a few suggestions to fix the NBA

it seems like everyone loves the NBA. Well I don't. As a kid, I grew up in awe of Michael Jordan and the fastest growing sport in the world. I wanted to play roundball more than anything as a pre-teen and dreamt of last second heroics. My fascination started at the tender age of four when my brother had taught me how to dribble and shot a basketball. I had never experienced a joy greater than that but since high school my love for basketball has been diminished. why ? Has the game ultimately suffered since Michael Jordan retired or is it a game that was created with flaws that may never be corrected?

my problems

1.the game. I didn't realize it as a child but basketball may be the only sport in which the first 3 quarters of the game have no relevance what so ever. Leads in basketball generally diminish. Scoring 8, 10 or sometimes 15 points with little or no response is not uncommon. So why watch an entire game? it is because basketball is a sport that thrives on a score that is constantly in flux. A constantly changing score keeps people excited and into a game but at the same time a 10 point lead at the end of the half is meaningless. I would even dare to say that a 10 point lead is not safe unless there is under 90 seconds left in the game e and there have been instances in the game with 90 seconds remaining that no lead is safe. This is where the excitment is drawn, a game in which victory could come to either team, but you achieve nothing by claiming victory in the first, second or third quarters, but after 48 minutes. Basketball is not like football or baseball, soccer or hockey in which the strategy to maintain a lead or come from behind drastically change. So with why watch a basketball game when the fourth quarter is all you really need?

2. The lottery. The NBA lottery is a joke. It does not grant the team with the worst record the first pick in the annual draft. Therefore a team that suffers through a regular season with the most losses may be punished for no good reason other than to create excitment for a draft that lacks. The last time a team with the worst record recieved the number 1 overall pick was 2004 and the Orlanda Magic then picked Dwight Howard. Five years later, the Magic are contending for a spot in the NBA finals. The reason why the NBA draft lacks is that rarely does any team find a player that will bring immediate impact after the 5th pick.

SO why is it fair that team with the worst record can wind up with the 14th pick in the draft when a team that was a game or two away from the playoffs could be selecting the first pick? People accept this because that is the system and without the lottery the draft is lacking any drama or buzz to rival that of the NFL. My suggestion would be to modify the lottery. Allow only the three teams with the fewest wins to compete for the top selection while the remaining selections are based upon record. I think this is fair and even though it might not create as much excitement, it might squash many of the claims that the lottery is fixed or rigged to propell certain struggling organizations to the forefront of the Association.

3. the playoffs. there are 32 teams in the NFL and twelve make the playoffs. there are 30 teams in Major league baseball and only 8 make the playoffs. Hockey and basketball have 30 teams and of those 16 teams make the playoffs; that is over 50%. Why are some teams that finish with a record below .500 able to contend for a championship? A team with a losing record has made the playoffs every year since the 2004-2005 season. Is that a problem or just coincidence? Is there a power divide between the two conferences that allows this? Is it a coincidence that the 9th place team in the Western conference would have the fifth best record in the East? Is there a a problem when six teams in the Western conference achieved over 50 wins and only three teams in the East were able to accomplish the same? Some feel this is natural but I am a little more skeptical.

4. the officiating. Basketball has the worst officiating in sports. During the playoffs, the officiating is not only bad but it is controversial. three men are responsible for calling the game while on the football field or baseball diamond, twice or three times as many officials enforce the rules of the game. Many question how, when or why referees enforce the rules of the game but in basketball unlike baseball the refs can dictate the game. Calls are questioned, calls are missed and the consistency of calls within the game, or from game to game is consistently questioned. The NBA is talking about adding challenges with instant replay like the NFL but my suggestion is a bit easier. Why not, at least in the playoffs, add a fourth official? four pairs of eyes must be better than three. Allow the refs to discuss possible questionable calls. I don't think many will object to a ref over rulling another or allowing the team of officials to deliberate a call for 15 seconds. I think a fourth ref seems like an easy solution that might alleviate some of the problems but I am sure NBA hasn't considered it and some union might be against it. A fourth ref is what we need, at least for the most important games of the year, like the playoffs.




I could go on about the image of the NBA or basketball. I could talk about the problems of letting young men at the age of 19 or 20 enter a league in which they will not only enter the spotlight like never before but make millions of dollars doing so. I can talk about the leagues promotion of individuals over teams or how commissioner David Stern runs the league like an a parent blind to the faults of his children. I won't discuss any of that. Basketball is a great game. I, like many others just hope for a few modifications and these are my suggestions.