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Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

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Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

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  • #1

    Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

    Time for a change
    Here are some ways the league could enhance its product, keep its fans

    By Mark Montieth
    mark.montieth@indystar.com
    The NBA spends millions of dollars annually on marketing and publicity to enhance its image, sell its product, hype its matchups and remind everyone of its charity work.
    All well and good.
    But there are simpler, cheaper ways to improve attendance, boost television ratings and make the game more appealing to the people who buy a ticket now and then.
    All it has to do is make the game more appealing.
    Remember that? The game?
    Here's a five-step plan guaranteed to make the league more lovable. It's offered free of charge and costs nothing to implement. What could be better?
    1. Ban the canned noise.
    When did it become necessary to play riffs, rhythmic drum beats, music or other random noise while the ball is in play?
    Fans haven't asked for it and other leagues, in all sports and at all levels, refrain from the phony attempt to create atmosphere. Somehow it's become imbedded in the NBA. That makes it familiar, but it doesn't make it a good idea.
    Some team should have the courage to pull the plug and see how it goes over. Maybe on a retro night, for starters. Time was, the noise during games was supplied by human beings. It's time to go back to that, before some longtime season ticket holder sues a team for hearing loss.
    Piping in recorded clamor when the ball is in play seems like a tacit admission that the games aren't entertaining enough. There's more talent in the league now than ever -- if the league and its coaches would allow it to show.
    Which brings us to:
    2. Lift the restrictions on defense.
    The NBA somehow got the notion that too much defense is a bad thing. Never mind that it's a valued and praised concept in other sports and not regulated as if it contains toxic waste.
    The worst thing about NBA games is the lack of flow amid the cacophony of timeouts and whistles. Illegal-defense violations are a primary culprit for unnecessary stoppages.
    The league loosened its defensive restrictions a few years ago to try to sway coaches from grinding the game down to isolation offense. It should go all the way and allow any defense a coaching mind can conjure -- which in turn would inspire more creativity on offense.
    Want to play a 2-3 matchup zone, with the weak-side defenders doing handstands? Go right ahead.
    3. Use a 30-second shot clock.
    The 24-second clock owes its creation to Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone in 1954 and is credited with saving the NBA. Biasone, fed up with the delay tactics NBA coaches were using to protect leads, divided the average number of seconds in a game (2,880) by the average number of shots at the time (120) and came up with 24.
    Defenses are better today, however, and they would be better still if set free by the bureaucrats. Adding six seconds wouldn't slow the game significantly -- teams still could play as fast as they like -- but it would help reduce another major negative in today's game: bad shots taken to beat the shot clock.
    Remember, the ABA had a 30-second clock and nobody considered it boring.
    Speaking of the ABA:
    4. Use a red, white and blue ball.
    Why not?
    Nearly everyone agrees the ABA's ball made the game more fun to watch, and it's certainly easier to see in person and on TV.
    The NBA refused to adopt the ABA ball when it absorbed the Indiana Pacers and three other teams in 1976 for one reason: It couldn't admit the other league had a better idea.
    Nearly 30 years later, the statute of limitations on swallowed pride has expired.
    Go with what looks best. Simple enough. And think of all the balls the league could sell.
    5. Play a 60-game season.
    This one will never fly, but it would improve the product more than anything else.
    Teams played 60 games in the NBA's inaugural season, 1946-47. The number gradually crept up, reaching 82 games in the 1967-68 season and has stayed there.
    The premise was simple. The more games teams played, the more money teams could make. But 82 is too many.
    Consider the family of four who lives two hours from an NBA city. They have the time and money to go to just one game a season. It turns out they pick the one that's the fourth in five nights for their favorite team and they see a lousy show. Think they'll want to go back?
    A 60-game schedule -- still double the number of games a college team plays -- would eliminate back-to-backs and allow adequate rest and preparation for each game. When fans have to pay $50 for a decent seat, that's not too much to give them in return.
    The way the NBA season stands now, teams have to run the marathon of the regular season to warm up for the sprint of the playoffs. Makes no sense.
    Trimming the season to its origins would have to be done gradually, and ultimately would require the players to accept a 25 percent pay cut. It also would mean more empty nights for the arenas.
    Which is why it will never happen.
    But it's a nice thought.

    http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../1088/SPORTS04


    I can't say that I disagree with much of anything he has to say other than the 60 game season.

    I've also always felt that the NBA should have a game of the week type of thing like the NFL does with MNF, but I realize that is much harder to do.

    BTW, can I say that I like Montieth so much more now that he is not the beat writer for the Pacers?


    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

    I like his ideas. Especially the canned noise and ABA ball ones.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

      I like each and everyone of his ideas. I guess I've ranted enough about the canned noise to make myself clear on this one.

      One big problem I see. Stern has indicated via comments that the NBA doesn't really care about butts in the seats, it's the TV and international markets they care about. Butts in the seats just don't give them the revenue as TV and the international market provides the Bender (potential) for future growth.
      Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

        The ABA ball one is nice but will never come to fruition as the IP rights to the ball belong to Mike Storen (former Pacers ceo adn ABA commissioner)
        Somehow he and Stern don't seem to be friends
        So Long And Thanks For All The Fish.

        If you've done 6 impossible things today?
        Then why not have Breakfast at Milliways!

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

          OK, I agree with 2 and disagree with 3.

          1) I agree 100%. I hate the canned noise, and it seems to get worse every season. On a side not, anyone hear the cavs new PA guy. Next chance you have to watch the cavs play at home, listen to their PA guy. He sounds almost exactly like the guy in Detroit, except he's 10X worse. I've never heard anything like it.

          2) I don't agree with MM suggestion here, although I don't feel that strongly either way. But I don't want teams to be able to have a big guy just standing in the lane

          3) No, No, NO. Don't change the 24 second clock. 24 seconds is a perfect number, it keeps the game moving and for whatever reason 24 is just perfect, not too long not too short

          4) Red white and blue ball. Let me ask, who has trouble seeing the current current whether on TV or in person. No one does.

          5) Unrealistic. I have said for years that they should play 68 games, I forget exactly how I came up with that number, but fewer games would help. But are players willing to lower their salaries by 20%-25%, or are fans willing to pay more per game for tickets, No, or are owners willing to lower their revenues by 20%. No. The national TV money wouldn't change, but the local TV and radio money would be less for teams,.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

            Originally posted by able
            The ABA ball one is nice but will never come to fruition as the IP rights to the ball belong to Mike Storen (former Pacers ceo adn ABA commissioner)
            Somehow he and Stern don't seem to be friends
            But the ball is used in the NBA right now: The money ball in the 3 point contest.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

              I agree with most of his ideas.

              I've never understood the restrictions on defense. They promote individual rather than team play. There are ways to break down any defense if you have good players. And that stupid circle under the basket - why is it virtually illegal to play defense close to the basket?

              The last suggestion is irrelevant and I don't much care what color ball they use.

              As for the canned noise - I've always thought any noise while the ball is in play should be prohibited. On-court communication is pretty important. Now I know players can still hear each other on the floor while that crap's going on, but it can't help - let the crowd drown everything out. (And BTW - the "De-fense" chants are counterproductive - you need to be able to communicate more on D than offense - usually. Fans are drowning out the home team when they need it most).
              The poster formerly known as Rimfire

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                Originally posted by Hicks
                But the ball is used in the NBA right now: The money ball in the 3 point contest.
                The WNBA uses a multi-colored ball - not the ABA colors but the effect would be the same.

                Though I don't really care either way except when my reception sucks.
                The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                  All good ideas. As for the last one, the fewer the better, in a way. Mid-season NFL games are more exciting because every game matters so much.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                    Originally posted by DisplacedKnick
                    The WNBA uses a multi-colored ball - not the ABA colors but the effect would be the same.
                    The D-League uses a non-traditional ball, also......
                    PSN: MRat731 XBL: MRat0731

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                      I have no problem with a longer shot clock.

                      I have no problem doing away with "Illegal Defense".

                      A shorter season would be nice because it would make regular season games means that much more.

                      I LIKE hearing the squeaks and calls from the floor when the ball is in play. I could do without the music...

                      I could also do without the fake airplane race sound thing or any other thing designed to get the crowd making noise. Do the players really care if the fans are making noise during a T/O when it has NOTHING to do with the play on the court?

                      And while we're on it.... "ON YOUR FEET PACER FANS... IT'S TIME TO MAKE SOME NOISE...." can we save that message a few secs until the players are actually ready for the tip off? Invariably the scoreboard flashes some message and Pauly or Reb will implore the crowd for noise... while JO shakes some hands, Sjax hugs someone, Artest ties his shoes, and the opposing star gets some last minute advice from his coach (or orders his halftime snack for the dressing room), etc.. It seems to me that half the people who do it on cue are petering out by the time the jumpball takes place, and the other half (who needs no cues) is all by themselves making noise when the ball is tipped.

                      The ball... I'm fine with a traditional basketball but a Red White and Blue ball would be nice for some retro games.


                      -Bball
                      Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                      ------

                      "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                      -John Wooden

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                        I don't think any of the ideas are particularly good and I definately don't agree that they are "guaranteed to make the league more lovable".

                        1) I don't care about the canned noise. Keep it or lose it, is fine with me. I don't see anyone not going to the game or not watching because the "wah wah" sound is played after Shaq knuckleballs a free throw. If this effects anyone its the die-hards who won't like it to a high enough degree to matter (and they are already die-hards) and the casual customer who will enjoy it enough for it to effect any kind of economic issues.

                        2)Illegal defense calls slow the game down? There are what, 2 illegal defense calls a game /per team at most? They don't even shoot on the first one so its just a quick side out. There's never an illegal defense call in transition or on a break (physically impossible). Go watch a team that can't hit an outside jumper and tell me that allowing their opponent to camp all 5 guys in the lane would "speed up" the game and make it more "watchable".

                        3) Yes, more time dribbled away per possession equals ratings bonanza! How do 6 extra seconds eliminate bad shots? You mean no one will be caught with a defender in his face and his team standing around at the end of 30 seconds? I just watched the Lakers waste about 65 seconds in one possession as they threw up three contested fuglies after the Lakers collect not one but two offensive rebounds in the middle of OT Jazz game on TNT. 30 seconds isn't magical (nor 24, UB).

                        4) Maybe some of you old-timers might yearn for the Red, White, and Blue bouncer but I am reminded of one thing by that ball ... that this is the 80 year anniversary of the Harlem Globtrotters. That ball would be the "glow puck" of basketball. The NBA has the least amount of equipment and the biggest projectile in all the major sports. If you can't see it, call the nurse to wheel your hospital bed closer to the the telly or just go all the way and turn it back to Matlock.

                        5) 60 games. Its a fine idea for making the product better on any given night (less or no back-to-backs) but how does this draw the crowds? That family of four who used to only afford one game only to pick the back-end of a back-to-back (way to go dad) can now only watch one quarter a piece since they can't afford more than one ticket which they have to rotate between themselves as the rest of the nuclear fam listen to the radio broadcast from the gas station down the street since even the parking price is increased in the paradise that is the 60 game season.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                          Originally posted by Fool
                          Go watch a team that can't hit an outside jumper and tell me that allowing their opponent to camp all 5 guys in the lane would "speed up" the game and make it more "watchable".
                          Frankly, if a team can't hit an outside jumper, they deserve to lose. By a lot. And be publicly humilated on ESPN.
                          You're caught up in the Internet / you think it's such a great asset / but you're wrong, wrong, wrong
                          All that fiber optic gear / still cannot take away the fear / like an island song

                          - Jimmy Buffett

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                            Indeed.

                            And regardless, the issue at bar is how "entertaining" the game is. I'm willing to bet the few sadists who would thoroughly enjoy that public humiliation would be out weighted by the rest of the country who would either leave the stadium or turn the channel. Neither group however, would be standing to applaud the freedom of choice in the defensive rules allowed by the NBA during that game.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Montieths got some ideas to share with us....

                              I think some of these are great ideas. However, I would opt for a 76-game regular season. With a 30-team league, that allows each team to play each other team in the opposing conference twice, in the same conference 3 times, and in the same division 4 times.

                              As for the ABA ball, why not a different two-colored ball for each home team that uses that team's colors? That could be fun, would sell more balls, and add some diversity and variety to each game.

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