There has been a lot of talk about how to fix the NBA following a ratings freefall, but here are three simple ways the league can solve its problems.
The NBA has come under fire this season for the league's style of play, particularly as ratings decline. Some of the ratings decline is due to an increase in streaming, with the league lowering the cost of NBA League Pass, encouraging younger fans to subscribe.
There are also other streaming alternatives to watching on TV, such as Max or Disney+, which allow fans to watch TNT, ABC, and ESPN games on those platforms. Nevertheless, the NBA could stand to make some changes to try and improve the game, and here are three rule changes that would do just that.
Rule change #3) The NBA should limit timeouts to improve the pace of play.
One of the more frustrating things about watching NBA basketball is the frequent stops and starts during games. After many fans saw how the game was played during the Olympics, many were impressed by the flow of the game without so many interruptions. The league should look to emulate that model by making relatively minor but potentially impactful changes.
That would involve them having no timeouts during the first six minutes of each half. Making that minor change would not only speed up the game but also improve the pace of play. Having the game start and go on for six minutes uninterrupted could help to draw in viewers and keep them from changing the channel or streaming service and finding something else to watch.
Coaches currently get seven timeouts each. That is at least two too many, and this has resulted in a slog that has contributed to the decline of basketball's best strength. Having a fast-paced, back-and-forth game with as few interruptions as possible is key to making the game more watchable.
Rule change #2) The NBA should overhaul free throws.
The next rule change that the NBA should consider involves free throws. Free throws have inadvertently slowed the game down and have made the game far less interesting. With the NBA likely trying to trim the length of games to make them more appealing to viewers, they should strongly consider a free throw overhaul.
The NBA G-League has experimented with speeding up the game by cutting down on free throws. With an and-one, it's still a free throw, but with a standard shooting foul, it would be one free throw for two or three points. The way the game currently is, when a player is fouled, it often takes up to two minutes for them to complete their trip to the line, partly due to the time it takes for players to attempt a foul shot and the substitutions.
While free throws have decreased over the years due to more 3-point attempts, it hasn't gone down enough to fix the problem that free throws create. Therefore, trimming the number of actual free throw attempts by having one foul shot count for multiple points would solve that problem and speed up the game.
Rule change #1) The NBA should change the 3-point line.
3-pointers have come under fire recently for ruining the game with teams jacking up as many as possible because they are more efficient shots thanks to the extra point. However, a simple fix would be to move the 3-point line back two feet and eliminate corner threes by having the 3-point line end four feet from the baseline. Those two changes would alter the game in a big way, with only the best shooters being able to drain threes from between 26 and 28 feet consistently.
Those players would suddenly become even more valuable. At the same time, players who are mediocre shooters that still bomb away from outside would be forced to add other skills to their offensive game because the percentages suddenly wouldn't work in their favor.
As the 3-point percentage decreases, so would the number of 3-point attempts. It would also encourage more shots inside the arc, whether that would be drives, pull-up midrange jumpers, or even post-ups. That would address fans' biggest problem with the game while not dramatically changing the game's rules to do so.