Shorter Game, More Commercials

[zman1527]

This would sure create a strange stat keeping issue. Guys would get credit for scoring points when they didn't even take a shot. Free throw percentages would automatically go up for everybody, but especially for the worst shooters.

These proposals make me realize that I do not hate free throws nearly as much as most of you. I see them as an important part of the end-game strategy. I would prefer that a team who is getting beat down the stretch has a way to tighten things up and keep pressure on the other team. If it weren't for the ability to foul in this situation a lot of games would end less dramatically.

Stats? BFD. Also, most guys ft stats would go down as they only have one chance. Seems to me that guys right now have a much better percentage on the second ft. With only one, they would not get that "practice".

Fouling and stopping the game to catch up is to me a ruinous way to run your game. slow and boring. I want action. I saw a college game a few years back where it was close but in the last two minutes for whatever reason there were no fouls and no timeouts called. Great ending.

You are just used to the way it is, you don't know what it would be like otherwise. How about instead of fouling, more intense pressure defense to get steals? Sounds better to me.

 

[One Brow]

I don't think the number of ft attempts in a game will have a significant effect on the percentage, just on the variance.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

I don't think the number of ft attempts in a game will have a significant effect on the percentage, just on the variance.

Huh? Variance is the spread so I assume you are talking about variance in shot location (I cannot imagine what other variance you might be referring to in this context). The wider the spread the fewer the shots that go through that little hoop thingy. When the ball doesn't go through the hoop it counts as a miss, and due to annoying little rules of math that are impossible to break, misses always bring the percentage down.

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

The entire push for this is to become more like the soccer format, shorter games that are more digestible for casual fans. It has nothing to do with more commercial time. It's moving from 10 mandatory timeouts to 8. The timeouts are still proportional. Why is everyone so cynical?

The fact is that with limited time some people don't want to sit through a 2 1/2 to 3 hour basketball game with only 48 minutes of action. Even if you don't like soccer, you have to admit the format is excellent for people with limited time. The only break in action is a 15 minute half-time, and the games are always under 2 hours.

 

[BTP]

Huh? Variance is the spread so I assume you are talking about variance in shot location (I cannot imagine what other variance you might be referring to in this context). The wider the spread the fewer the shots that go through that little hoop thingy. When the ball doesn't go through the hoop it counts as a miss, and due to annoying little rules of math that are impossible to break, misses always bring the percentage down.

variance in a mathematical context are influenced by the sample size. And fewer free throws/game results in a smaller sample size and the smaller sample sizes increases the variance and makes free throws a bigger luck affair.

Lemme give a quick example:

Let's say Trey Burke is a 80% free throw shooter.

In an imaginary particular game he is fouled once while attempting a three pointer, getts three And-1 foulshots and 7 normal shooting fouls that result in 2 attempts each.

That's a total of 20 foulshots in the current format. On this night, he misses 4 attempts.

The first foulshot after the 3 pointer misses, and 3 more attempts on standard shooting fouls. Overall he's extracting 16 points out of his fouls shots.

When you award only 1 shot regardless of the value of the shot, he would be shooting 11 times that night.
He misses 2 shots which results in a > than 80% conversion ratio. As I already mentioned he bricks his attempt after his 3 pointer and another one on a 2 pointer.

Now he sinks 6 six of his free throws that award 2 points and 3 that award 1 point. That results in 15 points out of these attempts, even though he has an above average free throw shooting night.

Now transfer that on a whole team. Things like fouls at 3 pointer are so rare over the course of a season that you'll have problems getting the luck out of these attempts for individual player.

Also there's research indicating that the 2nd free throw attempts are 3-4% more accurate than the first overall for athletes shooting multiple shots. So you rob them of a warmup which will devalue 3 point free throw shooting.

So they'll have to ask themselves is the time gain worth adding randomness into the game or is it even wanted to randomize outcomes?

I personally think the best way to influence game length would be removing the gestures to indicate fouls. NBA refs have voice comm and communicate this way with the technical staff while preparing the next inbound play.

The number of available timeouts and duration of these is also a big reason for delay of play. These changes could cut off as much time as could reducing the number of foul shots at least the way I perceive time during a game.

 

[ema]

I don't like most of the change offers. They are just too major and alter the game in big ways. I'm for more subtle changes however, such as allowing to play above the rim, awarding passers with assist when the opponent fouls or defensive 3 seconds etc.

In my opinion the current game doesn't need to be fixed in big ways. It ain't broken to begin with. Remember, the biggest issues are with the business side of the things, not the game itself. Greedy people ruining and slowing down the game through out of the game elements and we are thinking to fix it with altering the game elements. That's not the healthiest approach to me.

 

[One Brow]

Huh? Variance is the spread so I assume you are talking about variance in shot location (I cannot imagine what other variance you might be referring to in this context).

I meant the variance in the percentage of free throws made from game to game. If you go from taking ten free throws a game at one point each which you make at a 70% clip on the season, to, for example, six free throws that total to the same ten points, you will still average the same seven points a game over the course of the season, but you'll have many more games with ten points or with four points.