Should the NBA go back to 80's Rules?

[keep-itreal]

keep the rules the way they are for the most part. just ban flopping and bring back a few fights and let people foul harder

the reason slow boring tall centers dont have such a huge impact on the game anymore is because of the rule changes

in a way its made the game more appealing...

sure its taken away some of the hard contact and fighting. but at the end of the day. i'd rather not see another shaq

if the rules were what they were 20 years ago.. howard would have multiple titles by now. he would just bang away inside. isolate and dunk over people..

is this what kids really think these days?

[Ne 1]

the rules are the way they are now because that's the way the owners want it to be

sure it may be less physical, but the owners care about protecting their investment on these players. They weren't making 20 mil a year in the 80s.

defenses strategies have improved, technology and game preparation has come light years compared to that era so there are ways in which you can compensate for a handful of rule changes. NBD imo

The most physical era in the NBA was actually the 70s. And rules eliminated REAL, physical handchecking in '79:

1978-79
Clarification added to prohibit hand-checking through “rigid enforcement” of rule allowing a defensive player to retain contact with his opponent so long as he does not impede his opponent’s progress.

In the 80s, I've seen handchecking get called all the time. Commentators pointing out on replays how the guy was not allowed to handcheck etc. Sports Illustrated published an entire feature article in the 80s because NBA defense was perceived as a JOKE. Poor help defense, no zone, less and less physicality, and so on. That's how everybody thought of it at the time. Handchecking was still allowed in the backcourt however to pressure the ball handler, but they eliminated that altogether in '94.

The same BS complaints people have now, people had back then. I saw old timers from the 70s on half time segments making fun of how you couldn't guard Michael Jordan because of all the favorable rules for him (isolation, lack of physicality etc). And the same "handchecking" complaints were going on in '93, in fact here's an NY Times article:

Published: March 28, 1993
The increase of flagrant fouls and violence between players in today's National Basketball Association is a direct result of the elimination of the defensive hand check from games. Physical contact has always been a part of modern professional basketball. But when the N.B.A. abolished a defensive player's ability to use the hand check as a way of slowing down the offensive player he was guarding, players began finding new ways to keep their opponents from going to the hoop. As a result, the hip check has replaced the hand check, as frustrated players try to limit their opponents' scoring chances.

It is time for the N.B.A. to reinstate the use of the hand-check.

[Yung D-Will]

keep the rules the way they are for the most part. just ban flopping and bring back a few fights and let people foul harder

the reason slow boring tall centers dont have such a huge impact on the game anymore is because of the rule changes

in a way its made the game more appealing...

sure its taken away some of the hard contact and fighting. but at the end of the day. i'd rather not see another shaq

if the rules were what they were 20 years ago.. howard would have multiple titles by now. he would just bang away inside. isolate and dunk over people..

but with the defenses being able to play zones and there not being illegal d anymore. they can force the bigs to get rid of the ball

this is why bynum has to feed off kobe and gasols skills in order to free up an open look

its not kobes fault bynum doesnt get more than 18-20ppg... its the rules

youl never see another big man average 27+ppg with a back to the basket post game

and thats a good thing

So you'd rather not see another Shaq/Hakeem level big man?

[Jax]

Imagine Lebron or Kobe pushing defenders off with their arms...
Shaq did that though and we all saw what happened.

[LebronairJAMES]

Bring back hand-checking!

this is the only rule they need back

[longtime lurker]

at thinking the 80's was some defensive showcase. Defenses are much better today and sophisticated with the help of technology. What they need to do is bring back hand checking and physical play, but that would expose at lot of the superstars in the league which Stern would never want.

[lilgodfather1]

Lol the defense in the 80's was a joke. Oh hey there's Larry Bird a top 5 player of all time (at the time) let's guard him man to man! Oh look it's Jordan let's just guard him one on one too.

Yeah defense in the 80's was great

[DatAsh]

Let's just remind people of how defensively stingy and disciplined teams were in the 80. It was almost impossible to score.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_1982.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_1986.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_1989.html

The higher ppg is virtually all due to a faster pace and has little to do with actual defense.

The rules made it a tad harder for perimeter players to score back then, but the rules today make it harder for bigmen. It somewhat balances itself out, so I guess I don't really see the problem.

As much as I love hand checking(for what it does to defense), it would be wrong for the overall direction and future of this league. People love to watch the Jordans/Kobes/Lebrons, that's what makes money, and that's what's effective in today's league. Bringing back rules that make it harder for those guys to score is a step in the wrong direction.

[Micku]

Even though the rules are tougher on defenders today, the defense is still stronger than the 80's. Players in the 80's simply didn't take advantage of the leeway they had.

Yeah. The league actually got better defensively later on. Especially when the Pistons won the championship. The Pistons beat talented Celtics, MJ Bulls and Celtics with less talent (except for the Bulls). They had to play team ball and step up defensively to beat those teams. They inspired the rest of the league to do that. At least for superstars in the league.

Not to say that the 80s didn't have defensive teams before. The Celts were pretty good defensive in 86, the Bucks, and the Lakers were solid defensively as well. By time the late 80s, you see the league changing and adopting to less face pace basketball to a slower game.

It was really the mindset that separate the ltheague then and now, not so much the rules and defense. The players ran and played at a faster pace, and they take the best shot open to them. They would play similar to the Suns in the mid 00s, and shoot to score with using few secs on the shot clock.

As mentioned before, the 70s had real handcheck. There were players in the 70s that complain how it's impossible to guard MJ in the 90s and 80s because of the rules. They said that have to play team defense and rough like the Pistons and the Knicks.

The only reason why I think the league wanted to eliminate hand checking and implement zone is because they could increase perimeter play (for ratings) and somewhat eliminate hot dogging/star play. And to stop Shaq for dominating in the early 00s.

The NBA don't need to go back to the 80s rules. But they need to do something about the flopping.

[RaininTwos]

Let's just remind people of how defensively stingy and disciplined teams were in the 80. It was almost impossible to score.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_1982.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_1986.html

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_1989.html

[RaininTwos]

The higher ppg is virtually all due to a faster pace and has little to do with actual defense.

I thought the same but then I checked out the field goal percentage for the teams and that kinda went out the window when I saw like two or three teams shooting over 50%. Shooting over 50% as a team.

Then I looked at the 2005-2006 season that everyone likes to spotlight and most efficient team was the Suns, shooting a paltry 47.9% from the field. They would have been 19th in 1986.

I know I might be missing something so let me know.

[jlauber]

In honor of Duncewood...

00's, the "Kobe-era"...weak era. Tiny Archibald would have averaged 40 ppg in the decade of the 2000's.

[kennethgriffin]

So you'd rather not see another Shaq/Hakeem level big man?

Hakeem sure... Shaq no... He was boring to watch. Loved having him on my team but i remember how slow and predictable our offense was. Shaq took advantage of the rules to the point where The rules had to be changed. Unskilled big man pounding and overpowering dunk machines is not basketball. Ive always been a skills fan 1st

[Calabis]

The most physical era in the NBA was actually the 70s. And rules eliminated REAL, physical handchecking in '79:



In the 80s, I've seen handchecking get called all the time. Commentators pointing out on replays how the guy was not allowed to handcheck etc. Sports Illustrated published an entire feature article in the 80s because NBA defense was perceived as a JOKE. Poor help defense, no zone, less and less physicality, and so on. That's how everybody thought of it at the time. Handchecking was still allowed in the backcourt however to pressure the ball handler, but they eliminated that altogether in '94.

The same BS complaints people have now, people had back then. I saw old timers from the 70s on half time segments making fun of how you couldn't guard Michael Jordan because of all the favorable rules for him (isolation, lack of physicality etc). And the same "handchecking" complaints were going on in '93, in fact here's an NY Times article:

Oh Lord, once a year, you try this garbage and u guys kill me with this "Today's Defense" Bullshit...****ers get into the lane at will today

According to you handchecking was eliminated in 1970...lol, please explain these players comments about Alvin Robertson who came into the league in 1984:

Brian Shaw: When I was a rookie and hand-checking was part of the game, I was 180 pounds. He was strong enough to hold me by my waist. I could be dribbling the ball and trying to make progress to the basket, and he could just control me with one hand. That's the kind of strength he had. You have to hope that one of your big guys comes over and sets a screen on him so you can get away from him.

Ron Harper: Alvin and I are both from Ohio. I used to play with him in the summertime. He's a defensive player that slaps, grabs, and holds. He's intense all the time. He was a great defensive player. Not a good defensive player, but a great defensive player. He was a great athlete. You have to use your teammates to run screens. That was the only way to beat him.

Or these comments after 2004 rule changes

One former Rocket can appreciate the hand-checking ban more than anyone.
"I call it the Derek Harper-on-Kenny Smith Rule," said Kenny Smith, referring to the physical abuse he took from the New York Knicks in the 1994 Finals. "Now we're back to me against you."

NBA.com: Since the hand-checking rule was interpreted differently beginning in the 2004-05 season, the game has opened up. Players are penetrating and the floor is spread. As a result, scoring has risen every season. Was this anticipated back in 2004?

Stu Jackson: No. The scoring increase was not our goal. Our objective was to allow for more offensive freedom by not allowing defenders to hand-, forearm- or body-check ball handlers. By doing so, we encouraged more dribble penetration. As players penetrated more, it produced higher quality shots for the ball handler as well as shots for teammates on passes back out to perimeter. When NBA players get higher quality shots -- having more time to shoot -- they tend to make more of them.

Why would they be asking Stu Jackson this, if handchecking was abolished in 1970??

Doug Collins: "Without those rule changes, I'm sure we're not at this point," said the former player and coach-turned broadcaster. "Just the no hand-checking rule alone brought so much speed and penetration and cutting back into the game. Before, if a guy tried to go through the lane, it was

[KOBE143]

00's, the "Kobe-era"...weak era. Tiny Archibald would have averaged 40 ppg in the decade of the 2000's.

60's, the "Wilt The Choker-era"...weak era. Brian Scalabrine would have avg 60ppg, 30rpg in the decade of the 1960's.