Some of the best athletes in the world play in the NBA. But, my friends, the game could be so much better. I offer you six ways to improve the National Basketball Association:
1. Get me half way on time (out): In the last few seconds of the game and you’re down one. Your shooter launches a three and bangs it home with 2.6 seconds to play. You’ve got this, right? Just put some pressure on the ball. But NOOOOOO! Your opponents have a time out left and they use it. Thanks to someone’s ability to form a ‘T’ with his hands, the ball is advanced to mid-court making a tying or potential game-winning basket all that much easier. This rule is one of the worst in any sport. Let’s make teams actually WORK to advance the ball to mid-court at the end of a game. I mean look at the drama we got out of Duke-Kentucky at the Spectrum a few decades ago.
2. Every year should be played like a lockout year: Come on, admit it. You aren’t REALLY that upset that there was a lockout. You got to see your team play 3-4 times in one week instead of every 2 ½ weeks. The games actually meant more. Folks, we don’t need an 82-game season. Heck, our teams take games off anyway with just about everyone making the playoffs. The shorter, condensed season is so much more fun. Let’s start it on Christmas Day all of the time and cut the season down to 60 games.
3. Make ‘em stay or let ‘em go: This whole ‘one and done’ thing for draft eligibility is a joke. It’s hurting the NBA and the college game. Kids who have no desire or business to be in college are made to go for a year because the NBA is making them do so. If a kid wants to go from high school right into the draft, let him. Don’t waste good scholarship money on him. Let some NBA team take a gamble on him. He may be the next LeBron James. Then again, he may be the next, uh, what was that kid’s name who thought he was ready but ended up playing in any European country he could find that would have him?
Now, if the kid does enroll in a college, make him stay for at least three years. At least give the school something for its time and investment. Plus he gets more time to mature both physically and mentally, which is much better for any NBA team that drafts him.
4. Enough with the BASEketball -length playoff season: This is just absurd. You get to hoping for four-game sweeps just to get it all over. Stop spreading everything out so far, Mr. Stern. Let’s go back to a five-game first round series and don’t be afraid to schedule teams to play on back-to-back nights more often. Let’s try to crown a champion before the baseball all-star break, shall we?
5. Let the Powerball people handle lotteries: Yet another concept that’s time has gone the way of the short shorts and high socks. Now I’m not in favor of the worst record getting the first pick either. Nothing a fan base deserves less than having its team intentionally tank games just to get more ping-pong balls in the tank. Give teams a reason to play. Top pick in the draft goes to the team with the best record that didn’t make the playoffs. Give them something to play for. Your season ticket holders will thank you and heck; you can even go all “Semi-Pro” and give that team a huge silver cup too.
6. He’s a travelin’ man…so CALL IT!: Somewhere in the rule books the travel is defined. How about having officials re-read that section and actually start calling the travel again. It boggles my mind how a guy can pick up his dribble at mid-court and can make it to the hoop for the tomahawk jam. I thought this was only legally possibly on “NBA Jam.”
There you have it. Six ways for the NBA to fix its game for us all. If any of you happen to run into David Stern, tell him I said hello.
-JB