Two ways the NBA could be better to watch.

[jdz101]

Shorten the season length to 52 games

This would make every game a whole lot more important in terms of making the post season, and thus better, more competitive games between more healthy and energetic teams.

This would also be much more energetic basketball to watch for the crowds who keep the NBA alive anyway. I can deal with watching less games in a week if they are going to be much better games.

Lets face it, everyone knows who the proper playoff contenders are 50 or so games into the season, the next 30 games just determine who is going to conserve energy and who is going to go to the top of the standings.

Make the All Star Game determine which conference gets home court in the finals

This would make the All Star Game a real competitive spectacle between the best players in the world, not the joke it has become. Guys would go really hard if it meant home court in the playoffs for their team, and then rivalries and more passion would be ignited each year.


Just a couple of suggestions, what do you guys think?

[KungPoweChicken]

Shorten the season length to 52 games

This would make every game a whole lot more important in terms of making the post season, and thus better, more competitive games between more healthy and energetic teams.

This would also be much more energetic basketball to watch for the crowds who keep the NBA alive anyway. I can deal with watching less games in a week if they are going to be much better games.

Lets face it, everyone knows who the proper playoff contenders are 50 or so games into the season, the next 30 games just determine who is going to conserve energy and who is going to go to the top of the standings.

Make the All Star Game determine which conference gets home court in the finals

This would make the All Star Game a real competitive spectacle between the best players in the world, not the joke it has become. Guys would go really hard if it meant home court in the playoffs for their team, and then rivalries and more passion would be ignited each year.


Just a couple of suggestions, what do you guys think?

Better officiating, less whining on the court, less music played during the game, and more volume on the on-court mics.


I don't agree at all with the all-star game determining home court. With all due respect, I think that is a horrible idea.

[barefacedmonk]

1. Shorten the season or get rid or the pre-season games and start the season two weeks early..that way teams get more days off between games.

2a. Reduce the refs' salary by 25% and include that 25% as a bonus for calling the games correctly and fairly. Let the refs use replays, when in doubt about any call and whenever they want to.

2b. Get rid of the all star game festivities..just give all the teams 2-3 days break or play the all star game after the finals.

[b13special]

The reason we have 82 games is because of the exorbitant amount of tickets that the teams can sell. The NBA will never voluntarily decrease the amount of games. It's a business.

As for the All-star game, that is a pretty good idea. But home court advantage means a lot in basketball.... However, it is harder for teams in a more competitive conference to get further in the playoffs, so maybe the teams in a tougher conference should be rewarded with home court advantage in the finals.

[b13special]

1. Shorten the season or get rid or the pre-season games and start the season two weeks early..that way teams get more days off between games.

2a. Reduce the refs' salary by 25% and include that 25% as a bonus for calling the games correctly and fairly. Let the refs use replays, when in doubt about any call and whenever they want to.

2b. Get rid of the all star game festivities..just give all the teams 2-3 days break or play the all star game after the finals.

2a is very hard to implement. Basketball is inherently a very hard sport to call- a lot of it is based on judgement, and the game is also based on continuous play ( as opposed to baseball and football, where there is stoppage of play). Refs can't simply stop the game whenever there is a play in question. There are already too many fouls called, which ruins the flow of the entire game. This would make the NBA unwatchable.

[KungPoweChicken]

Another suggestion: Have a fourth referee whose only job is to call travels all game long. I hate watching guys take three steps and dunk. Disgusting.

[KungPoweChicken]

I like the 82 game season for a selfish reason. I just love watching basketball games, especially the Celtics. The Celtics are not on enough as far as I'm concerned. But with fewer games, the level of play could be a little bit better, as players could be fresher, but I would imagine that would be negligible and is a big "what if."

[Bahku]

Lengthen the regular season, lengthen the playoffs, add another six to eight teams, have a counsel to oversee and objectively control the officiating system, lower ticket prices and player salaries, get rid of David Stern,Violet Palmer, Dick Bavetta, Kenny Mauer, Joey Crawford, Monty McCutchen, Eddie F. Rush, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Olandis Poole, Greg Willard, and Scott Bolnick. (That's a start )

[RMO]

I'd like to see them get rid of that charging circle.  I understand that it helps determine if it's an offensive/defensive foul but I think it creates a situation where the ref is required to call something.  There doesn't need to be a foul every time a player drives to the basket even if the contact is minimal.

For the refs, I would like them to announce (to the players and the media) their points of emphasis prior to each half.  If they're going to call it tight, let everyone know.  Also, I would assign an officiating crew to each series for it's entirety to get some consistency.

[wdleehi]

1)  Change the emphasis on superstars to team.  Rules and the way they are called are designed to make the best players put up even better numbers.  If the emphasis was on team, a team without superstars, but with deep talent across the boards would be able to better compete.  The superstars will still be superstars.


2)  Roster turnover flexibility.  If a team makes mistakes, it can take up to 6 years for them to be able to start over.

[slamtheking]

Shorten the season length to 52 games

This would make every game a whole lot more important in terms of making the post season, and thus better, more competitive games between more healthy and energetic teams.

This would also be much more energetic basketball to watch for the crowds who keep the NBA alive anyway. I can deal with watching less games in a week if they are going to be much better games.

Lets face it, everyone knows who the proper playoff contenders are 50 or so games into the season, the next 30 games just determine who is going to conserve energy and who is going to go to the top of the standings.
Make the All Star Game determine which conference gets home court in the finals
This would make the All Star Game a real competitive spectacle between the best players in the world, not the joke it has become. Guys would go really hard if it meant home court in the playoffs for their team, and then rivalries and more passion would be ignited each year.
Just a couple of suggestions, what do you guys think?

I disagree strongly with both of those.  keep the 82 games and let best overall record determine HCA. Those 2 things are the least of the NBA's problems.

Improvements:
1. First and foremost, actually enforce the rules in the rule book.   The amount of travelling and palming when it comes to ballhandling is a joke and makes realistic defense (without handchecks) almost impossible.  The handchecking and grabbing is ridiculous.  Call fouls evenly in terms of no superstar treatment and call the game consistantly throughout the whole game.  This would bring the game back closer to its form in the early 80's when it was really about skill.
2. Make the refs accountable for the quality of their officiating.  Remove the lousy ones.  Bahku's list would make an excellent start.
3. Allow restructuring of player contracts to enable teams to cut underperforming players without cap hits.  Rework the trade rules to make trades more about swapping talent than swapping salaries.  I have some ideas on this but won't go into them here but you get the general desired effect.
4. Modify the early-entry rules for players to be 2 years after high school not 1.  Enable players to go to the NBDL for their first 2 years after high school to develop if they choose not to go to college so that they can develop and then make them draft-eligible.  Provide them with a mentor in that league to help them adjust to basketball life and keep them out of trouble (as best possible).
5. Replace Stern with someone who'd actually run the league with the best interests of the game in mind and heart.  Give this commissioner overall control over labor negotiations between the owners, players and referees.  (I'm available for the job    )

[housecall]

I would think coming up with a better system for officiating would be one of the top things on most people lists of making the NBA better to watch.Personally i feel if they have an age limit to be on the court that can actually call a game.Once he/she has reached that age their job responsibity changes  into another capacity until he/she retires.If you noticed the majority of the officials people have the most problems with are the older ones.Another way to clean the game up is bring in a freshly trained group of officials for the playoffs that wasn't used in the regular season.That way you cut down on bias officiating and players having less of an idea of which officials might give them a break.

[wiley]

1.  Better Officiating:  The team that's behind should not be helped back into the game (blowouts are a part of sports and should be allowed to occur naturally).  Officials should be star-blind.  

2.  Better Officiating:  Stern may have to go to implement better officials who know how to call games without the above biases.  The above biases create more stoppages, and stoppage is a major problem for the NBA product these days.

*What kungpowechicken said about music and microphones on the court....

[nyceltsfan]

Reduce the number of timeouts available to a team after the 2-minute mark of each half.

[Greenbean]

Adjust the rules of the game on fouls inside. Right now there is way too much ambiguity and the rules put too much control of the game in the refs hands.

I dont blame the refs, I blame the rules.