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?
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
Currently if you are two points down with less than a shot clock left and you deliberately foul, if the guy makes both FTs you are in the same position as if there was no FTs (auto points). The goal is still to make a three pointer and foul again (making you down by 3 after the auto points) and you still have a chance to tie the game with another three pointer. It was an idea to get rid of the situations where a team is down by 5 and continues to foul for the last 24 seconds of game clock.
Silver_Sovereign
Guest
maybe a scrum or kick for touch would be ideal
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
I also fail to see how the record books would be tainted. You deliberately foul a player and the automatic points go to the player that was fouled (same as if they went to the FT line). What are your thoughts on the 3 point line? Awarding a shot an extra 50% in value seems a pretty radical change. The business of the NBA wasn't a consideration, if it was then the article wouldn't have been written for the points you mentioned.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
You are ignoring the fact that a team has 24 seconds to try and force a steal, which should be the goal on every other possession. It would at least be exciting, which free throws are not.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
As far as NCAA goes, it's really simple. Deliberate fouls put the coaching staff under the same amateurism rules as the players - as soon as game checks are stopped, the problems will evaporate. Yeah, so the whiny scum will whinge about this. Stuff the scabs, they should be on the same rules as the players. As far as the pro's go, its also simple. Clock stops after a foul, and it doesnt re-start until the free throws are done.
matt
Guest
really good points @Alistair Hogg. Giving away points is indeed not the answer and in fact the NBA changing rules to resolve the issue raised by this article would be like Hollywood making a movie that didn't stick to the tried and true formula. I guess that's the issue here - what maximises revenue (junk food for the lowest common denominator) is divergent from delivering the best product.
Alistair Hogg
Roar Pro
A further point... There is admittedly precedent for scoring changes as sport ultimately evolves. Bonus points in rugby, shootouts and smaller goalie pads in hockey, kickoff length alterations in football etc. But these changes are relatively minor when you consider what automatic point penalties for fouls would do for basketball. While they might achieve your goal of shortening matches, it would ruin contests, void strategy and fundamentally alter the fabric of a successful sport.
Alistair Hogg
Roar Pro
Really? You think it's a bit enough problem to fundamentally alter the scoring system of a sport that's been around some 120 years and a league that was founded 70 odd years ago? Awarding automatic points for fouls is one of the most hair-brained sporting concepts I've heard. You'd be tainting history books and diluting records for the sake of a quicker game, which I would argue is not as big a problem as it's being made out to be. Take point #2 for example. You are basically saying that any team that's ahead by 2+ points inside 24 seconds to play will win the game. Using your example, the trailing team in this instance has two choices: 1) Concede defeat and let the clock run out, which is ridiculous considering they're only two points behind or; 2) Foul, which results in a two-point penalty, thus taking them four points back - and assuming they make a basket in response, what then? They're screwed. You're literally taking 24 seconds off the clock of a one-score game. In hindsight, I have probably fallen into a trolling trap, but this is one of the more ridiculous things I've read. Plus, nobody has stated the obvious reason it won't happen. More stoppages = more advertising! A similar reason why you can't watch a prime time NFL game in under four hours these days.
matt
Guest
@bundybirder that sounds like a tech foul! Clearly for 90%+ of a game a team would take the free throws because this has a long run statistical advantage. But in the closing minute or so, long run averages mean little and the hack-attack approach throws up a lot of volatility (statistically speaking) which gives the trailing team more winning permutations) - but as the article points out, it also makes the game drag on horribly. Disincentive endless skill-less fouling and reintroduce a motivation to genuinely make a steal. I'd also drop the personal foul limit from 6 to 4 (but make some of those stupid fouls not go against your personal count). But I guess that's for another article.
bundybirder
Guest
How about 1 free throw AND possession?
matt
Guest
I have pondered this in the past very much, being a former basketball fan that long since turned away from the sport for a few reasons, but this one being right up there. OK it's dead simple and I can safely say will never be adopted so here goes: Once a team get's into the bonus situation, each time they get fouled they get a choice: take the 2 free throws or take possession.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
I like this idea.
mushi
Guest
And the thing is you can only do so much of it as you are racking up fouls at a pretty quick rate.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
I cannot stress how much I agree with your last paragraph. I am totally and utterly all for 'hack-a-player'. If a player has a weakness, you attack it and exploit it. If you have a 6 footer marking a 7 footer, you don't make a rule to protect the shorter player, you take advantage of the situation. Free throw shooting is basketball skill. If you're not good at it, you should be exploited. Don't like it? Then make your free throws.
Ryan
Guest
Although I mentioned above i'm not against the whole free throw situation, I have been thinking. How about If you deliberately foul more than once you lose a timeout? So either reducing the high amount of late game free throws or reducing the amount of time outs.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
Just to clarify - automatic points are only for deliberate fouls. Normal hand check and shooting fouls will still be FTs
Johnno
Guest
Ways to speed up basketball -have a subs rule. 30 subs per team per match -Keep 12 man roster is fine, as if 1 player goes down eg a centre , it ruins the contest, so haveing 12 man roster keep -Allow hard fouls, and hand checking still, the NBL has gone all soft -Automatic points will ruin defence, and water it down even more, it will be even more touch footy in the paint than what it is now. -Cut down time outs, worst part of basketball. 2 time outs allowed per team, per match, plus 1 TV time out per half. That's still 4 time outs per match, plus half time, and 2 Quarter time's. 7 times per match the coach can play hero. I myself would have no issues if Timeouts were banned from basketball. -But time outs will stay, as they bring in good advertising revenue, as a game can be streteched over 2 hours. At Olympics 1992, USA dream team had no time outs whole Olympics, didn't use one, was awsome. Right now in NBA each team is allowed 6 time outs each. that's 12 per game crazy. Plus each team is allowed 2 X 20 second time outs. To much and it slows the game down.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
A bigger blight on the game than having to watch the farce of a player beng fouled over and over again while fans boo? I agree that players should be able to hit a decent clip from the foul line but free throws are there to make sure the game doesn't descend into a foul-a-thon. Again these are only ideas so feel free to add to the list.
Dexter
Guest
The idea of giving automatic points in any sense would be a terrible blight on the game. Imagine winning a game when the opposition has actually gotten more points by sinking baskets and you've just gotten automatic points. The essence of the game is getting more points than your opposition and this is done by earning your points by sinking baskets - not by being awarded automatic points.
Ryan
Guest
i personally dont mind it. I understand the game stretches on forever, but thats basketball. I love watching a team trying to inbound the ball to your best FT shooter so they can take the shots and the tight D making the inbounder call a timeout. Also, the whole end of game free throw situation provides some of the best game-winning/saving shot situations i.e Miami v Spurs, Game 6, Leonard free throw miss allowed Ray Allen 3. The more its drawn out, the more dramatic it often is. As far as hack-a-player tactic, I am all for it. Players getting 20 million a year and cant even reliably hit free throws. If you cant hit free throws at the top level you deserve to be exploited for it.