Basketball Suggestions

The NHL and college basketball seasons started (relatively) recently with all the fanfare of a 34th birthday.[1]  Serious fans likely noticed, but really how excited were you.  It’s not like the start of college football, which is hyped for months until its orgiastic crescendo in late August.

I don’t have much to say about the NHL.  “Thankfully,” you all silently mouth.  I love attending games live – the speed and excitement are unrivaled in sports.  But following the puck on TV is difficult for most non-fans since the demise of the FoxTrax.  HD helps, but the sport’s TV ratings do not match the other major sports in this country.

I have plenty to say about basketball.  First – there is still too much traveling.  (See 4/1/17 post https://www.notesfromnokomis.com/?p=652 .)  Second – basketball is the sport that is the most enjoyable to play.  Anybody can grab a ball, find a nearby hoop and start shooting.  Find a friend and you can play H-O-R-S-E.[2]  Find a few friends and you can play three-on-three.  Collect a couple of passers-by and a full court game is in the offing.  No other sport has that kind of flexibility and all of the variants are fun.[3]

Third – bsaketball is not perfect.  So in the spirit of giving, I proffer three rule changes for your consideration as you watch the NBA on Christmas Day.  Be honest, you will watch at least some of one of the five games scheduled.

Kicking the ball is already against the rules, but there is no penalty.  The most common use of the kick is to deter a bounce pass to a back-door cutter.  That is my favorite play in basketball.  We should encourage it, not allow flagrant rule-breaking to stymie it without punishment.

Therefore I suggest that a kicked ball (a true kick) should be considered a technical foul (though not a personal foul) and the other team should be awarded a foul shot and (of course) keep the ball.  Implementing this rule would cause players to stop kicking the ball.  I can think of no negative unintended consequences.

The second rule change would involve calling technical fouls for flopping.  If a player wants to take a change, he should stand in there and take the charge.  He should not attempt to deceive the refs by acting like he was run over by a bull charging a red flag.[4]  Similarly, players (especially point guards) who react to incidental contact with a violent head flop (as if they have been rear-ended at high speed) should be charged with a technical foul.  The flopping is unsportsmanlike and should be penalized.  The refs have a hard enough job without worrying about whether players are intentionally deceiving them.  After a few technical foul calls, I suspect the deceptions would diminish and the game would improve.

Finally, (for now, there will undoubtedly be future posts about basketball) we need a way to minimize the influence of three-point shooting.  Too many players launch long shots with alacrity and impunity because of the 50% bonus that is granted.  The original bonus was intended to loosen interior defense because the game had become something of a slugfest.

In the 1979 NBA season, the first with a three-point line, teams shot an average of 227 threes.  That was 3% of all shots taken.  Last year, almost a third of all shots taken were three-pointers.  It’s an epidemic, not without good reason.  A made 3-point shot is worth 50% more than a made layup.  The following chart shows team averages in the NBA. (3PA = three point attempt, 2PA = other shot attempts, FGA = all shots attempted)

Larry Bird was one of the greatest shooters in the history of the NBA.  His first year coincided with the first year of the three-point line.  He twice led the NBA in three-pointers made.  His season high was 98 made three-point shots.  Last year, 91 players made more than 98 three-point shots, including centers DeMarcus Cousins (131), Marc Gasol (104), and Karl-Anthony Towns (101).  An unintended consequence of the three-point rule is that centers now move away from the basket to take three-pointers.  Nobody would have predicted that in 1979.

Even though three-point shooting is better than ever in percentage terms, overall shooting is not–because so many shots are long, lower percentage shots.

Basketball is not better when more players are taking more shots from farther from the rim.  Basketball is better when players pass and help each other get open (preferably easy) shots.  I can’t argue that players should take fewer three-point shots – because the 50% bonus is so advantageous.  But I will argue that we should do something to restore the balance between good shots and rules-advantaged long shots.

I suggest awarding three points for layups.  “Preposterous,” you scream.  Perhaps so, but hear me out.  I would only grant three points if the player who shot the layup caught it (meaning someone passed it to him) with at least one foot in the restricted area[5] and that he shot without dribbling.

We already reward many long bad shots with an extra point if the shot is made.  Why not reward a shot that can only be achieved through teamwork?  It wouldn’t be that hard to enforce, no harder than the three-point shot.  The key feature is the same:  the placement of the feet when the shot is taken.

This rule change would encourage teams to pass and set up good shots, instead of just open long ones.  Watching a team chuck up a bunch of long shots is not as interesting as watching a team strive to get easy short shots.

Whether you agree or disagree (and I expect more of the latter), have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the games.

[1] I was traveling and distracted, but my favorite college basketball team had played two games before I realized the season had started.

[2] If you need “horse” explained, this post probably isn’t for you.

[3] “Horse” is a game, not a sport.  For further explanation see 2/2/17 post https://www.notesfromnokomis.com/?p=630 .

[4] The redness of the flag is irrelevant.  Bulls are color blind.  The bulls charge the flag because it is moving.

[5] This area is already marked on the floor to prevent players from drawing charges while standing, essentially, under the basket.  The arc extends 1.25 meters from the basket, that’s 4.1 feet.