NBA Rule changes through the years

http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html


Here are  a  couple I found interesting which I never knew existed in the first place. List doesn't have the most recent changes as it only goes through 2008

1950-51
• After a free throw is made in the last three minutes, there is a jump ball (between the player who committed the foul and the player fouled) instead of possession for the team that committed the foul.
To eliminate deliberate fouling and roughness


Well that didn't work out real well so a year later it went to this.

1951-52
• The late-game free-throw rule (see 1950-51) now required the jump ball to take place between the man who is fouled and the player who is guarding him.
To eliminate the advantages of having a tall-man foul a short-man.

This one didn't even make it though a season

1953-54
• Players limited to two fouls per quarter and if a third foul is committed; the player has to sit out the remainder of that quarter.
The rule is rescinded when it fails to prevent late game fouling.

I can't seem to located when the 3 to make 2 rule was tossed out but here is when it started

1954-55
• The 24-second shot clock is introduced.
• A penalty free throw is awarded following a team’s sixth foul in any quarter.
Both rules had to be adopted to make each one work. The time limit made in unnecessary for the trailing team to foul deliberately, since it would get the ball after 24 seconds. The foul limit made it too costly to foul to prevent a chance at a basket.
• The penalty for a backcourt foul became two shots – three to make two if you are over the limit.
• Offensive fouls are treated as violations, no free throws and the defensive team gets possession. The foul would still count towards a player’s limit of six personal fouls.

Although this appears to be the rule that eliminated the 3 to make 2 perhaps

1972-73
• No foul shots are attempted, other than shooting fouls, until the fifth team foul of any period.


beat

beat wrote:http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html


Here are  a  couple I found interesting which I never knew existed in the first place. List doesn't have the most recent changes as it only goes through 2008

1950-51
• After a free throw is made in the last three minutes, there is a jump ball (between the player who committed the foul and the player fouled) instead of possession for the team that committed the foul.
To eliminate deliberate fouling and roughness


Well that didn't work out real well so a year later it went to this.

1951-52
• The late-game free-throw rule (see 1950-51) now required the jump ball to take place between the man who is fouled and the player who is guarding him.
To eliminate the advantages of having a tall-man foul a short-man.

This one didn't even make it though a season

1953-54
• Players limited to two fouls per quarter and if a third foul is committed; the player has to sit out the remainder of that quarter.
The rule is rescinded when it fails to prevent late game fouling.

I can't seem to located when the 3 to make 2 rule was tossed out but here is when it started

1954-55
• The 24-second shot clock is introduced.
• A penalty free throw is awarded following a team’s sixth foul in any quarter.
Both rules had to be adopted to make each one work. The time limit made in unnecessary for the trailing team to foul deliberately, since it would get the ball after 24 seconds. The foul limit made it too costly to foul to prevent a chance at a basket.
• The penalty for a backcourt foul became two shots – three to make two if you are over the limit.
• Offensive fouls are treated as violations, no free throws and the defensive team gets possession. The foul would still count towards a player’s limit of six personal fouls.

Although this appears to be the rule that eliminated the 3 to make 2 perhaps

1972-73
• No foul shots are attempted, other than shooting fouls, until the fifth team foul of any period.


beat

beat
* The 3 to make 2 and the 2 to make 1 ended in 1981-82.
* The rule change in 1972-73 eliminated the taking of foul shots, other than 2 shot fouls, until the 5th foul of any period. In the early years a player went to the line for 1 shot starting with the 1st non shooting foul in a period. In the present game the fouled team takes the ball out of bounds until the 5th foul of any period.

swish

beat

During the Russell years the average number of free throw attempts per game was 72.9. This year the average is 46.7. Because it was accepted as the norm in those days I didn't think of it as a problem. I doubt very much that I would appreciate a return to the days when the free throw rules resulted in those extreme number of trips to the free throw line. Night after night of 73 trips to the charity stripe. No way.

swish

swish wrote:beat

During the Russell years  the average number of free throw attempts per game was 72.9. This year the average is 46.7.  Because it was accepted as the norm in those days I didn't think of it as a problem. I doubt very much that I would appreciate a return to the days when the free throw rules resulted in those extreme number of trips to the free throw line. Night after night of 73 trips to the charity stripe. No way.

  swish

As you say that was the norm then even though I remember only the end of the Russell era (1966 on aprox).
Think the foul shooting overall is much better today on average than in the past  (too lazy to check) plus the computer is on a slowdown mode and even posting this will take too long............sort of like watching too many foul shots...LOL

beat

And these are just rule changes directly related to frito shooting.  There have been rule changes to ban hand-checking and other things.  

Can you imagine if they brought back hand-checking?  Think LeBaby cries a lot now?  Watch what happens when someone is actually allowed to put their hands on him.  Now teams have to back off him or get into the penalty early.  As a result he often has a clear shot at the rim.  Can't slow him down with a hand check, can't body up on him, can't foul him hard or it's a Flagrant.  Can't even breathe on him hard without getting whistled, for that matter (Lance Stephenson just lightly blew in his ear).  




You change a rule on defense, you change how fouls are called. You change a rule on offense, like adding the 3pt line, and you change how offenses are run and how defenses must adapt to defend and therefore how fritos are likely to be awarded.


bob



.

Lance Stephenson is wired differently than most humans

beat

beat wrote:Lance Stephenson is wired differently than most humans

beat

So is Bill Cosby

From the rule changes presented by Beat's post, it seems like each one of them has been in attempts to make the game faster, sleeker and more upbeat (no pun intended). Each change made the game better to watch.

It is for the same exact reason the off-the-ball "hack-a-player" fouling has to be stopped. If the poor shooter is on the court AND handles the ball, his weakness can still be exploited by fouling him.

Defenses will have to work a plan to funnel the ball to him and offenses will have to work their plan to keep the ball out of his hands if they want to keep him on the court.

I know that many have other opinions, but this seems so simple to me.

I hate to reward ineptitude

beat

beat wrote:I hate to reward ineptitude

beat

beat,

I'm with you on this, 100%.


bob


.

bobheckler wrote:

beat wrote:I hate to reward ineptitude

beat

beat,

I'm with you on this, 100%.


bob


.

Of all the rule changes have any ever been made because of a LACK of skill by a particular player or players?

beat

beat wrote:Of all the rule changes have any ever been made because of a LACK of skill by a particular player or players?

What about "three to make two"?

bobheckler wrote:

beat wrote:I hate to reward ineptitude

beat

beat,

I'm with you on this, 100%.


bob

I've been in this camp for a long time. But the clownish extreme to which the hacking strategy has gone has swayed me to change my mind. That, plus the fact that Bill Russell was a career 56% free throw shooter -- if one of the greatest to ever play the game had a weakness for shooting free throws, then I have to acknowledge that, for some players, it's not just a matter of being willing to practice properly or make it a priority.

Outside wrote:

beat wrote:Of all the rule changes have any ever been made because of a LACK of skill by a particular player or players?

What about "three to make two"?

What about it? That rule was voided or eliminated.

beat

Outside wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

beat wrote:I hate to reward ineptitude

beat

beat,

I'm with you on this, 100%.


bob

I've been in this camp for a long time. But the clownish extreme to which the hacking strategy has gone has swayed me to change my mind. That, plus the fact that Bill Russell was a career 56% free throw shooter -- if one of the greatest to ever play the game had a weakness for shooting free throws, then I have to acknowledge that, for some players, it's not just a matter of being willing to practice properly or make it a priority.

56% is a long way from 30%
And I remember Russ being pretty good in the clutch too.

beat

Simply the lessor of 2 evils

Swish

beat wrote:

Outside wrote:

beat wrote:Of all the rule changes have any ever been made because of a LACK of skill by a particular player or players?

What about "three to make two"?

What about it? That rule was voided or eliminated.

beat

But wasn't the rule implemented as a crutch to poor free throw shooters? They were the ones who benefited from it most.

I understand the rule was changed later, but you asked if any rule change had ever been made because of lack of skill, and I thought "three to make two" might fall into that category.

beat wrote:

Outside wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

beat wrote:I hate to reward ineptitude

beat

beat,

I'm with you on this, 100%.


bob

I've been in this camp for a long time. But the clownish extreme to which the hacking strategy has gone has swayed me to change my mind. That, plus the fact that Bill Russell was a career 56% free throw shooter -- if one of the greatest to ever play the game had a weakness for shooting free throws, then I have to acknowledge that, for some players, it's not just a matter of being willing to practice properly or make it a priority.

56% is a long way from 30%
And I remember Russ being pretty good in the clutch too.

beat

I don't have stats to refer to, but I remember it being accepted that Russell shot free throws better in crunch time.

But no one is shooting 30%. Drummond is shooting 35% (easily a career low), and he's an outlier among the hack targets. Jordan is shooting 42%, and Howard is shooting 55%, just a tick under Russell's career average.

All I'm doing is explaining my reasoning behind my decision to support a rule change to prevent the hacking strategy. I wish that these guys would just get better at making free throws to make it a moot point, but that's not happening, so I'm accepting the reality that, if the rules aren't changed, the hacking strategy will continue and coaches will take it to a ridiculous extreme that harms the game, just like college coaches did with stalling and four-corners offense before the introduction of the shot clock. Based on the current reality, I think a rule change is needed.