New NBA rules for 2009-10

[Roy Hobbs]

The NBA has enacted a variety of new rules for the new year.  Among them:

Instant replay:

The NBA Board of Governors approved the expanded use of instant replay in two circumstances, beginning with the 2009-10 season, the league announced today. Referees will now be permitted to use instant replay in the following situations:

•  To determine at any point during the game whether a 24-second shot clock violation occurred prior to the release of a successful field goal attempt or prior to a foul being committed.

• To determine during the last two minutes of regulation play and the last two minutes of any overtime period which player last touched the ball prior to it going out-of-bounds or whether the ball was last touched simultaneously by two opponents.

Standing during games:

Starting this season, league rules dictate that players will be required to remain seated on the bench while the ball is live except to "spontaneously react to a notable play [and] immediately sitting down on the bench afterward" or "to approach the scorer's table to report into the game."

The memo states that "players will not be permitted to stand [in front of] the bench at any other time while the ball is in play, including standing for the last minute of a game or standing until the team scores its first point in game."

The league says it is instituting these restrictions "due to the numerous complaints that the NBA and its teams received from fans during last season" and is threatening "fines imposed upon the offending team" for non-compliance.

Twitter:

The NBA formally announced its new social media guidelines Wednesday, informing teams through a league memorandum that the use of cell phones, PDAs and other electronic communications devices -- and thus accessing Twitter, Facebook and similar social media sites -- is now prohibited during games for players, coaches and other team personnel involved in the game.

The league has defined "during games" as the period of time beginning 45 minutes before the opening tip and ending "after the postgame locker room is open to the media and coaches and players have first fulfilled their obligation to be available to media attending the game."

"During games" also encompasses halftime, according to the memo, but the new guidelines do allow players to engage in social networking during the pregame media access period that starts 90 minutes before tipoff and lasts for 45 minutes.

[screwedupmaniac]

saw these rules just last night...am i the only one who feels like the NBA is the most micromanaged sport out of all of them? i mean, come on, since when should ANY league discourage the bench from being focused and unified during a game??? If people are whining because they wasted a ton of money on seats directly behind the players, the league should just sell those tickets for less and state the warning that "the view of the game may be interrupted due to excitement on a team's bench". This is an extremely better decision than forcing a bench to rid itself of a competitive and unified state of mind.

also, i sort of understand the twitter thing...but it's a free country, and the rules should be passed down as a team policy for each team rather than a league policy, IMHO. Twitter has allowed fans to see players in a different light, which for the most part, has been pretty cool.

Also, I don't mind the level of instant replay that's been settled on right now, but get the feeling that it will continue to be expanded on in the coming years, which has the potential of ruining that natural parts of the game (length of games, scoring streaks, even the bad calls that make or break wins).

[jdpapa3]

Thanks for posting...I think the most notable here is the new ability to change an out of bounds call. I think that's a good thing. I just wonder if every out of bounds call in the last 2 minutes will get one of the coaches flipping out wanting the refs to check instant replay.

I can even see myself complaining about them not going to the tape.

[pearljammer10]

Using replay is going to ruin the game. I like the rule with the 24 second clock I feel that is needed. But for out of bounds calls? Not only does it disrupt the momentum and flow of the game it takes away the precious value of human error that should be instated in each game...

As far as the bench rule goes, that is just dumb. Let the team stand and cheer, whats the big deal?

Like the twitter rule though...Good call there.

[Drucci]

I can understand that it is frustrating for fans in the first row to miss some part of the game because the bench is up but seriously... how can you fine players for cheering for their teammates, especially in close games? This is ridiculous. Yeah, fans in the first row will miss some plays of the game but overall it's not like the bench is up during the whole game.

As for the Twitter and Replay rules I'm fine with it, although I'm concerned that the replays could break the momentum of the game if it takes too long.

[MetroGlobe]

Using replay is going to ruin the game. I like the rule with the 24 second clock I feel that is needed. But for out of bounds calls? Not only does it disrupt the momentum and flow of the game it takes away the precious value of human error that should be instated in each game...

As far as the bench rule goes, that is just dumb. Let the team stand and cheer, whats the big deal?

Like the twitter rule though...Good call there.

Precious value of human error?  Are you kidding me?  You have to be kidding.  Mistakes at the end of games lead to conspiracy theories and rampant criticism of the entire league.  How is there any value in that? 

[cdif911]

what's next, players won't be allowed to dunk if their name doesn't start with L?

[Kwhit10]

They're taking something away from teams with great chemistry.  I loved when the C's on the bench did this.

[KJ33]

Some of you guys are missing the point about the standing and/or haven't been paying attention these last few years.  Sure, maybe it started as cheering or team unity, but it has taken on a specific agenda by the players these last few years in opposing arenas.  Very rarely is the issue with the home team standing and obstructing fans' view.  It is the visiting team that has decided purposely to counter hostile environments and fans of opposing teams by standing in their way.

I have seats not far from the visitors bench at the Garden, and although not affected myself, I have witnessed this behavior many times.  The players are not standing simply to cheer or support their team, they are purposefully taunting opposing fans, often turning and smiling at those whose body language, and sometimes words, have expressed disappointment at having their view blocked. 

I have thought the last few years that the league should do something about this, so I applaud this action.  Regardless of the price of the seats, the league rightly recognized this act of protest of players, under the guise of team support, for what it is.  They can still jump up and cheer on a play or teammate, they just can't stand for the whole time which was being done almost solely to p--- off the fans and get some payback in a hostile arena.  Since fans are the ones paying to keep the league afloat, the league should take steps to curb this behavior.

[bdm860]

Some of you guys are missing the point about the standing and/or haven't been paying attention these last few years.  Sure, maybe it started as cheering or team unity, but it has taken on a specific agenda by the players these last few years in opposing arenas.  Very rarely is the issue with the home team standing and obstructing fans' view.  It is the visiting team that has decided purposely to counter hostile environments and fans of opposing teams by standing in their way.

I have seats not far from the visitors bench at the Garden, and although not affected myself, I have witnessed this behavior many times.  The players are not standing simply to cheer or support their team, they are purposefully taunting opposing fans, often turning and smiling at those whose body language, and sometimes words, have expressed disappointment at having their view blocked. 

I have thought the last few years that the league should do something about this, so I applaud this action.  Regardless of the price of the seats, the league rightly recognized this act of protest of players, under the guise of team support, for what it is.  They can still jump up and cheer on a play or teammate, they just can't stand for the whole time which was being done almost solely to p--- off the fans and get some payback in a hostile arena.  Since fans are the ones paying to keep the league afloat, the league should take steps to curb this behavior.

I don't know, I like the players on the bench having some ammo against the fans.  Why is it ok for the fans to  make it a hostile environment for the players?  Personally I love this action by the players.  It shows team unity even on the bench even if it is just to tick off opposing fans.  If the bench is doing it together, then it's still team unity.

And I don't buy that those front row seats are paying the salaries.  The revenue from that is but a drop in the bucket.  If anything it's probably slightly better for the tv ratings (with the major tv deals worth approximately $7.6 billion).  If people turn on a game and they see the bench standing the whole time, it probably gives off the impression that the bench is into the game, might make it look more exciting than it is.

Also, players making fans mad probably just helps rivalries too, because it encourages fans to hate the players.  When the fans hate the opposing teams, it probably helps the opposing players hate to hate the team they're playing against even more (i.e. Joe Blow player: I hate playing in whatever city, I hate that team, the fans, etc).  Hatred for other teams makes for better rivalries, which makes the game better IMO.

[EatSleepBreatheGreen]

That instant replay is the most troubling to me. If you have @nal coaches like Phil Jackson or Stan Van Gundy, they may try to over-use the instant replay, and thus instead of a game being 2hrs and 30 mins long, now it will be like an NFL game. 3+ hours long. I think the Instant Replay should only be used in the last maybe 3-4 mins of the 4th quarter, not through-out the game.

I'm 50/50 on the bench rule. I can understand being a fan and dropping a couple of hundred dollars on a seat right behind the team, and during the game you have these giants standing up in front of you blocking the action on the court. But, as a sports fan, I look at the team standing as a sign of unity. They should at least be allowed to stand until the 1st pts are scored. And how can you not stand up at the end of a tight game? Usually the bench AND THE FANS are standing at the end of the game. Those are my only gripes.