Get Up Eight Times

As college basketball wrapped up last night, I’m impressed by how tense the game was from start to finish. It was crisp, it was quick, it was fast. But it also reminded me flawed the NBA game is right now, and I think it’s a good time to present some of the issues.

Let’s look at how the NBA has always done this wrong–full timeouts at the end of games. I’m fine with full timeouts early in quarters, but when there are two minutes left in a game the flow gets interrupted with timeout after timeout. First of all, full timeouts make the casual fan impatient with say, a five-six point lead with fifteen seconds left. I’ll see people stream out of the stands and to their cars, and I’ll start paying attention to other things, like YouTube videos or what not at home. In other words, the end of the game feel stilted compared to the 47 minutes preceding its finish. Is it like this in any other sport? Anti-climactic is the word we’re looking for.

But there is a little tinkering we can do. If teams can’t have say, a two timeout limit, let’s convert all full timeouts after two minutes left into 20-second timeouts. This makes it easier for fans at home, because they don’t have to sit through all the stupid TV commercials they’ve already seen five to six times (do you really think I’ll visit AutoTrader.com the SEVENTH time around?). It makes it easier for fans at the game who have enjoyed great flow for two hours and twenty-five minutes only to watch it to grind to a halt in the final five. More importantly, players who are hot are likely to stay hot if there is less interruption at the end of the game.

Also, get rid of this “advance the ball to halfcourt” rule, one of the most retarded ideas ever. Halfcourt sets are more crowded, less frenetic, and less likely to produce a meaningful result. You’re likely to see someone like Kobe, LeBron, Dirk, Wade, spot up, try to be like Mike, hold the ball for five-six seconds, and see a ridiculous fadeaway shot. I hate this. This isn’t real basketball. Play full court and run a real play. Ball movement, set up something in the post, or run a screen and roll. A halfcourt set is more likely to produce a static result.

In college, while there are full timeouts, they’re a little bit shorter than NBA full timeouts. And there is no advancing into the frontcourt. So the flow isn’t interrupted that much. The NBA needs to adapt to make their game more palatable. I don’t know what the stats are, but I RARELY see a team come back to win anyway. In college basketball, you don’t have anyone advancing the ball. So speed the pace up and let the game keep flowing the way it does.