commits a fouls, the team will shoot free throws.

The term 'foul to give' means a team is below the number of fouls allowed in a quarter/half and can commit a defensive foul on a non shooter without having free throws awarded. In the NBA, a team that has committed 3 or less fouls in a quarter is said to have a 'foul to give' because, if they foul a non shooter, it will not result in free throws awarded. In U.S. college, a team that has committed 5 or less fouls in a half is said to have a 'foul to give' because, if they foul a non shooter, it will not result in free throws awarded.

You might also hear the announcers say that a team is 'over the limit'. This is the opposite of 'foul to give'. 'Over the limit' means the team has committed enough fouls in a quarter/half so that every defensive foul they commit will result in free throws.