NEW YORK -- The NBA is taking steps to cut down on pregame handshakes and rituals that have become popular with players in recent years. Starting this season, as soon as player introductions are finished, there will be 90 seconds put on the game clock, and teams will be expected to be ready for tipoff after that time.
The guideline will eliminate or severely cut down on the routines that players from most teams go through before games, which often include a series of handshakes with their own teammates before greeting opponents. It also could legislate out individual rituals like LeBron James' famous chalk toss, which he abandoned last season during the playoffs, though James said he'll try to get it done in the limited time.
"I won't change it, I'll be able to work it in," James said. "We'll figure it out."
This reminds me of when everyone was up in arms that Stern implemented the dress code and didn't let players sit on the bench in do-rags, XXXXL T shirts and chains anymore.
i don't mind this at all. stuff like the dress code is really stupid. but if this cuts out a lot of unnecessary time between the intros and tip off, not sure how it's a bad thing.
Good. I'm sick of staying up for a game that is meant to tip off at a certain time, only to have to wait another 20 minutes until I see some actual basketball.
If a game is slated for 7:00pm, then that's the time it should tip off.
I don't see the point. It's not like they are doing 10 minute dancing and rap performances before tip off. Stern seems like the most boring person on earth.
Wouldn't it be easier to just move player introductions earlier, so that there was more time between introductions and the scheduled start? Or maybe that would be an awkward silence for teams that don't have extended rituals.
If 95% of the league had an extended ritual like that this would make way more sense, but otherwise you're basically just encouraging the rituals (encouraging those who have them, and basically encouraging those who don't to create one because now they have a set aside time to do them) which is the opposite of what they want.
I don't have an issue with the spectacles, but I don't really feel an attachment to them either.
Eh, it's not going to have much of an effect on the time a game ends because it's a limit on the time between the end of player introductions and the time of tip-off. You're talking two to three minutes at most. If they set some limit on the time between scheduled tip-off and the actual tip-off it might be appreciable. I don't really have a problem with telling everyone to get to half-court in a timely fashion, though.
I just feel like you all are being sticklers and exaggerating this whole thing way too much. The whole everyone dapping/KG beating his chest/LeBron getting powder thing takes like 45 seconds at most. It's not those things that make you feel like you never know when tipoff will occur, there's other stuff that goes on before a game.
My thing is moreso than thinking they're trying to make things look more professional they're just being petty. It's just like...why? It's nothing disrespectful, if anything it helps get the fans more into the proceedings then some big ball of fur with a t-shirt gun...I don't understand how it was even a substantial enough issue to where it became a topic of discussion.
I kind of hate that I never know when tipoff will start myself, but LeBron not being able to chalk isn't going to change that. The commentators will **** around and have 2-3 segments before tipoff, that's not the fault of a 30 second routine.
If you recall the finals, they do the introductions, go to commercial and then they're ready to tip when they come back. That 3-4 minutes is not all pregame routine space, coaches are talking, the court is being cleared etc. It's not a big deal though, just seems rather petty.
And once again I don't think this is as airtight as you being able to say you abide by your companies policies and that's that, because we're not professional athletes, they play by a whole different set of rules.
I know that if a game is slated for 19:30, I don't need to tune in until 19.40 and I won't have missed any basketball action.
If this removes just 1 second, so be it, the point is, Stern has recognised it's a farce that slated games continually tip-off from anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes late.
That might not seem like a lot to some people, but when I regularly sit around until 01:00 (or as late as 03:00) to catch a game live, it really ****ing annoys me.
Why are you being so finicky about this? Does it make any difference to you that Stern has imposed this rule? Your boy LeBron has said he will still do the chalk toss, so what's the problem? (although why missing a chalk toss would get you so upset when you're a basketball fan I do not know)
As I stated earlier in the thread, LeBron stopped doing the chalk toss anyway, and I could give a shit about that or any pre-game routine. I'm being "finicky" because your argument is completely off and I want you to recognize it. If you think this is about me clamoring for LeBron to toss his chalk, you're completely lost.
Let's try this again, how much extra time do you think is added to a game by pre-game routines? Don't talk about games starting 10 minutes after the start time, because that has nothing to do with pre-game routines. Can you answer my question?
I don't necessarily have a problem with the rule, 90 secs is plenty of time to do your thing, I have a problem with people acting like players spend 10-15 minutes preening between intros and tip-off and that's why they have to wait 15 minutes after the start time to see basketball.
Are you serious? I'm not saying Stern can't make rules, you just implied that since he has the job you can't question why the rule was made, and that's absurd.
It's always annoyed me that NBA.com lists the tip off times as say, 7.00pm and it doesn't happen till at least 10 past. Makes no sense. It'd be a more sensible suggestion for me if they just kept it as is, but listed the tip off time as the actual tip off time.
I think that if they are so concerned with the pace of the game, then they should focus on the stupid amount of timeouts that teams get. And why the last 90 seconds of game time turns into a 15 minute free throw shooting contest. There are other things they can focus on to speed up the speed of the event.
I don't have problem with implementing something that gets players from their huddle to tip off sooner. Its a competition. Players dont need to be dapping w/ the other team before the game. Save it for after a hard fought contest.
Depends what you mean by that. Would I openly defy them? No. If they enacted a rule I did not find to be particularly necessary, I might have a conversation or two with co-workers about its intent. What's wrong with that? Are you seriously advocating blindly following authority without at least wondering the reason behind rules that don't seem to make complete sense? Is there seriously something wrong with debating the purpose and efficacy of a rule?
Nope, but if he made a rule that you were only allowed to wear brown belts going forward regardless of outfit (assuming you dont wear a uniform to work already) you wouldn't openly defy him and would stock up on brown belts.
Look, we certainly have a right to debate it, but thats different than feeling NBA players have a right to say "FOH! I have a jump shot!" over such a petty issue.
The answer to your question is different for every team, and every occasion. But we can all agree that it adds some time to the wait before tip off? Yes.
Jesus Jamel, I assume your reading comprehension is better than you're displaying right now, but I could be wrong. All I'm saying is there's nothing wrong with discussing the intent and efficacy behind a rule, not advocating actually arguing with the authority against the implementation of, or attempting to forgo, it.
You keep turning this into me being a Heat fan and wanting my guys dancing before the tip. I couldn't give a shit if they go straight from intros to center court. Can you see the straw man argument you've built here? Focus.
You acting like its the reason you have to wait 15 minutes after the scheduled start time just struck me as completely inane, and clearly you've come to grips with it. That is all. You keep avoiding that point and attempting to make this about my fandom because I happen to root for a team known for such antics. Its irrelevant.
Again, I have no issue with the rule, I just don't see how it helps much at all.
A recent scan of the "D12" levels in the brain of current NBA players are off the charts when compared to the 90's survey. Experts say that most NBA players now are stuck in the "LeBron stage" of professional development mostly due to constant pampering since age 17. NBA Commissioner David Stern has put several rules in place such as the NBA Dress Code, no headphones during warmups, and the recent anti bullshit before games rule, all of which are supposed to stimulate the Duncan and make way for growth into the more competitive Jordan stage of professional development.
Some people think the commissioner has gone too far and that these rules may stifle the creative energy of the NBA player and actually increase the "D12" levels higher which can reverse development, perhaps even to the Rodman stage. Symptoms of this would be increased twitterbitching and lack of championships in these at risk players
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