The much awaited NBA 2001-2002 season began this month. Much awaited for two main reasons. One the return of 'His Airness'. Yes, Michael Jordan back on court but this time sporting the Washington Wizards Jersey. And two, the somewhat experimental new NBA rules being put into place this season.
So far there has been considerable media discussion on Jordan and the pros and cons of his return. Needless to say the return hasn't all quite gone Mike's way. Approaching the end of November his team are second from last with 3 wins and 9 losses to their name. But that discussion is for another place and time.
The focus here is with the rule changes that have occured in the NBA this season.
For those of you unaware of these, below is a brief summary of the 3 principal amendments:
1.Removal of illegal defense guidelines
Meaning: Zone defenses which were formally forbidden in the NBA are now being allowed. This brings the NBA inline with international basketball rulings and NCAA rules.
2. Introduction of a defensive 3 second rule.
Meaning : Any defensive player that is in the 16-foot lane or extending 4 feet past the lane endline must be guarding a player within 3 seconds. i.e. they cannot stand in the paint for the whole offense acting as a detering shotblocker.
The defensive player must be within an arms length of the player they are guarding and be in a guardlike position. If the offensive player has the ball however, the defender can stand in the 16 foot lane without being within an arm's length of the person they are guarding.
The 3 second rule is reset whenever a shot is taken, the defender moves completely out of the 16 foot lane, the offensive team loses team control or if the defender is actively guarding the opponent.
Violation of this rule results in a technical foul and the offensive team resuming possession at the free throw line extended with the shot clock being set at either 14 seconds or remaining the same as it was when the game was interrupted, whichever is the greater amount.
3. Introduction of an 8 second backcourt ruling.
Meaning: A team has only 8 seconds rather than the previous 10 seconds to get the ball into the front court.
Now these may only seem like minor changes considering all the rules of basketball but there has been much deliberation on how these changes may alter the whole nature of the NBA. The rule amendments were introduced this year by the NBA to help try and improve the fan following which according to the NBA had fallen both in spectator attendance and TV viewing.
The amendments main aims seem to be:
- To provoke a more attacking and entertaining style of play by teams through full court pressure defense and up tempo offense
Rule change: 8 second backcourt
- To lessen the domination of isolating one on one basketball. This on some occasions proves spectacular, but often too results in poor ball movement & shot selection, 4 players being uninvolved in an offensive play and ultimately an uninspiring game for a large section of spectators.
Rule changes: Elimination of illegal defense
- Variation of team styles through providing greater opportunities for zone and man-to-man play
Rule changes: Elimination of illegal defense
- Prevention of static zone defenses which clog up the 16 foot lane and prevent frequent offensive penetration.
Rule change: Defensive 3 second rule
Preseason there was mixed response to these changes; some felt that the stars of the NBA would be less able to show off their talent and what was unique to the NBA would be lost, whilst others welcomed the new freedom for alternative styles of play. With the season in its first few weeks, what now seem to be the effects of these new rules?
Predictions for success in the 2001-02 season in the Western Pacific Division were Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings who both showed the caliber of their teams last season. At this stage the Lakers and Kings hold first and second place in the conference with the Lakers sporting a 11 and 1 record. The rule changes were thought to possibly hurt the Lakers team as opponents would be able to double team their outstanding athletes Shaq and Kobe Bryant, but this to date has not stopped the Lakers stars. Shaq is ranked No 2 in the League for points averaging 26.8 per game and No.2 for blocks. Kobe is experiencing similar success ranking No.1 for free throws made, No.1 for points per game (27.2), and No. 2 for steals per game.
In the MidWest, the San Antonio Spurs were high on some predication listings as were Dallas, so the conference at these early stages being led by Minnesota comes as a surprise. Minnesota is one of the teams that has used the rule changes to their advantage. They have always been a strong defensive team and this season they have used smart zone defenses to create good matchups and cause offensive difficulties for their opponents.
Orlando and Philadelphia had been highlighted in the preseason as key challengers for the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, but there performances so far have been far from outstanding although the return for Philadelphia of their Allstar guard Allen Iverson has begun to change the team's momentum. New Jersey Nets the current conference leaders are likely to attribute their success to the strong leadership from Jason Kidd as oppose to any obvious advantages from the rule changes.
In the Central Division, Milwaukee are leading with a 9 and 1 win record. Their team is known for their explosive capabilities on offensive both inside the paint and outside. They have demonstrated these offensive threats this season but did struggle against the zone when playing the tough Minnesota defensive outfit. Their lack of focus on defense pertains that the rule changes may as the season wears on, play out to their disadvantage as teams become more comfortable with using different types of defense to counter Milwaukee's offense.
At this early stage in the season it is hard to know how much influence the rule changes will have on teams but it is likely that teams will utilize the changes in defense to their advantage as the season progresses and they become more confident with new defensive styles. Tall effective shooters should also become a very valuable weapon against the more frequent zones.
Along with the success & failures of the teams for the early start of the season, what about the fans? Has their been a dramatic increase in ticket sales at arenas and what about TV viewing? Are fans more content with what they are watching? Well it would appear that there has been an increase in ticket sales overall but some of this can be attributed to the return of Michael Jordan. For example all Boston Celtics vs Washington Wizards tickets have been sold out. The only other team Boston are sold out for are the LA Lakers. For their game against Seattle on the 9th, the attendance was 15,575 out of a possible 19,600 capacity. TV viewing has fallen in the last few years but in the same instance there has been the introduction of the LeaguePass alongside the internet audio broadcasts which may have caused some of this drop off. It remains to be seen as the season progresses whether the new rules will have had the overall desired affect attempted by the NBA.
Sources/Further Information
NBA
Sports Illustrated
www.basketball.com
www.basketballnews.com
Sportsline NBA
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