Your Change the game List

[NovU]

This How to reform the NBA post-lockout: "3 year rule" thread gave me an idea. Each of us have ideas and wishes on how the game can be changed for the better. Here is my wish list, not in particular order.

- BAN ZONE DEFENSE:
We don't allow the zone defense to its fullest form anyways with 3 seconds violation rule in the system. The current rule masks individual defensive deficiencies and it made isolation plays less entertaining than how they were before. Team defense still existed before in no-zone defense era and individual defense was more fun to watch imo.

- REPLAYS ON CHARGE/BLOCK
It's already extremely hard to officiate the block charge plays and the referees' mistakes can be really costly at times. Why not get rid of one ref on the floor and install a referee sitting in front of camera videos who can respond quickly to the situations.

- ALLOW THE TEAMS TO CHALLENGE THE CALLS
Just like Tennis Challenge System where the player has unlimited chances to challenge, but once three incorrect challenges are made in a set, they cannot anymore. This will clearly make the game better if the league finds its ways to implement the system.

- SOFTEN THE TECHNICAL FOUL RULES
The new tech rule proved to be a total garbage as the referees fucked up on many occasions last season. At many times, it was just shame shame shame moment. Players were fined, coaches were fined while referees were pretty much untouchable regardless of their job performance.

-ALLOW A HAND CHECK WHILE DEFENDING POST UP
Removing this caused lots of flopping bigs to succeed. Little bit of contact to the chest, there flies Varejao. Part of reason why power bigs are diminished compared to old days while finesse bigs or guards are more?

- SOFTEN THE DRESS CODE
It has gone little too far. Rondo was threatened to be fined because he wore a headband upside down? The intention is good but needlessly too strict. I don't think allowing them to express their identity won't hurt much. NBA shouldn't act like a church where everyone dresses up and wears fake smiles.

It's all I could think of now. Feel free to add. Discuss.

[Kenny]

Some interesting suggestions there. One thing I'd like to see is players getting punished for intentional flops, but that would be just about impossible to judge. As far as technicals are concerned, I don't particulary care about how strict they are with it, it's more about consistency for me. I'd like to see Dwyane Wade and LeBron James get called for the same technical that a lesser player would. And none of this "let them play because it's a big game" mentality. If someone steps over the line, it shouldn't matter how big the game is, they're in the wrong and don't deserve any immunity from the NBA rules.

[Lamrock]

The first three ideas are awful in my opinion and would make the game less watchable. #4 is fine - just have the rules from 09-10. #5 would probably balance things a little better. #6 should be somewhere in between the old and new dress codes. Tasteful, but not ridiculous.

[shadowgrin]

- BAN ZONE DEFENSE:
We don't allow the zone defense to its fullest form anyways with 3 seconds violation rule in the system. The current rule masks individual defensive deficiencies and it made isolation plays less entertaining than how they were before. Team defense still existed before in no-zone defense era and individual defense was more fun to watch imo.

I want to watch the best players play basketball in all its facets and zone defense has existed long enough to be a (good?) part of the game. I want to watch basketball players show all around skill whether it be scoring in an iso or knowing how to properly play a zone.
Not all people want to watch isos all game, some of them want to watch great ball movement that leads to a basket.
Playing zone in the NBA isn't easy either. It takes effort from each individual player to know proper positioning and rotation in the zone.
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... literally/

Zone defenses have been considered an NBA gimmick — you could run it for a few minutes to throw a team off balance, but once they adjusted it was too easy to rip apart.

Chaney’s zone called for constant ball pressure and help defense in ready positions on other men. It’s not a classic zone but sort of a melting pot of several zones designed to pressure teams. It takes some skill and practice because men are handed off to other defenders and the positioning can feel awkward.

Dallas runs an almost hyper-aggressive form of what Cheney used to at Temple — you can do that with the longer, better athletes of the NBA — and they’ve added traps and more.

Also to think that the only way to beat a zone is through perimeter shooting is false. It's (on and off) ball movement.
http://nbaplaybook.com/2010/12/10/a-bac ... -the-zone/
http://nbaplaybook.com/2011/01/20/quick ... -the-zone/
http://nbaplaybook.com/2011/03/28/thund ... ith-a-lob/
http://nbaplaybook.com/2011/05/02/laker ... s-angeles/
http://nbaplaybook.com/2010/05/24/why-t ... did-again/


It's not the league's or rule's fault if morons from the Heat like Chalmers or LeBron don't know how to recognize a zone defense fast enough.
http://mavericks.scout.com/2/1081095.html

Mario Chalmers admitted the Heat went entire half-quarters before quite catching on, at which time, of course, Carlisle issued another change.

[benji]

Isolation is never entertaining.

Dear god you want to go back to 1999-2002 of Iverson/Francis/Marbury/etc. pounding the ball into the Earth?

And who are all these "power bigs" that the lack of handcheck is stopping?

The reason guards thrive is the anti-handcheck on the perimeter rules. That and the zone is what killed off the new dead ball era and helped give us things like Nash and Seven Seconds or Less.

[Andrew]

I'd absolutely soften the rules regarding technicals, making them less ticky tack and enforcing them more consistently. It's ridiculous to see some players T'd up for rolling their eyes while others get away with glaring down the officials every time they think they should have received a foul call.

I'd also set clear conditions for charging fouls and be in favour of more non-calls when players flop.

[benji]

It's ridiculous to see some players T'd up for rolling their eyes while others get away with glaring down the officials every time they think they should have received a foul call.

I think it's only fair that the refs are shamed by Kobe Bryant for the fact he doesn't get a foul called on his opponent every time he misses.

[Andrew]

I suppose it's the only logical reason as to why he'd ever miss a shot.

[Patr1ck]

That, and he probably gets bored of perfection sometimes. You've gotta challenge yourself.

[NovU]

I have to admit that my wants on hand checking & zone defense rule changes are perhaps due to me being a huge fan of 90's when scoring came hard while brilliance of star players shined more than ever.

And as for other rules, I think there definitely are needs to improve the fairness and quality of officiating. Lamrock could be right that the game could be less watchable with #2 & 3, but I believe gradual improvement with bit of effort can change that.

What are your ideas to improve officiating on charge/block plays anyways? It's already extremely difficult to officiate those plays. Some even go suggest get rid of charge and make players guard the ball not the body. But I think that's going little too far.

[Kenny]

I think it'd be fun if they got rid of offensive goal tending. It'd put a more strong emphasis on boxing out and you could get a lot of exciting plays from it.

[Andrew]

I think they have to tighten up the definition of "established defensive position", so players can't get over at the last second, take the hit and get the call. If it's really unclear, I'd be in favour of a non-call. Perhaps there could also be reviews of charging calls so that frequent floppers can be identified and watched more carefully. That might be a way to prevent players from crying wolf too often.

I'd also like to see them tighten up on continuations and the conditions for being in the act of shooting. Those calls can be a bit too generous, especially when players can pivot into the defender, get the whistle then throw up the shot for a late shooting foul call. A savvy play as long as it's allowed, but it's a cheap call.

[benji]

I have to admit that my wants on hand checking & zone defense rule changes are perhaps due to me being a huge fan of 90's when scoring came hard while brilliance of star players shined more than ever.

That had more to do with adding more teams. And scoring didn't really come any harder than the 80s or today, the pace of the game was just slowed down to a crawl.

I think it'd be fun if they got rid of offensive goal tending. It'd put a more strong emphasis on boxing out and you could get a lot of exciting plays from it.

They're already sorta doing this.

[Kenny]

Really? I could have sworn I saw players get called for it last season...

[benji]

I meant it was one of the proposed rule changes for next season to allow you to touch the ball on the rim. They were testing it in the D-League last year.

[NovU]

the pace of the game was just slowed down to a crawl.

I heard it was the reason why changed so many rules including scrapping illegal defense rule since the teams were running more isolation plays which slowed down the pace. And hand checking, 8 seconds to cross the mid from backcourt, and so on... And in result, it did increase ball movement and passing I hear.

[rise]

-they definitely need to be able review and overturn bad calls or noncalls on the court. Just adopt similar rules to the NFL but limit the number of challenges to three per team per game or something. Bt seriously people- cameras and instant replays fucking exist.
-ease off on the t's. Seriously. Some of those techs were just "are you fucking kidding me" type calls last season, (*whistle* *player asks ref what happened* *player gets t'd up*)
-harder penalties for flopping. As in worse than zero penalty, you know, maybe a T?
-harder penalties for flagrant fouls and dirty plays where players are likely to be hurt. When Andrew Bynum flattened JJ Barea, Gerald Wallace, etc. he should have been getting like 10-game suspensions. Those kind of fouls are just downright dirty and lengthy suspensions could stop assholes like Bynum from crushing opposing teams' point guards. You could even suspend the player for as long as the opposing player is injured (if an injury occurs), but that could be taking it a little too far.
-shorter season (although they really have no choice this season)

[Oznogrd]

-harder penalties for flopping. As in worse than zero penalty, you know, maybe a T?

While i wish there would be a big neon sign that says he flopped this is an idiotic idea. There's no non subjective way to tell what's a flop and whats a smart play. Technically, if you get the call, flopping is a smart play. No call is the best way to get rid of flopping (even though its still hard to judge) because it will put defenders out of position and punish them without stopping the game.

[rise]

Really obvious flops can be seen. There were some really obvious ones last season

[Oznogrd]

Really obvious flops can be seen. There were some really obvious ones last season

Were you so mad when it was your team benefitting from the calls? Its completely subjective.

[NovU]

speaking of flop, I thought last year's Bosh's flop was one of the best in recent history.

phpBB [video]

I somewhat saw it as a retaliation to dangerous swing which really could have hurt Bosh. Still a flop is a flop.

As for Lebron's flop versus Mavericks in the finals, he was anticipating a contact but decided to back away as opponent fouls him really hard usually. And yeah, still a flop a flop.

[hova-]

Damn Bosh.

But why the heck would you want to see the zone D get eliminated from the game? The zone D helped to rescue NBA basketball in the 2000s, where isolation-ball alá Allen Iverson was killing the league. A zone defense is not easy to play, but the Mavs showed how to use it effectively in the last Playoffs. It's a strategic element and I like it.

[NovU]

I guess zone D really is a subjective topic. I also know that more people show support for it than being against it as I've seen in the poll where more people were against banning it. But I was always on the side of supporting illegal D rule for compositive reasons above.

As for our favorite teams, ironically and theoretically it's only right to share different views on this issue again I guess. Zone D was Maverick's strength while the Heat kept struggling to find answers against it and on many occasions it forced the Heat to be a jump shooting team even with 2 or the most devastating finishers in today's league.

[hova-]

As for our favorite teams, ironically and theoretically it's only right to share different views on this issue again I guess. Zone D was Maverick's strength while the Heat kept struggling to find answers against it and on many occasions it forced the Heat to be a jump shooting team even with 2 or the most devastating finishers in today's league.

For me personally, shooting and passing are the real fundamentals of basketball. The game was all about shooting when it was invented and so I think it is only right to see teams struggling against a zone D if they don't have many good jump shooters. (apart from the fact that the Heat also did not find the right answers on defense as well - at least in the last three games of the series)

[shadowgrin]

I somewhat saw it as a retaliation to dangerous swing which really could have hurt Bosh. Still a flop is a flop.