Would the NBA benefit from NO DEFENSIVE 3 SECONDS?

[Figlo]

It's so stupid, if a team wants wants to pack the paint why shouldn't they be allowed to? Defense is 50% of basketball why so many restrictions? Somebody made a no D in denver anymore thread...imagine if this rule wasn't there. Put Nuggets in Zone D and they could hide some of their weaknesses, the team would be so much better.

[Nash]

Less entertainment, less cool dunks.

[bagelred]

Less entertainment, less cool dunks.

This plus a dozen other reasons.

[Eric Cartman]

The play of players like Rose would plummet.

[jbryan1984]

I think its stupid too. Some kind of rule changes every year. I hope they do away with it.

[Tmuston Beltics]

Less entertainment, less money made

:(

[La Frescobaldi]

'60s Defensive 3 seconds in the paint which was devised to stop Chamberlain & Russell = infinitely better than Stern's feeble crap.

Get to the correct rules and you will find the excitement stays while the defense can still make stops. Instead of this garbage amount of scoring which we are seeing now, almost deserves an asterisk truly.

[FKAri]

Half of the NBA's superstars would get hit hard.

Derrick Rose: Another spoke in Chicago's wheel.
Lebron and Wade: 2 solid starters in the league.
Rondo: Journeyman. Out of the league in 2 years.
John Wall: Returning to Kentucky to pursue another career.
Rubio: Skills trainer for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kobe and Dirk: Sudden resurgence.
Kevin Durant: On his way to GOAT.

[Pushxx]

This would help jumpshooting teams so much.

Perfect for the Celtics! :D

[yanix]

less open dunk = more posterization

[ProfessorMurder]

It would finally let shot blockers block shots again. Maybe some big guys would make it into the league again.

[Eric Cartman]

Nikola Pekovic > Prime Shaq

just pulling the chair from under you losers.

[Whoah10115]

Not a single great player would fail to adjust. Unless people are taking advantage (Wilt did in the 60's, Shaq did with just about everything), then it will just change the style.



Kobe and Dirk will be Kobe and Dirk. Durant will not be on the road to GOAT. Lebron and Wade would remain the two best players in the league.


Guys would jut adjust.

[ralph_i_el]

less exciting.
More white players?

[D-Wade316]

Not a single great player would fail to adjust. Unless people are taking advantage (Wilt did in the 60's, Shaq did with just about everything), then it will just change the style.



Kobe and Dirk will be Kobe and Dirk. Durant will not be on the road to GOAT. Lebron and Wade would remain the two best players in the league.


Guys would jut adjust.
This.

[DuMa]

you will see more dirty defenses win more championships like the bad boy pistons

[FlashDwyaneWade3]

The Zone Rules era sucks.

[I.R.Beast]

The play of players like Rose would plummet.
the play of every player that makes a living at the rim will plummet...Wade, Lebron, Rose, etc.

[NumberSix]

Can you Imagine how completely irrelevant Blake Griffin would be if you were allowed to protect the paint?

[MJ(Mean John)]

Not Andrew Bynum. Don't get me wrong, I love the kid. He's a ****en beast. Offensively, He's going to be the best big since shaq.

But that motherf.ucker LIVES in the paint. Lol. He spends all of the second shot clock in the paint. It doesn't matter if its offense or defense.

[La Frescobaldi]

Not a single great player would fail to adjust. Unless people are taking advantage (Wilt did in the 60's, Shaq did with just about everything), then it will just change the style.



Kobe and Dirk will be Kobe and Dirk. Durant will not be on the road to GOAT. Lebron and Wade would remain the two best players in the league.


Guys would jut adjust.

love u brah..........

change

your

diapers.

now.

[jlauber]

Not a single great player would fail to adjust. Unless people are taking advantage (Wilt did in the 60's, Shaq did with just about everything), then it will just change the style.



Kobe and Dirk will be Kobe and Dirk. Durant will not be on the road to GOAT. Lebron and Wade would remain the two best players in the league.


Guys would jut adjust.

You better RESEARCH your history...

The NBA created RULES, aimed SPECIFICALLY aimed at Wilt, in a desperate attempt to stop the man. And yet he STILL crushed the league, even into the LAST game of his career, when at age 36, and in game five of the NBA Finals, he put up a 23-21 game. BTW, he also averaged 22.5 rpg in his 17 playoff games that year...which is the LAST time anyone ever averaged more than 17.3 rpg in the post-season.

And how about this example...the NBA widened the lane before the start of the '64-65 season, (again aimed STRICTLY at Wilt), and he just LAUGHED at that rule change. At mid-season, and before he was traded to a slightly better team and would cut back his shooting in the second half of that season, he was averaging 38.9 ppg. Just the year before, he averaged 36.9 ppg. True, he "only" averaged 34.7 ppg on the entire season.

Incidently, in the very next season, all he did was LEAD the league in scoring, at 33.5 ppg; LEAD the league in rebounding, at 24.6 rpg; LEAD the league in FG%, at a then-record .540 (in a league that shot .433);...and LEAD his TEAM to the BEST RECORD in the league. On top of that, he DESTROYED HOF centers Russell, Bellamy, and Thurmond, and in his 9-10 H2H meetings with each (as well as waxing Russell in five more playoff games.) It was probably the most one-sided crushing of a league loaded with HOF players in NBA history.

Oh, and BTW, the NEXT season after that, all Wilt did was average 24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, and shoot a mind-blowing .683 from the floor (and in a league that shot .441), AND led his team to a then-record mark of 68-13, and a dominating world title, and in a playoff run which included just MURDERING Russell and Thurmond.

Even as late as his 69-70 season, and when his new coach asked him to focus on the offensive end, he was LEADING the NBA in SCORING, at 32.2 ppg (and on a sensational .600 shooting) in the first nine games of that season. Included in those nine games, were games of 33 (on 13-13 shooting), 35, 37 (and against 7-0 270 lb. Tom Boerwinkle), 38 (and against reigning MVP Wes Unseld), 42 (and against star center Bob Rule), and 43 points. And, again, BTW, he also SHELLED Kareem in their first H2H, with a 25-25 9-14 shooting game. Unfortunately, he shredded his knee in that ninth game, and was never the same again (albeit, on one-leg, and only four months after major knee surgery, he hung a seven game Finals of 23.2 ppg, 24.1 rpg, and on .625 shooting.)

Even in his 68-69 season, when he hardly shot the ball, he still hung TWO 60+ point games (and his 66 point game came on 29-35 shooting.) In fact, Kareem came into the league the very next season, and his career high, in 20 years, was 55 points. And yet, a declining Wilt, and in a year in which he hardly shot the ball, could put up TWO 60+ point games.

[nba_55]

That 3 seconds defensive rule doesnt apply to everyone. Bynum can stay in the paint as long as he wants.

[jlauber]

BTW, for those that MIGHT question what Wilt had to face in his era...

http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2336/Chamberlain-Wilt.html

[QUOTE]
His college career was likewise spectacular. Named an All-American in both his sophomore and junior years, Chamberlain led Kansas to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) finals in the spring of 1957. Several of the rules of college basketball had to be changed as a result of Chamberlain's talents, which simply dwarfed those of previous players. Opposing players double-and triple-teamed him and played a slowed-down game rather than attempt to confront Chamberlain's offensive skills head-on. These techniques helped the University of North Carolina defeat Kansas 54-53 in triple overtime in the 1957 championship game.

Such tactics also frustrated the rapidly developing Chamberlain, who startled the basketball world by turning professional rather than returning to Kansas for his senior year. NBA rules forbade him from joining the league until the year in which he would have graduated from college, so Chamberlain played for the razzle-dazzle touring professional team the Harlem Globetrotters during the 1958-59 season. He joined the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959, having already collected a large bonus for signing.

Individual Triumphs in NBA
Chamberlain was an NBA star from the beginning, leading the league in scoring and rebounding, and taking home honors not only for Rookie of the Year but also for Most Valuable Player. Frustrated by defensive tactics similar to those he had faced in college, and by what he considered biased officiating, he threatened to leave the league and return to the Globetrotters in 1960. But he did not follow through on his threat, and soon learned to outmaneuver his tormentors through sheer size, speed, and skill. In the 1960-61 season he led the league in scoring once again; he would not relinquish his position atop the league's scoring lists for another five seasons.

The 1961-62 season took Chamberlain beyond stardom into the realm of legend. For an ordinary basketball player, scoring 35 or 40 points in a game is considered an exceptional performance. Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points per game that year. The apex of his scoring binge came on March 2, 1962, when Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks

[jlauber]

Continuing...

http://samcelt.forumotion.net/t2803-wilt-meets-bill-and-tommy-4000-words

[QUOTE]At 7

[nightprowler10]

Jeff, can we please add Wilt to the forum filter? It'd avoid these long pages of redundancy...

[jlauber]

Jeff, can we please add Wilt to the forum filter? It'd avoid these long pages of redundancy...

One, it was not ME who introduced Wilt into this topic...BUT, I merely responded in one post, and was being proactive in the other (since I KNEW the inevitable fallout would ensue, of the lies that Wilt did not face the double teams of the "modern" defenses)...and

Two, you can simply do yourself a favor, and skip over them. You are probably incapable of reading them anyway.

[hitmanyr2k]

I always thought the 3 second rule was stupid and unneeded for this era. The center position is weaker than ever and there aren't as many prolific shot blockers. Swingmen these days are supposed to be more athletic than ever. They shouldn't need rule assistance to open the lane for layups and dunks. Uncontested dunks are boring as sh** to me anyway. I'd rather have someone in the paint contesting the dunk which always makes the dunk 10x better.

[Deuce Bigalow]

another essay hijack by jlauber about an old bitter jealous dead liar retired choker

[nightprowler10]

Two, you can simply do yourself a favor, and skip over them. You are probably incapable of reading them anyway.
Haha, questioning my intelligence. This coming from a guy who tried telling me cricket isn't a team sport...

Anyway, my point is that it seems no matter how Wilt is referred to seemingly anywhere on the NBA forum, it is usually followed by a plethora of C&P'd posts from you. If this were a forum I managed, I'd start deleting those posts and maybe even give you a small ban if you persisted. In fact, I have used that exact method on someone on a forum I manage, and it worked marvelously.

It's not even that you do something offensive, it's just that the way you argue is so incredibly banal and non productive, it turns many people away from threads and achieves absolutely nothing! You're better off ignoring people who mention Wilt in a negative sense and start talking about other things.

[MeLO MvP 15]

Yeah so Dwight can average like 12 blocks per game and get 30 rpg.....

[SyRyanYang]

Not a single great player would fail to adjust. Unless people are taking advantage (Wilt did in the 60's, Shaq did with just about everything), then it will just change the style.



Kobe and Dirk will be Kobe and Dirk. Durant will not be on the road to GOAT. Lebron and Wade would remain the two best players in the league.


Guys would jut adjust.

Sure they'll adjust but no way they'll be as good as they are now

[SacJB Shady]

Well they should increase it to 4 or 5 seconds. Having no rule would not be good either. You can't just have big guys just stand there and not move. This forces everyone to be more creative.

[jlauber]

Haha, questioning my intelligence. This coming from a guy who tried telling me cricket isn't a team sport...

Anyway, my point is that it seems no matter how Wilt is referred to seemingly anywhere on the NBA forum, it is usually followed by a plethora of C&P'd posts from you. If this were a forum I managed, I'd start deleting those posts and maybe even give you a small ban if you persisted. In fact, I have used that exact method on someone on a forum I manage, and it worked marvelously.

It's not even that you do something offensive, it's just that the way you argue is so incredibly banal and non productive, it turns many people away from threads and achieves absolutely nothing! You're better off ignoring people who mention Wilt in a negative sense and start talking about other things.

I don't recall ever making any assertion that Cricket was not a team sport. I believe I may have questioned that it was a MAJOR team sport. In any case, I strongly suspect that there aren't more than a handful of posters on this forum who could tell you ANYTHING about that sport.

[nightprowler10]

You questioned if it was a TEAM sport (with your caps lock on and everything). But I digress. The point was, don't question my intelligence when you don't know how to google cricket. :)

[Stern]

I don't recall ever making any assertion that Cricket was not a team sport. I believe I may have questioned that it was a MAJOR team sport. In any case, I strongly suspect that there aren't more than a handful of posters on this forum who could tell you ANYTHING about that sport.
Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. More people care about it then dead man wilt.

[nightprowler10]

Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. More people care about it then dead man wilt.
Another fact that can be easily googled...

[jlauber]

Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. More people care about it then dead man wilt.

Care to take a poll HERE about which is better known HERE...Cricket, or Wilt?

In fact, walk down the streets of anywhere in the U.S. and ask the casual sports fan about Wilt, and then ask them about their favorite Cricket player of all-time, and come back here and post your results on which is more well known.

[nightprowler10]

Care to take a poll HERE about which is better known HERE...Cricket, or Wilt?
What does that have anything to do with... anything.

[mjokc]

Care to take a poll HERE about which is better known HERE...Cricket, or Wilt?

In fact, walk down the streets of anywhere in the U.S. and ask the casual sports fan about Wilt, and then ask them about their favorite Cricket player of all-time.

Serge Ibaka would get 40 blocks per game.

[jlauber]

What does that have anything to do with... anything.

Well, what does Cricket have to with ANYTHING on THIS forum?

[tpols]

Half of the NBA's superstars would get hit hard.

Derrick Rose: Another spoke in Chicago's wheel.
Lebron and Wade: 2 solid starters in the league.
Rondo: Journeyman. Out of the league in 2 years.
John Wall: Returning to Kentucky to pursue another career.
Rubio: Skills trainer for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kobe and Dirk: Sudden resurgence.
Kevin Durant: On his way to GOAT.
:applause:

Basketball sho8ld be played 5v5... put the ball in the hoop. Goal is to put the ball in the basket with 5 dudes in between you and the hole. Fvck this highlightbullshit.

[nightprowler10]

Well, what does Cricket have to with ANYTHING on THIS forum?
...ok I was trolling you at first, but now I am seriously starting to question your intelligence since you can't seem to follow what's going on...

Also, I find it interesting that you didn't try countering anything else I said regarding your posting.

[Deuce Bigalow]

Care to take a poll HERE about which is better known HERE...Cricket, or Wilt?

In fact, walk down the streets of anywhere in the U.S. and ask the casual sports fan about Wilt, and then ask them about their favorite Cricket player of all-time, and come back here and post your results on which is more well known.
cricket isn't popular here you moron. Go to places where it is and they would know, ask them about wilt and they would be like "a what?"

[jlauber]

...ok I was trolling you at first, but now I am seriously starting to question your intelligence since you can't seem to follow what's going on...

Also, I find it interesting that you didn't try countering anything else I said regarding your posting.

I already addressed that in my very first response...

just SKIP over it.

I do find it fascinating, though, just how often somone will reply to one my posts with "didn't read", and then go off on a rant about one of the comments I made in the MIDDLE of my post.

[Deuce Bigalow]

You better RESEARCH your history...

The NBA created RULES, aimed SPECIFICALLY aimed at Wilt, in a desperate attempt to stop the man. And yet he STILL crushed the league, even into the LAST game of his career, when at age 36, and in game five of the NBA Finals, he put up a 23-21 game. BTW, he also averaged 22.5 rpg in his 17 playoff games that year...which is the LAST time anyone ever averaged more than 17.3 rpg in the post-season.

And how about this example...the NBA widened the lane before the start of the '64-65 season, (again aimed STRICTLY at Wilt), and he just LAUGHED at that rule change. At mid-season, and before he was traded to a slightly better team and would cut back his shooting in the second half of that season, he was averaging 38.9 ppg. Just the year before, he averaged 36.9 ppg. True, he "only" averaged 34.7 ppg on the entire season.

Incidently, in the very next season, all he did was LEAD the league in scoring, at 33.5 ppg; LEAD the league in rebounding, at 24.6 rpg; LEAD the league in FG%, at a then-record .540 (in a league that shot .433);...and LEAD his TEAM to the BEST RECORD in the league. On top of that, he DESTROYED HOF centers Russell, Bellamy, and Thurmond, and in his 9-10 H2H meetings with each (as well as waxing Russell in five more playoff games.) It was probably the most one-sided crushing of a league loaded with HOF players in NBA history.

Oh, and BTW, the NEXT season after that, all Wilt did was average 24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, and shoot a mind-blowing .683 from the floor (and in a league that shot .441), AND led his team to a then-record mark of 68-13, and a dominating world title, and in a playoff run which included just MURDERING Russell and Thurmond.

Even as late as his 69-70 season, and when his new coach asked him to focus on the offensive end, he was LEADING the NBA in SCORING, at 32.2 ppg (and on a sensational .600 shooting) in the first nine games of that season. Included in those nine games, were games of 33 (on 13-13 shooting), 35, 37 (and against 7-0 270 lb. Tom Boerwinkle), 38 (and against reigning MVP Wes Unseld), 42 (and against star center Bob Rule), and 43 points. And, again, BTW, he also SHELLED Kareem in their first H2H, with a 25-25 9-14 shooting game. Unfortunately, he shredded his knee in that ninth game, and was never the same again (albeit, on one-leg, and only four months after major knee surgery, he hung a seven game Finals of 23.2 ppg, 24.1 rpg, and on .625 shooting.)

Even in his 68-69 season, when he hardly shot the ball, he still hung TWO 60+ point games (and his 66 point game came on 29-35 shooting.) In fact, Kareem came into the league the very next season, and his career high, in 20 years, was 55 points. And yet, a declining Wilt, and in a year in which he hardly shot the ball, could put up TWO 60+ point games.
http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a402/LAWLER89MISC2/DidNotReadConcert.gif

[jlauber]

cricket isn't popular here you moron. Go to places where it is and they would know, ask them about wilt and they would be like "a what?"

EXACTLY my point you MORON.

[jlauber]

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a402/LAWLER89MISC2/DidNotReadConcert.gif

You mean...COULD NOT READ.

[tpols]

EXACTLY my point you MORON.
Wilt was ass.. get over it.

[bluechox2]

if you take away defensive 3, then you have to take away the charge to make it fair

[bdreason]

I agree, take away defensive 3 seconds... and remove any type of zone. Man vs man defense only. You can't guard your man? You're in the wrong league.

[jlauber]

I agree, take away defensive 3 seconds... and remove any type of zone. Man vs man defense only. You can't guard your man? You're in the wrong league.

It would definitely speed up the game.

[jlauber]

You questioned if it was a TEAM sport (with your caps lock on and everything). But I digress. The point was, don't question my intelligence when you don't know how to google cricket. :)

Hopefully you will accept my public apology. I was out of line with questioning your intelligence. To be honest, there are not very many here who are as knowledgeable as you are.

:cheers:

[nightprowler10]

No worries mate. And my original post might have been a joke at your expense, but there wasn't any maliciousness intended, so apologies if it came across as such.

[jlauber]

No worries mate. And my original post might have been a joke at your expense, but there wasn't any maliciousness intended, so apologies if it came across as such.

:cheers:

[Floppy]

Less entertainment, less cool dunks.
There were more real facials when there was no d3.

Now you just see players getting dunked on who are late on the rotation.

[Whoah10115]

love u brah..........

change

your

diapers.

now.



??? You misunderstood. Shaq got away with a lot. Wilt did take advantage of the fact that the rules weren't in place, so therefore they changed them, because he was killing. Without those rules added, no one else would have ever touched the ball. Didn't make him better or worse. I know he's responsible for the changes.





You better RESEARCH your history...




I know they changed the rules for Wilt. I didn't mean to imply he did what he did because of a lack of rules. I am aware. But you don't have to post all these stats. You have your research but if you thought I was downplaying his greatness, then argue the point directly. Besides, that's not what I meant.

[jlauber]

??? You misunderstood. Shaq got away with a lot. Wilt did take advantage of the fact that the rules weren't in place, so therefore they changed them, because he was killing. Without those rules added, no one else would have ever touched the ball. Didn't make him better or worse. I know he's responsible for the changes.








I know they changed the rules for Wilt. I didn't mean to imply he did what he did because of a lack of rules. I am aware. But you don't have to post all these stats. You have your research but if you thought I was downplaying his greatness, then argue the point directly. Besides, that's not what I meant.

I apologize. I went on a defensive rant, and there was no need.

And you were right...the greats would adapt.

[Jameerthefear]

You better RESEARCH your history...

The NBA created RULES, aimed SPECIFICALLY aimed at Wilt, in a desperate attempt to stop the man. And yet he STILL crushed the league, even into the LAST game of his career, when at age 36, and in game five of the NBA Finals, he put up a 23-21 game. BTW, he also averaged 22.5 rpg in his 17 playoff games that year...which is the LAST time anyone ever averaged more than 17.3 rpg in the post-season.

And how about this example...the NBA widened the lane before the start of the '64-65 season, (again aimed STRICTLY at Wilt), and he just LAUGHED at that rule change. At mid-season, and before he was traded to a slightly better team and would cut back his shooting in the second half of that season, he was averaging 38.9 ppg. Just the year before, he averaged 36.9 ppg. True, he "only" averaged 34.7 ppg on the entire season.

Incidently, in the very next season, all he did was LEAD the league in scoring, at 33.5 ppg; LEAD the league in rebounding, at 24.6 rpg; LEAD the league in FG%, at a then-record .540 (in a league that shot .433);...and LEAD his TEAM to the BEST RECORD in the league. On top of that, he DESTROYED HOF centers Russell, Bellamy, and Thurmond, and in his 9-10 H2H meetings with each (as well as waxing Russell in five more playoff games.) It was probably the most one-sided crushing of a league loaded with HOF players in NBA history.

Oh, and BTW, the NEXT season after that, all Wilt did was average 24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg, and shoot a mind-blowing .683 from the floor (and in a league that shot .441), AND led his team to a then-record mark of 68-13, and a dominating world title, and in a playoff run which included just MURDERING Russell and Thurmond.

Even as late as his 69-70 season, and when his new coach asked him to focus on the offensive end, he was LEADING the NBA in SCORING, at 32.2 ppg (and on a sensational .600 shooting) in the first nine games of that season. Included in those nine games, were games of 33 (on 13-13 shooting), 35, 37 (and against 7-0 270 lb. Tom Boerwinkle), 38 (and against reigning MVP Wes Unseld), 42 (and against star center Bob Rule), and 43 points. And, again, BTW, he also SHELLED Kareem in their first H2H, with a 25-25 9-14 shooting game. Unfortunately, he shredded his knee in that ninth game, and was never the same again (albeit, on one-leg, and only four months after major knee surgery, he hung a seven game Finals of 23.2 ppg, 24.1 rpg, and on .625 shooting.)

Even in his 68-69 season, when he hardly shot the ball, he still hung TWO 60+ point games (and his 66 point game came on 29-35 shooting.) In fact, Kareem came into the league the very next season, and his career high, in 20 years, was 55 points. And yet, a declining Wilt, and in a year in which he hardly shot the ball, could put up TWO 60+ point games.
didnt read

[CeltsGarlic]

About Wilt

Read it, didnt knew about his wet jump shot, thanks for info.

[jlauber]

didnt read

I don't blame you. Still, thanks for taking the time out of your day to at least aknowledge that didn't read it.

[jlauber]

Read it, didnt knew about his wet jump shot, thanks for info.

It's refreshing to read a post like this. Maybe my long rants are not a complete waste of time. Thanks again. Hopefully we can all learn something while we are here.

[PTB Fan]

Less entertainment, less cool dunks.

This pretty much.

[Whoah10115]

I apologize. I went on a defensive rant, and there was no need.

And you were right...the greats would adapt.





The center position is weaker than ever





Weaker than when Shaq was dominating? I'm not gonna list the 20 high quality centers playing today. I'll just say it's not accurate.

[La Frescobaldi]

Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. More people care about it then dead man wilt.

from what i hear, basketball is the second most popular sport in the world

[La Frescobaldi]

Weaker than when Shaq was dominating? I'm not gonna list the 20 high quality centers playing today. I'll just say it's not accurate.

totally agree with that fact

[Lebron23]

We don't have any defensive seconds rule under the FIBA Rules. I think the NBA need to get rid of it. Great players will always find a way to adjust.

[oarabbus]

This plus a dozen other reasons.


But... mostly the cool dunks.

[no pun intended]

Imagine Roy Hibbert without this rule lmfao

[finchyyy]

Durant would be even more unstoppable.

[oarabbus]

Durant would be even more unstoppable.

Uh, probably not.

Biggest beneficiaries are guys like Z-Bo on offense and Hibbert on defense.

[Fresh Kid]

I agree they should exempt this rule asap.

[PHILA]

Shaq

Shaq speaks out against new zone defense rule

July 17, 2001

The NBA's decision to allow zone defenses isn't sitting well with Shaquille O'Neal.

Months before the new rule goes into effect, the Los Angeles Lakers two-time NBA finals MVP said he believes the change will significantly slow things down.

"I think it's a stupid, idiotic rule," O'Neal said Tuesday. "I think a bunch of old people upstairs need to retire and hire young people if they want to make the game better."

Designed to improve the flow and pace of the game and reduce teams' dependence on isolation plays, the new rules are being tested during summer leagues. They'll be implemented next season.

O'Neal wasn't keen about the idea when it passed in April. He was asked about it at a basketball camp he's running at Texas A&M-Commerce.

"People want to see Steve Nash's slashing ability and Allen Iverson's crossover. People don't want to see a bunch of lazy guys playing zone defense," O'Neal said.

Other critics have said the rule was the wrong way for the league to address lower scores, declining television ratings and flat attendance figures.

"People won't want to pay $50 or $60 a game to see that," O'Neal said. "I wouldn't pay to see that. I wouldn't watch that on TV. I'd watch The Young and the Restless before I'd watch that."

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has said he thinks the changes will help O'Neal defensively by keeping him around the basket with a lot less movement.

Nonetheless, Shaq is not looking forward to it.

"They need to just stop calling everything and just let us do what we need to do while the people eat popcorn and enjoy the game," he said. "Let guys like Allen Iverson carry their team. Let Steve Nash travel a little bit when he makes that Canadian pass that he does so well.

"It's not going to make the game any better, it's going to make it worse."

The current illegal defense rules will be scrapped, and teams will be allowed to play any defense they choose. The one exception is that a defensive player will not be permitted to stay in the lane for more than three seconds if he is more than an arm's length away from his man. A violation will result in a technical foul.

"I'll play through it a year and see what happens," O'Neal said. "Then I'll go back to the lab and learn how to buck the system."

[Dr.J4ever]

Here are some of the pros and cons of scraping the defensive 3 second rule:

cons
* less highlight dunks and layups in the half court
* tall,long armed, athletic defenders would dominate the paint
* significantly less scoring in the Playoffs
* the decline of superstar players
* even less post up basketball
* re-educating NBA fans on the new nature of the game
* risky, as it may reduce the NBA's popularity if games become boring

pros
* the decline of superstar players
* more reliance on team basketball
* more teams may try to push the pace for fastbreaks
* more teams with no superstars will have a chance to compete for the title
* re-educating NBA fans on the new nature of the game
* more teams in more cities may have a chance, thus changing demand for superstar players and more demand for "team first" players

Well, maybe there are other pros and cons. I kinda like it though. It will surely change the nature of the game. But if you are the NBA, why fix something that ain't broke. More likely in the future, is that the NCAA and FIBA will change to a more consistent 3 second rule for both offense and defense like today's NBA rule.

[NumberSix]

It's a stupid rule that has literally no justification for existing. You should let teams use what ever strategy they want.

[CeltsGarlic]

awful rule. remove it.