The game of basketball was designed to be a beautiful spectator sport with fast movement of both players and ball without significant physical contact. Look at the old tapes of the Boston Celtics of the 1960s, John Wooden’s UCLA teams and the early pioneers of the game, such as the University of Kentucky teams of mid-1950s. The players were less skilled at that time, but the game was strategic, cerebral and artful. Today’s NBA game has become as much about strength, wide bodies and physical play as it has about skill, strategy and team play.
One reason teams can be so physical is that the majority of NBA big people shoot a very poor percentage from the free throw line. Therefore, the risks of fouling a player are not penalizing enough for players to play the game without excessive fouling and free-throws. This pattern is killing the game’s entertainment value and allowing physical play to spur more player fights and, as we saw in Detroit, stuff that is uncalled for in any sporting event.
The answer rests in rule changes that revitalize the game. The three-point shot was the last major rule change to add entertainment value to the game and bring forth the value of more finesse skills from players. Some 20 years after the three-point rule was institutionalized, it is time for another game-changing rule. That rule change is the addition of a “designated free thrower” for every NBA team. The DFT runs on to the court to shoot all the team’s foul shots and then runs off the court. It is highly conceivable that most DFT will shoot over 90 percent from the line, thus increasing the penalty for physical play.
Can you imagine how much cleaner the game would become if players knew that excessive fouling would lead to an almost certain two points for the opposition? Can you imagine how much entertainment value will return to the game? I can.
David Barhoum
Edmonds
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