The zone, 3 point line, and Shaq rules: 3 factors destroying American Basketball

Recent quote from George Karl concerning NBA Basketball and our olympic team.

"......The international game is a prettier game to watch now than the NBA game. And it might be a better game than the slugfests you see in the playoffs. And the next time we go up against the world, we better have guys ready to play it. 'Cause it's not 1992 anymore."


SLUGFESTS


Just more evidence of the Shaq rules. When Tim Duncan is in foul trouble throughout the Olympic games, that should tell us something. Too much physical play in the NBA is not called. The players are used to it. When they have to play games where the fouls are called, even our best, smartest, most basketball savvy big man gets in foul trouble. Shaq rules once again.

I agree with Karl, the International game is a prettier game to watch and much more entertaining. It is basketball the way basketball is meant to be played.

For you that are saying that the zone is in the international game. My point was that the combination of the zone, the 3 point line, and Shaq rules has lead us to this current style of NBA basketball, not one of them individually, with the biggests factor being Shaq rules. When the 3 point line that came into the league, that was all right, but it did put emphasis on long range bombing and did decrease emphasis on the mid range game. But it was still acceptable by itself. But then you combine that with Shaq rules and all of a sudden, the inside game becomes a futbol game and the 3 point shot becomes more important along with the ability to run and gun. Now you throw in the zone defenses and you aren't calling the fouls in the post and out on the floor. That combination has vaporized the mid range game, the passing game, and team basketball, in favor of landing one or two "super super stars" who get the calls or a bunch of guys that wreak defensive havoc all over the floor, play ugly basketball and lead us down the road to 30% shooting and 65-58 scores. Hence, the importance of players like Artest and Bowen. Those players are nice players but in the international game, they would be average to below average at best. No midrange game and a foul waiting to happen. The NBA is ugly basketball, and has become ugly basketball since Shaq came into the league along with the idiotic allowance of the zone defense to go with the Shaq rules. It is destroying the game of basketball.

Solution:

1. move the 3 point line back a foot or so to drop the percentages on that shot and really make it worth something. This will also create more spacing for the offense and will make the midrange game more valuable.

2. Call the fouls that are fouls, no Shaq rules, if he knocks the defender over, call the offensive foul, don't allow the defense to hack. Clean up the play.

3. Either eliminate the zone or institute some zone limitations that don't allow all 5 guys to sink into the paint and muddle up the interior play. I'm not necessarily in favor of eliminating the zone alltogether. But I do think there needs to be more definable criteria, maybe more enforced criteria, such as the 3 seconds defensive actually being called. If you are guarding a man, no 3 seconds, but if you aren't within bent elbow length of the offensive player, the 3 seconds start counting. Something like that.