NBA fans that have been complaining about the length of games have a reason to rejoice. The NBA heard their complaints and have decided to speed up the game by reducing the number of timeouts that teams have. If you want to bet on NBA games, check out next season’s NBA betting lines.
The NBA announced earlier this month that the number of timeouts teams have will be reduced from 18 to 14 starting next season. While this won’t speed up the game as much as some people would like, it is move in the right direction.
With the reduced timeouts, each team will now have seven timeouts during regulation. The NBA also changed the format for the timeouts. Instead of teams having 20 second timeouts as well as 90 second timeouts, all timeouts will be 75 seconds long.
Teams also won’t be allowed to have more than four timeouts in the fourth quarter, and will only be allowed to have two timeouts in the last three minutes of the game. This is especially good news for those that hate the way coaches call timeouts late in games, which makes the end of the fourth quarter drag.
In addition to the reduced number of timeouts, the NBA also announced that players who walk past the three-point line during free throws will be penalized with a delay of game penalty.
Even though fans will be happy with the NBA’s attempt to speed up the game, they are still holding out hope that the NBA will reduce its schedule and play less games.
Fans and players have been suggesting that having a reduced schedule works in favor of the NBA because it makes the games more important and reduces the chances of injury. However, some argue that the NBA has had an 82 game schedule 1967, so why should the league change the length of the season now?
Other argue that the NHL, which is a more physical league, also plays an 82 game schedule and the players aren’t complaining about the length.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver came up with a compromise by announcing the 2017 season will start on October 17. The season’s start date is nine days earlier than last season’s start. According to the league, the early start day is to accommodate more days off between games, which should help players that have dealt with fatigue in recent years.
Another reason why there are complaints about the length of the regular season is due to the fact that the fans feel the NBA Finals matchup is already set so why go through the grind of the regular season.
While they have a point, because the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have met in the Finals for the past three seasons, there are no guarantees that either team will be back in the Finals next season.
The Cavs have a much tougher road in the Eastern Conference than they did in the past due to teams like the Boston Celtics adding more depth to their roster.
In the West, there are no teams as talented as the Warriors, but the truth is one or two significant injuries could derail their season.
