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Shots from the ‘charity stripe’ are great when they are earned after taking a hard hit on a drive, but they are becoming more of a nuisance in high level basketball to the point of ruining the NBA/College fan experience.
A 12 minute NBA quarter can take up to 40 minutes if the deliberate foul tactic is employed and it is made worse by the constant substitution of defensive/offensive line-ups.
Every man and his dog has an opinion on these game stoppers, even Nick Fury has expressed his displeasure at the way they are prolonging the game:
As much as I Love college hoops, dunno if I can watch an hour of Free Throw shooting!!!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) November 13, 2013
So what can be done about the problem?
Here are my proposals to fix the free throw process and save basketball fans many lost hours of their lives per season.
1) Players have 20 seconds to shoot both FTs
While this is technically the rule now (a player must shoot a FT within 10 seconds of receiving the ball), it would be much more interesting if the entire process was timed at 20 seconds (25 seconds for three point attempts) from the time a player is fouled.
This would both speed up the game and provide more drama, as the player has less time to settle and thus increasing the likelihood of a miss.
In order to be successful the refs would have to also speed up their movements and any substitutions after the first FT could only involve players not in position around the shooter.
Coaches would have to manage their substitutions a lot smarter if they wanted to sub in/out a rebounding big and the delay caused by stopping the game so multiple players could enter/exit would be reduced.
2) Extend the game fouls are an automatic two points
Fouling to extend the game is one of the most tedious processes in basketball. Sometimes it can work and does create quite a few win-it-or-lose-it last second shots, but the tactic can drag games out by 10+ minutes.
To keep the drama of trying to extend the game, if you are within a few points but have less than a shot clock left, my idea would be to let teams foul but give an automatic two points to the opposition team.
This way you eliminate the potential advantage of having a player miss a FT when the game is essentially over (more than two possession difference) and games that are genuinely close can come to a speedier conclusion.
3) Deliberate off-the-ball fouling of a player results in an automatic two points and possession
The hack-a-player tactic is the most hated strategy in basketball. It started with Shaquille O’Neal and has continued to Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.
While it tactically may provide an advantage, nobody wants to see it and it ruins the flow of a game.
To kerb this behaviour, any deliberate off-the-ball foul at any period during the game – not just the final two minutes of a quarter – will result in an automatic two points and the ball back.
4) Technical fouls are an automatic point
Free throws from technical fouls are pretty much a guaranteed point, as the opposing team can select any player to shoot the FT.
Why bother with the formality when I would say 90-95% of technical free throws are successful?
Get rid of them and keep the game moving.
5) Make basketball a contact sport
Get them wearing pads, board up the court like an ice hockey rink and let them tackle each other.
While we are at it, let’s put some big trampolines near the basketball so players can dunk the ball in amazing new ways.
Wait… this has already been tried, hasn’t it?
So there you have it, unnecessary delays caused by free throws are now solved and we can all spend the time we just saved reading Roar articles and discussing basketball.
What are your thoughts on how the free throw aspect of the game could be improved to shorten game length?
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