PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - Each NBA season we observe the same thing. The quality of play during the playoffs is light years away from a lot of what we see during the regular season. The stakes are higher, the players concentrate and play with more intensity and only the best teams remain in the running. The good news is that some eventual rule changes that the league is considering could also help increase the quality of play during the regular season. 

Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, announced that the competent committees are studying the possibility of reducing the number of pre-season games in order to free up some days to limit the number of times teams must play back-to-backs or even worse, four games in five days, during the regular season.

I, along with other journalists, have been harping on this issue for many years because studies have proven that rested players play a higher quality of basketball and also get hurt less often.

Another necessary step towards presenting a better product on the court would be to ban the horrible "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is using against DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Pop says he hates the tactic of fouling intentionally a poor free-throw shooter away from the ball but his job is to help his team win games within the rules provided by the league.

Remember, one of Pop's mentors, the late Dean Smith pushed the NCAA to go to a shot clock for the first time with his "four corners offence" during a period in the 1970s when weaker teams would stall to keep the score down. Some games would finish with scores in the twenties and were painful to watch so the NCAA did the right thing with the rule change.

The NBA must do the same concerning the "Hack-a-Shaq" by awarding a free-throw and possession all game long and not just in the last two minutes for this type of intentional foul. Nobody wants to see play halted numerous times in order to watch players brick free-throws! Teams could still let a poor free-throw shooter receive the ball and then foul him which would send him to the line if his team is in the bonus. We often see teams that prefer to send players like Jordan or Dwight Howard to the line rather than let them dunk and this would not change.

In Europe and international competition, the quality of play could be greatly increased by banning what some people call "Euro fouls", which is the practice of systematically fouling early to stop all possibility of a fast-break or transition basket. These tactical fouls are less easily discernable than "Hack-a-Shaq" fouls but they reduce considerably fast-break and uptempo play which generate exciting and spectacular plays. A player who fouls intentionally in these situations without touching or even trying to go for the ball could be sanctionned by one free-throw and possession for the opponent and this would do away with this ugly tactic that slows some games down to a snail's pace.

Since I'm warmed up on rules changes, one of my favorite subjects, let's take things a step further and unify the rules whenever possible.

The NBA would be smart to incorporate the much simpler FIBA rule concerning basket interference, while FIBA would be smart to use the NBA defensive three-second rule to open up the paint and limit the advantages given to giants who clog things up by staying in front of the rim to protect it. The modern day game of basketball is about movement and shooting where small players have a bigger and bigger role to play which is good for the popularity and universality of basketball in general.

Another dossier that needs to be looked at is reducing the amount of time it takes for NBA referees to come to a decision using video replay. Sometimes this drags on for long minutes, which is ridiculous. There are occasions where the last minute of a close game can take a half an hour because of too many time outs, intentional fouling and video replays! This certainly doesn't add to the quality of play.

Last but not least, in basketball everywhere, we must reduce the number of dangerous, hard fouls which almost killed the game in the 1990s. I hate it when pro sports sell violence and basketball doesn't need to. Protecting the health and well-being of the players must be the number one priority!

George Eddy

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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