How can they fix basketball to make it watchable again?

[vuduchile 1,941]

Every NBA and NCAA game I catch lately seems to finish with with teams trading fouls and free throws. I realize it's the best strategy for conserving time while giving your team a chance to win, but it's boring and lame.

 

I just hate seeing an otherwise great game reduced to a free throw contest.

 

Should they reduce the number of personal fouls allowed?

 

What about the number of team fouls allowed before the penalty?

 

 

 

[frank 2,144]

I have always hated the fouling at the end. I say treat the fouls as what they are, intentional fouls. 2 shots and the ball.

 

The current system is just as stupid as if football teams weren't allowed to decline penalties.

[vuduchile 1,941]

I have always hated the fouling at the end. I say treat the fouls as what they are, intentional fouls. 2 shots and the ball.

 

The current system is just as stupid as if football teams weren't allowed to decline penalties.

Yep. I like this idea.

[BiPolarBear 476]

I have never seen a whole NBA, college or high school basketball game.

[Sho Nuff 719]

Some tweaks are needed.

Fouling is fine...its the strategy in closer games.

 

But they need to do something about all the timeouts (but the networks will fight that).

 

These forced timeouts ever 4 minutes of play are ridiculous.

Spread the time between them a bit wider...take away at least one TO from the teams per half.

Widen the lane a little and move the 3 point line back just a tad.

[WhiteWonder 2,171]

unfortunately, both sports are hugely popular and you likely wont be seeing any changes.

 

i like the 5 foul limit in college and wish we would see that in the pros.

 

as for all the intentional fouling at the end of games, you see it WAY more in college than in the pros. possibly because the pro season is longer and teams feel less of a need to extend games during the regular season when its only 1 out of 82. plus you get a lot of teams who dont really care about winning as much as they care about ping pong balls. College teams dont gain anything by losing. Also, once you get down to tournament play (conference and NCAA), its win or go home so you really can't blame teams for fouling. A lot of college kids shoot like 60-65% and its a viabloe strategy to extend games and give yourself a chance to catch up in the final minute or 2.

 

If you really want to see less intentional fouling in the college game, there are 2 things they could do.

 

1. shorten the shot clock. there are almost no professional basketball leagues, anywhere, with more than a 30 second shot clock. If the clock was 24, teams with the lead wouldnt be able to milk the clock... resulting in quicker shots and more offensive opportunities for the losing team to attempt 3's or just get back into the game in general. With a 35 second clock and 1 minute left, how can you blame the down team for fouling?

 

2. keep the same number of fouls that result in the bonus and double bonus but possibly put a cap on the total number of fouls for a half. double bonus is 10 right? some teams get there unintentionally so maybe if there was an 18 foul cap. It might result in a few less intentionals.

[Magnificent Bastard 190]

Nothing changes until people stop watching. People will watch as long as they have an interest (filling out brackets).

[IGotWorms 3,310]

I have never seen a whole NBA, college or high school basketball game.

[Sho Nuff 719]

Agree with shortening the shot clock as well.

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

Have a sniper in the arena and the fans at home can tweet which underperforming overpaid player gets double tapped or tranquilized.

 

Give both teams 95 points and play for 5 minutes.

 

Make dunking a foul

 

Get rid of 3 point line.

[avoiding injuries 1,220]

It's amazing how much I was into the NBA in the 90's and just have no interest in watching it today.

[Magnificent Bastard 190]

Had a partial season ticket plan for the Knicks early-mid 90's, and was offered a lot of money for some of those playoff tickets. Damn. I shoukd have taken the money. I could care less if they became the best team in the league. As a matter of fact, I hope they stay at he bottom. 'd rather the attention go to hockey.

[Mungwater 588]

It's amazing how much I was into the NBA in the 90's and just have no interest in watching it today.

I'm the same way, I was actually on the team in college (only played MAYBE two minutes in two years), I loved basketball. Now, at least in most NBA games, it's a one on one with everyone else clearing out. Still see some decent games in college though, but not enough to keep me interested outside of the tournament.

[Cdub100 3,380]

Under two/three minutes the team who gets fouled get to decided if they want to shoot free throw or keep the ball with a new shot clock.

[Bill E. 666]

Under two/three minutes the team who gets fouled get to decided if they want to shoot free throw or keep the ball with a new shot clock.

That would work. I counted 14 free throws in the last minute (15 minutes real time) of the Duke game.

[IGotWorms 3,310]

It's amazing how much I was into the NBA in the 90's and just have no interest in watching it today.

Me too. Used to love the NBA back in the day of Jordan, Magic, Bird, Ewing, Olajuwon, Reggie Miller, etc. Lotta great players and compelling rivalries.

 

Hasn't been good since. Was terrible for a while and then improved to mediocre.

[BiPolarBear 476]

 

True as hell. I was in a competition where the prize was two tickets in the press box at a Mavs game. I am told it is at court level behind glass. Free food, free booze, VIP parking. They declared a tie for the tickets and I got one. I gave my ticket to the other guy. He was a huge Mavs fan. He borrowed a black Escalade with 24's and took his fiance'.

[Mungwater 588]

 

True as hell. I was in a competition where the prize was two tickets in the press box at a Mavs game. I am told it is at court level behind glass. Free food, free booze, VIP parking. They declared a tie for the tickets and I got one. I gave my ticket to the other guy. He was a huge Mavs fan. He borrowed a black Escalade with 24's and took his fiance'.

Cruzers man sure does take him on nice dates

[Sho Nuff 719]

NBA is hard because man of us look at it from what I would call a nice peak with the Celtics/Lakers series...Magic/Bird...then Jordan coming on.

Just an awesome time to watch the NBA back then.

I think the game is fine...but I just have not gotten into it as much. I actually prefer smaller college ball. Watching a team like Belmont or David Lipscomb here in Nashville. Better to show my son how to play (and a bit watching Wisconsin and how they move the ball).

[cbfalcon 824]

Now, at least in most NBA games, it's a one on one with everyone else clearing out. .

I loved him, but MJ really pushed that to the forefront.

 

But offense is changing if you haven't been watching much the last several years. It's all about motion and constant ball movement until you find an open shooter. I give the Nash era Suns a lot of credit for pushing things that direction. The Mavericks of the last decade helped a ton. And last year the Spurs absolutely perfected it. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

 

It's amazing they've done this, considering their style of play in the first half of Tim Duncan's career. But watch a Spurs game and you may not see a single clearout one on one type play the entire game. The popular theory is that Popavich likes European players for this reason, and it makes total sense. It really is beautiful to watch.

[ZeroTolerance 582]

30 second shot clock is almost certainly approaching for the college game. After testing it for a couple years, the NCAA instituted it for all NIT games this month (along with moving the charge area from 3' to 4'). That should help with the pace of play a bit, but the time outs are still out of control.

[HenryHill9323 65]

Nekkid chearleaders.

[vuduchile 1,941]

I counted 14 free throws in the last minute (15 minutes real time) of the Duke game.

This is what I'm talking about. Nobody wants to watch that crap.

[The Moz 69]

Take all the refs in the NCAA ... then pry theirs heads from out Coach K's ass

[SUXBNME 1,324]

Bring back the 90's Bulls and the early 2000's Kings

 

Sh1t was more exciting back then.

[posty 2,296]

Under two/three minutes the team who gets fouled get to decided if they want to shoot free throw or keep the ball with a new shot clock.

I think this would result in more timeouts. If a team decides to take the ball out instead of shooting and can't get the ball in, then they take a timeout.

 

Plus if you got the team that was a terrible free throw shooting team (i.e. Syracuse), they would always take the ball out and the other team would keep fouling, thus slowing down the game even more.

 

IIRC, the NBA used to have this rule and they removed it. I know that they used to have the 3-to-make-2 rule and removed that as well.

[WhiteWonder 2,171]

another thing they could do in college is reduce the number of timeouts a team has. It always feels like each team has too many. Down the stretch it feels like an adequate amount but that's because they already used so many in really less than dire situations.

 

additionally, i really dislike the no continuation rule in College during fouls. Its still a foul and still counts toward a teams total but because they don't honor continuation (as the NBA does), it results in side outs and baseline outs which are much more difficult for a lot of these college kids.... which results in...... you guessed it, more timeouts if the team can't get the ball in. Just award free throws on continuation. Its more penalizing than just having the other team inbound the ball and as a result this might reduce the number of fouls a team commits. Why foul in certain situations where you run the risk of continuation and free throws? but as it stands why NOT foul when all it results in is a side out?

 

 

quick breakdown of the points i've laid out in this thread to help improve the college game

 

1. shorten the shot clock to 30 seconds if not 24.

2. fewer total timeouts per half per team

3. allow continuation on fouls like the NBA does

4. put a cap on the total number of fouls a team can commit per half. 7th foul = bonus, 10th = double bonus, so lets say 18th is your final foul. Any foul you commit beyond that is a fresh shot clock for the opponent. no more free throws.

[cbfalcon 824]

Plus if you got the team that was a terrible free throw shooting team (i.e. Syracuse), they would always take the ball out and the other team would keep fouling, thus slowing down the game even more.

.

Why would the other team keep fouling?

[Cdub100 3,380]

I think this would result in more timeouts. If a team decides to take the ball out instead of shooting and can't get the ball in, then they take a timeout.

 

Plus if you got the team that was a terrible free throw shooting team (i.e. Syracuse), they would always take the ball out and the other team would keep fouling, thus slowing down the game even more.

 

IIRC, the NBA used to have this rule and they removed it. I know that they used to have the 3-to-make-2 rule and removed that as well.

The end of game is broken. Less time out would help too.

[posty 2,296]

Why would the other team keep fouling?

If I knew the other team was going to take the ball out instead of shooting foul shots, I would keep fouling... Eventually they would take the foul shots or you would get a turnover...

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

The game is still watchable and in good shape. I can see moving to a 30 second clock, but all of the other stuff is just people with ADD complaining.

[avoiding injuries 1,220]

There were 4 timeouts during an 8 second span at the end of regulation in the mich st game. Add in free throws and an exciting finish was dragged out waaaaaayyyyyy too long.

[edjr 5,557]

more white guys

[IGotWorms 3,310]

There is something to be said for an elite team needing to be able to hit their free throws late. If you can't handle the pressure at the line you probably aren't a champion.

 

Apologies to Nick Anderson

[Sho Nuff 719]

The game is still watchable and in good shape. I can see moving to a 30 second clock, but all of the other stuff is just people with ADD complaining.

 

Nah...the amount of timeouts (team and TV) are ridiculous.

[Sho Nuff 719]

There is something to be said for an elite team needing to be able to hit their free throws late. If you can't handle the pressure at the line you probably aren't a champion.

 

Apologies to Nick Anderson

 

Id like to see how this tournament compares to others as far as FT%. Seems FT shooting has been terrible in this tournament.

[WhiteWonder 2,171]

Why would the other team keep fouling?

 

why wouldn't they? every inbound is a chance at a steal/turnover and if your team is down and you're intentionally fouling to prolong the game with free throws, you're going to keep fouling to prolong the game even if the opposing team has the option to inbound the ball instead. like i said, another chance to pressure and create a turnover. Ideally, they want the other team to attempt (and miss) free throws but just because they can inbound the ball instead doesn't mean you say "alright then, we give up".

[Mookz 1,287]

Not sure why we're married to the idea of a perfectly spherical ball. Introduce a slightly football-shaped ball. More entertaining to watch, and it may bring over some NFL fans.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Sho Nuff, on 30 Mar 2015 - 10:15 AM, said:

Nah...the amount of timeouts (team and TV) are ridiculous.

If there are 4 timeouts in the last 8 seconds, it means that there were not that many in the first half and during the rest of the game.

 

That strategy and planning is part of the drama. As a basketball coach, I appreciate the timeouts more than most.

 

I blame ESPN for everyone just wanting stuff to get over quickly. These games last about 2:10 max. Football games are over 3 hours.

[HenryHill9323 65]

This:

 

https://brendanmarshall929.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ball-basketball-red-white-blue-0119ada0da-b1ce-44b1-8c64-8e9946a6643alarge.jpg

 

'Merica!