Summer Quandaries: Courting Change

http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2014/08/sq14-19-courting-change.html







Every year the players get bigger, faster, stronger, and the court seems to shrink.  One of the most irritating aspects of NBA games is the three or seven times the ball is blown dead and the player near the corner looks down to see his foot on the line.  Big guys are tiptoeing between the lines because in the corners there are only three feet between the 3-pt. arc and the sidelines, and that is with the 23’9” arc truncated 14’ above the baseline and flattened to just 22’.  

Now there is no reason I can think of that the corner three should be nearly two feet shorter than those out front.  Nor is there much of an argument that widening the court would not better fit the modern athlete.   For the good of the game, owners should push back the court-side rich and famous so that the court can be widened to both keep the entire arch at 23’9” and provide at least four feet of “foot” space.  That would take the current 50’ to 55’6” and give the offense more room to “space the court.”

The next change needed in NBA arenas is one of policy rather than rules.  It is insane for photographers to be allowed so close to the end lines.  There are several injuries each year with players being driven, by defenders or just their own momentum, into the bodies and/or equipment of the media striving for that close-up money shot.  The photographers should be moved back at least another three feet, five would be better.  It will probably take some injured player suing ownership for double his lost career earnings to prompt change.  In actuality the owners are penny-wise and pound-foolish to not have done this already.  They have millions invested in their assets and risk it every game by not making this change in policy.

I would bet that placing four cameras behind the backboard would capture enough amazing shots to make pushing photographers’ row back a net gain.  We could start with Indiana, where right now management should be hypersensitive to the issue of baseline injuries damaging star players.

I would love to argue for the now-changed international wedge-shaped lane, baskets at 11’ or 12’, a schedule without any back-to-back-to-back’s, and a true farm system D-league, but I’ll leave it for you to ponder these possibilities.

Only 44 more days until the start of training camp.




bob
MY NOTE:  I haven't agreed with everything Lee Lauderdale has written, but I'll give him credit for coming up with some original premises to discuss, he doesn't just regurgitate already stale info.  Maybe this is the difference between a true blogger and an online journalist?



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Interesting idea, but does the court really need to be expanded?

The Spurs had no problem spacing the court as is. People have been playing with these court dimensions for years and it's not a problem.

I would also disagree with players being "bigger" now. I think it's quite the contrary. From my observation, we're seeing a lot more shorter players as prominent offensive weapons like John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook, etc. Bigs are slimmer and we see much more mobile big men than we used to, as opposed to the traditional center.

I'm sure there's other things the league can work on, such as the separate rules for superstars and everyone else. Maybe the NBA can learn how to officiate the "inside/outside the circle" call, because half the time they get it wrong.



KJ

Hey, here's a thought.  Eliminate the tiptoeing by eliminating the three point shot.  Perhaps that would act as a not-so-subtle reminder to players and coaches that the essence of basketball was always supposed to be interaction.  I suppose there's a certain thrill in studying the parabolas of long-distance heaves, but somehow cohesion seems much more compelling to me.

Sam

The players may be somewhat bigger and taller than they used to be, but some of that is illusion, particularly regarding height. Back in the old days, most players gave their actual height, without shoes. Bill Russell was sometimes listed as 6'9" because he was slightly under 6'10". Now, players' heights are inflated by 2-3 inches.

As for raising the rim to 11 or 12 feet, it's a dumb idea. It's been tested, and it was actually shown to be a detriment to shorter guys more than taller guys. Plus, at what level would the higher rim be implemented -- all the way down to grade school, so that kids everywhere have to struggle with the higher rim? Or just in the NBA, so that players who had trained thousands of hours using a 10-foot rim would suddenly have to adjust to a higher rim when they get to the pros? And then switch to a 10-foot rim for international play, because the rest of the world wouldn't be dumb enough to raise the rim?

It was tested in Red's heyday, and his reaction was that the taller guys were still closer to the rim than the smaller guys—in fact, even more so.  Totally dumb.

I'd still like to see them award only one point for a dunk.  Same principal (in reverse) as awarding three points for a long shot.

Sam