I still think about the Rockets game that was delayed several weeks ago to correct the height of the basket. At the time I worried that maybe that was why the Rockets could not hit their shots at home or hit with consistency - because the basket height was off from other courts. Can anyone enlighten me whether the league demands written records and whether or not the basket height is audited by anyone from the league office? Also, what does the rulebook say is the nominal height and what is the +/- tolerance is to meet regulation height? In baseball, for comparison, the home team can adjust the pitchers mound up or down (just so long has it does not exceed minimum/maximum height specified in the rules book) to compement the talent of the team - i.e. one would raise the mound if it needed an edge pitching wise. Can a team do that (varying the basket height) in the NBA? If it could be done, I assume you would want the basket lower if your team was smaller; but I would imagine it would not help your shot. Finally does anyone know how the Rockets corrected the basket height that night? I would think the basket would be pinned in place or is it adjusted by hydraulics or what?
It's monitored very closely. It's checked before every game to an exact tolerance... sometimes it takes 20 minutes to fine tune the height of each hoop. If during the first half of the game there are some rim-hanging dunks that may have affected the hydraulics, they often check again at half-time (atleast in Toronto they do). Yo don't see this stuff on TV but if you attend the game, you pick up on a lot more of these peripheral details.
Yeah you notice when your at the games that before the players come out that a couple of guys get on ladders and check both baskets to make sure everything is still correct from before the game.
IN the case I am talking about , the game START was delayed due to the basket height, so someone did not do their job or there was a mechanical failure. Does anyone know what the allowable tolerance is?
i remember one game in Vancouver - they had to adjust the net the grizzlies were shooting on AFTER the first quarter. they had it 1 inch too short.
Yes it is, but syaing a ring is TIGHT does not make sense to me. What could that be, the only thing I can think of is that the basket pivots down if a player hangs on it and that a TUGHT basket may mean more weight is required to pivot the rim.
In the 80's not all the baskets were spring loaded. I know St. Johns' rims were a biotch. They were made of steel or something. Which made Chris Mullins shooting even more remarkable.
When they measure the height, they use a 10- foot metal stick that hangs on the rim and exactly touches the floor. I don't know the tolerance, but it has to be pretty slim.
The tolerance probably is +/- 1/16" - any smaller and they could not use conventional tape measures (not that its required - just that it lessens the expense for high schools , etc.). I guess the inventor of the basketball game - Mr. Neismith set the current standard and he would not have used anything more complicated at the Y where he started the game. But then again, we don't use wooden baskets anymore either - so I could easily be wrong! Just for interest, I'm not near old enough to know Mr. Neismith and he has passed on long ago, but I did meet his son some years ago (still was involved with the YMCA and Indian Guides and Princesses at the time). I always thought it would be cool if the Rockets invited his son over for a game some day since he lives in Texas.
