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NBALeeks has the scoop on future changes to NBA Rules, particularly the elimination of the Charging foul. We talked with an assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern to get a brief insight into what the Commissioner's office is thinking and what NBA fans can expect.
In the midst of the NBA Finals with the NBA Draft just around the corner, NBA fans all over the world are washed over in the climax of their sport. In the midst of all the euphoria, it's easy for fans to lose track of what's really going on in the league, namely the annual review of NBA Rules, and proposed changes to the rules. The purpose: eliminate rules that hinder game-flow, delivering to the fans high quality sport without hindrance. This week, NBALeeks has uncovered some exciting changes to NBA rules that promise to make the Great Sport on Earth, at least in the North-Western Hemisphere, a torrid scoring affair, giving both teams the leeway with which they need to score triple digits every game. As part of David Stern's desire to see his league's games turn into faster-paced affairs, the Commissioner's Office submitted pages on pages of rules to be reexamined, and potentially altered. At the forefront? Charging and blocking fouls.
“We really want to see higher scoring games, more players getting to the basket, and less time spent on fouls,” David Stern said in a low-key post-game interview in Houston, 2005, “And there's a lot of things we need to do to get there, not least of which is reexamine some of the things that make the game tick. What we're aiming for of course is a more energized sport that the fans can really get into.”
This summer will be a year of change. Already, the Commissioner's Office has banned tights in 2006-07, much to the chagrin of the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Heat, who all used the fashion accessory as a means to solidify team-identity. The changes to charging and blocking fouls however, promise to excite every fan of the league. According to “Pooma League Statistics”, approximately 34% of each game is spent on fouls. While some fouls cannot be eliminated, such as shooting fouls, Stern's office believes they've found a way to eliminate up to 12% of the time spent on fouls. “Time saved during game-time is time we can sell to our sponsors, earning the league more money. More money is...well, more money is good (laughs).”
The proposed change is simple: Eliminate the charging foul and impose harsher stances for blocking fouls. Jackson Mewly, the Assistant Commissioner to Stern and liaison of the Commissioner's office to the League, says “The charging foul really has to go. We have teams that can't even score without getting to the basket. Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, the aggressive defense teams are allowed to play is also driving the scoring average down. The result? Games that only score in the high 70's and low 80's. Did you know the Pistons kept their [opposing] teams to an average of 90 PPG? 90! And [Pistons] were only number three! Memphis and Spurs were both able to push teams under 90 average. We feel that's a low number and absolutely unacceptable. I think it's safe to say we'd like to see 115, minimum, and exciting games that top 150 points—per team!—should be a semi-regular thing.”
Watch out Shaq! To further this transition into a higher-scoring era, imposing stricter blocking penalties in tandem with removal of charging seems to be the preferred course of thinking. Mewly continues: “Watch a game. Say Wade is going to drive to the basket down the lane. What happens? Kirilenko moves into the lane in front of him, which prevents Wade from scoring. Now, if Kirilenko is there before Wade starts driving this is fine. However, if Kirilenko moves into position after Wade has started his drive this is a blocking foul—even if Kirilenko is in position before Wade-- We think this will improve scoring dramatically. Then take the same scenario, but Kirilenko is in position first—Wade can still try to score without worrying about a charge.”
The league doesn't convene until the beginning of July, at which time it will impose some of the final groundwork for the changes. Stay tuned, NBALeeks may bring you other exciting rules changes. -NBALeeks.com Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)
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