Dog Days Thread: If I were the dictator of the NBA, I would change

If I were the dictator of the NBA, I would change 2 things:

1. I would institute a 4 point line, so that those end of quarter heaves that go in make a bigger difference.

It would create an added benefit of maybe, just maybe, stopping the worst part of NBA basketball - the foul/freethrow borefest at the end of games when a team is down by 5 or 6 points. Have you EVER seen a team come back to win after starting the foul/freethrow "strategy"? Right, me neither.

But a 4 point shot would eliminate that, at least partially, and give the losing team a puncher's chance.

2. I would blow less whistles (that's what she said!). It seems like you cant go two possessions without a whistle ending play. B-O-R-I-N-G!

You?

 

I'd add an injury time out. If someone breaks a leg on court, that's bad enough. But sometimes a team has to burn one or even two timeouts to get the player out.

If a team fakes an injury time out the opposing team gets two technical FTs, so Manu can't flop and the Spurs get a TO.

 

force OKC back to Seattle and make the L*kers wear pink uniforms.


i'd be looser with fouls, change it so people fight for rebounds again.

 

I'd make contracts non-guaranteed; and allow the ability of teams to dismiss players at will based on performance.
I'd penalize floppers with a Flagrant
I'd remove the star favoring

 

I'd shorten the shot clock to 18 seconds.

 

non gtd contracts for sure

 

I like the 4 point line idea. Maybe just make it beyond half court is worth 4 points. I am sure there would be a huge uproar initially, ruining the game, etc. But people probably thought the same with the 3 point shot. I think it would make end of game situations funner, to give more opportunity for comebacks. And maybe you would have less of those idiots that hesitate until right after the horn to heave the last second shots before quarters end, to not hurt their FG%.

 

Bingo

 

Well, OK...

I'd get rid of the owners and run the NBA as a collective, with an elected board of player, coach, and fan representatives.

 

No guaranteed contracts for sure.

Also, make the refs an independent org that is not part of the NBA.

 

I'm with you, blue.

 

I'd reverse everything Stern did. I'd return to the $50 fine for fighting, but I'd cancel it out with a $50 reward for knocking out a tooth. Knock out two teeth, you get 2 free throws. Three gets you 3.

 

I'm for that, as well as allowing cats on the playing floor during the game.

 

I would change the NBA draft lottery so that the Blazers get the #1 pick every year.

 

No more multi-game suspensions for fighting -- go back to the fifty dollar fine.

 

1. I'd change the quarters to 10 minutes in length (change #3 explains why)

2. I'd shorten the shot clock to 20 seconds with 10 to get across.

3. I'd revamp the foul system entirely:

Refs stop tracking most per-player fouls. All fouls are assigned to the team (including offensive). Just raise a quick "yellow card" saying that the team has committed a foul, and let the other team get the ball out of bounds at half-court with the shot clock at 15.

Flagrant fouls are considered "red card", reviewed immediately, and the offending player is ejected. If the fouled player flopped to get the flagrant called (part of the review process) he is ejected instead.

No free throws are shot. Ever.

Instead, when team fouls go over 7 in a quarter, the resulting out-of-bounds possession doesn't count against the game clock. The game clock remains stopped as play continues, and doesn't begin until a change of possession (steal, rebound, out of bounds, etc.) Any foul committed restarts the play and the game clock remains stopped. Any basket scored on such a foul also counts.

This lets action play basically uninterrupted (all five players playing all the time), but with a lot of those plays not counting against the game clock (probably 2-4 plays per quarter). This means quarters should be shorter to compensate.

4. I'd widen the court by 4 feet, and move the three point line out two feet.

5. I'd get rid of pre-season, and make the full season 86 games long (4x intra-conference, 2x inter-conference games).

 

I'd place an emphasis on actually calling travelling and related calls.

Watching Olympic basketball has actually been sort of refreshing from that standpoint. I love seeing guys like Kobe, LeBron, and Paul called for carrying.

 

I don't want cats on the court. After all, I don't really want to see anyone get hurt and cats have very sharp claws/teeth.

 

Excellent point.

 

How about not counting any shot from behind the 4-point line (halfcourt in your example) as a FGA unless it actually goes in. When you're a league with very selfish players, and when 5% points can separate an average 3-pt shooter from a decent one, you may as well yield to the players' self-interest and actually not penalize them for throwing 3/4 court heaves with almost no chance to make it at the basket at the end of a quarter.

Or, even keep it at 3 points, but anything from the defensive end of half-court doesn't count as a missed shot. They could even set up a separate "desperation shot" category for kicks.