Number of Timeouts

[tempo]

Ive been watching quote a few games recentley that i orderd from pontel, and i must say that the number of timeouts during an nba game is ridiculous, particulary at the end of the game. To me it takes way from the flow and spontanious aspect of the game. Like i think so many great games have been spoiled by the number of breaks towards the end.

What is your take on the timout situation?

[[Q]]

The NBA has TV timeouts, required timeouts that they automatically take after every 3:00 of each quarter.

[Fitzy]

i dont think that its a situation at all, if timeouts are allocated to both teams they can take them when they want basically

[[Q]]

i dont think that its a situation at all, if timeouts are allocated to both teams they can take them when they want basically

they do have the option to do that, obviously. you can take a timeout whenever you want. but i don't know if the tv timeouts are counted in the # of timeouts that a team can call. next time you watch an NBA game, watch what happens right after the first dead ball after the 9:00, 6:00, & 3:00 marks of each quarter.

[Fitzy]

i meant normal time outs

[JT_55]

I think a TV timeout is charged to one of the teams...I forgot which one has to call first, the home or away team.

I'm doing research right now.

EDIT: Ahh..yes.

SOURCE

d. There must be two 100-second timeouts in the first and third periods and three 100-second timeouts in the second and fourth periods. If neither team has taken a timeout prior to 5:59 of the first or third period, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it at the first dead ball and charge it to the home team. If no subsequent timeouts are taken prior to 2:59, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it and charge it to the team not previously charged. If neither team has taken a timeout prior to 8:59 of the second or fourth period, a mandatory timeout will be called by the Official Scorer and charged to neither team. If there are no subsequent timeouts taken prior to 5:59, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it at the first dead ball and charge it to the home team. If no subsequent timeouts are taken prior to 2:59, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it and charge it to the team not previously charged. The Official Scorer shall notify a team when it has been charged with a mandatory timeout. Any additional timeouts in a period beyond those which are mandatory shall be 60 seconds. No regular or mandatory timeout shall be granted to the defensive team during an official's suspension-of-play for (1) a delay-of-game warning, (2) retrieving an errant ball, (3) an inadvertent whistle, or (4) any other unusual circumstance.

So basically if a timeout has not been called before 5:59, it is charged to the home team. And then at 2:59, if a timeout has not been called before then, the team that was not charged with the timeout earlier is now charged.

[Andrew]

The mandatory timeouts have been in place for a long time so it could be a case of nostalgia blurring my perspective but I don't remember it being such a problem back in the 90s, with teams playing out situations where they'd normally call a timeout these days. I think the strategy might have changed a little bit there; I recall a Spurs game a couple of years ago when Popovich called a timeout 31 seconds into the game because he was unhappy with Ginobili being beaten off the dribble on the first play of the game.

The intentional foul/free throws/timeout cycle at the end of games that see one team just out of reach of the other gets very tedious. I understand the reasoning behind turning the game into a chess match but it's still ugly.

[The X]

The mandatory timeouts have been in place for a long time so it could be a case of nostalgia blurring my perspective but I don't remember it being such a problem back in the 90s, with teams playing out situations where they'd normally call a timeout these days. I think the strategy might have changed a little bit there; I recall a Spurs game a couple of years ago when Popovich called a timeout 31 seconds into the game because he was unhappy with Ginobili being beaten off the dribble on the first play of the game.

The intentional foul/free throws/timeout cycle at the end of games that see one team just out of reach of the other gets very tedious. I understand the reasoning behind turning the game into a chess match but it's still ugly.

They need to implement some rule to change this. It's just a sad state of affairs. Then again, if players worked on their FT shooting, it might not be such a problem anymore.

[Andrew]

But even if they're making every single free throw down the stretch, a twenty minute free throw derby that takes up the final 90 seconds of regulation is still going to be ugly, especially when a team ends up losing by only eight points instead of nine or ends up giving a couple more points en route to making the other team's victory as ugly as possible.

I guess you don't want teams giving up down the stretch because there is that chance of a miracle finish but sometimes it's better just to play it out. If a team is down by eight with 25 seconds or less left on the clock then it's pretty much time to throw in the towel, especially if you miss on the next possession. However, teams will sometimes still foul in that kind of situation, ultimately doing nothing except delay the inevitable.

[The X]

I guess it's up to coaches in the end....

[Andrew]

I suppose so. I wish they'd make the call to call it a night when the game's out of reach though instead of extending the game with twenty minutes of timeouts and free throws to make up a couple of points...especially in situations where tomorrow is another day, if you'll pardon the cliche.

[Patr1ck]

This is interesting news. I didn't know that official timeouts were counted against teams. I guess that is why they get 20 second timeouts, also.

[tempo]

Andrew got my point exactley, i just think it takes away from the flow and natural eb of the game when its just whistles all the time. One minute can take like 5 minutes and when the game is in the 3rd overtime i just think it gets irratating. A game of football lasts 90-minutes and is over before a basketball game, thats no lie.

[Andrew]

The strange thing is that I don't recall it being as big an issue back in the 90s. Of course, when I go back and watch one of the games I've got on tape/DVD they've either got no breaks or I fast forward through them and perhaps that blurs my memory of the games when they were being played live. All the same, I still feel that teams used to play through stretches back in the day where they're now quick to call timeout.

A good example was the Knicks/Blazers game today when the Blazers called timeout late in overtime even though they were up by one at the time. Perhaps that's just a sign of a less experienced team trying to settle down and make the right play down the stretch though, something you'd see less when more experienced teams like the Jordan/Pippen Bulls and Stockton/Malone Jazz were at the top of the league.