OT - Should the NBA add a 4-pointer?
Rod Thorn, NBA president of basketball operations, didn't balk at the idea.
During a sit-down TrueHoop TV interview with our own Henry Abbott, Thorn was asked about the chances that a 4-pointer -- as outlandish as it may seem -- could be brought to the NBA at some point. In a Per Diem column last month, I advocated for the introduction of a 4-point line 28 feet away from the basket.
Turns out, Thorn didn't think the advent of a 4-pointer would be outlandish at all. Rather than reflexively squash the radical idea, as you might expect from a 72-year-old NBA lifer who has worn just about every hat in the league, Thorn seemed genuinely intrigued at the notion and revealed that the 4-pointer has "come up" in league discussions...
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10515372/jamal-crawford-the-nba-top-4-point-shooters-nba
February 25th, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
Harlem Globetrotters!
Seriously though, at least try it out in the All Star game.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:30 PM ^
Holy shit, "Rock n Jock" reference. Thank you!
February 25th, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
Jaleel White was the most dominant Rock & Jock player ever.
February 25th, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^
but actually, having it in the All Star game if nothing else would be a great idea.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
Bob Ryan is gonna go ape shit.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:26 PM ^
Bo as well....
February 25th, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^
Why not a 5 pointer and a 6 pointer? WHY STOP AT FOUR??????????????
February 25th, 2014 at 4:09 PM ^
Someone's bucking for a front office job.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
its that pederast Hanrahan again...
February 25th, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
you kid but i have always thought that a 4,5 and 6 point shot would make the game more exciting. but i am not and have never been a hard core hoops fan and have a hard time watching even UM hoops so my opinion may completely suck.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:16 PM ^
your signature should win an award for being awesome.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:24 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^
You ever heard of 8 minute abs? Well I have an idea that'll blow that outta the water. Listen to this: Seven. Minute. Abs.
February 25th, 2014 at 5:04 PM ^
Seven's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. Seven dwarves. Seven, man, that's the number. Seven chipmunks twirlin on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea.
February 25th, 2014 at 6:00 PM ^
How do you handle the fouls called mid court if the kid does a continuation? 4 free throws? 6 free throws? Starts getting nutty. I'd say if you put in the 4 pt shot, if someone fouls you, you only get 3 free throws. 3 free throws is still a shit ton.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:11 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:16 PM ^
Behind the half court line, but only allow it with less than like 24 seconds to go in the game, or maybe even less than 10 seconds to go in the game. The NBA doesn't need people just jacking up 4-point shots from way down town, it would suck. But rather than the quick 2-pt and foul strategy, a 4-point shot at the end may end games with more game time and less time at the free throw line.
Also, I've always thought a made 3-pt shot and the foul should be "and 2", as in you get 2 free throws. I have no idea why, but when I was a kid and played imaginary basketball by myself, that was a tweek in the rulebook.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:20 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:23 PM ^
wouldn't that make it worse? you're down by 3 with 3 seconds to play and somoene takes a half court shot because that's as far as he can get before time expires, chucks up a prayer, it goes in and his team wins. i'd rather reduce the role of luck, not increase it.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
I think we should add a Quidditch flair. If you can make a golden softball from the bleachers, you get 50 points and the game ends immediately.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:26 PM ^
I'm not a big Harry Potter fan, but why in Quiddich didn't EVERYONE just chance the damn flying thing that scored you 10 billion points and ended the game? Scoring goals 1 point at a time was useless because the other team would be ahead 75-0 and then Harry Potter would catch the snitch or whatever it was and then his team just wins. So why didn't EVERYONE just chase the snitch?
Never understood it.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:45 PM ^
Oh yeah let's just leave our goals exposed so the chasers can throw quaffle after quaffle and rack up 1000 points before we even see the snitch. Really great fucking idea.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
you wouldn't chase it until it came out would you? Granted I should have about as much interest in the strategy of imaginary fake sports as I do in cleaning toilets, but why would everyone just drop everything as soon as the snitch appears and just chase that? Was it supposed to so hard to catch that in general it usually remained uncaught? In the movies someone ALWAYS seemed to catch it, rendering the rest of the game entirely meaningless. They might as well have named the game "Catch The Snitch, and oh yeah some people are over there wasting their time doing something else."
February 25th, 2014 at 4:55 PM ^
Why are you trying to ruin my childhood?
February 25th, 2014 at 5:03 PM ^
Sorry! This always bugged me. It was pretty obvious to me that J.K. Rowliing never played, or even bothered to watch, any actual sports.
February 25th, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^
"It infuriates men...which is quite satisfying given my state of mind when I invented it."
-J.K. Rowling, 2013
February 25th, 2014 at 5:26 PM ^
It just made me realize the author of the books is pretty much clueless about sports, and IMO it makes all her characters seem pretty dumb for going along with it. I'm not too worried about Quidditch becoming a national passtime anytime soon.
February 26th, 2014 at 12:20 AM ^
That is just sad. If you actually play Quidditch in real life, can you ever admit it to anyone?
February 25th, 2014 at 5:56 PM ^
Seems more like a lazy way to make Harry the hero. Which, incidentally, is why I could never really get into the books. Too many rules made up on the spot, then later rejected, for the benefit of the protagonist. It's hard to have a relatable "hero's journey" when the hero gets every advantage at the start. Also, all the adults were unbelievably stupid and Dumbledore should have just used the damn time turner to fix everything.
February 26th, 2014 at 12:17 AM ^
She wanted to come up with a way for Harry to be terrible at sports in general, yet still be the team hero by having one silly skill that no one else seemed to have. So she invented a sport where all of the actions in the game are essentially meaningless except for the solitary actions of the team nerd.
It would be like playing football where a 55-yard FG was worth 200 points and immediately ended the game.
Mind you, I have nothing against nerds--I mean I work in computer programming. But the whole thing was pretty contrived.
February 25th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
-_-
It's a children's book. And despite J.K. Rowling's lack of sports knowledge, she's richer than the queen of England.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:31 PM ^
reminds me of the Bird/Jordan McDonalds commercial
February 25th, 2014 at 4:16 PM ^
Potty shot from half-court counts as 5!
February 25th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:35 PM ^
"3pt leads shouldn't be lost on a fluky hailmary or desperation shot."
I think this is the type of idea they would be trying to break. You're only basing this opinion on years of basketball watching, but really it's totally arbitrary. 3pt leads are only important because of the 2pt and 3pt shots. If a 4pt shot were to become part of the game, we would shift our attitudes to protect a 4pt lead.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:54 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:20 PM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:23 PM ^
No. Three points is enough. I don't really want to see guys hoisting up 35-footers in a non-buzzer-beating situation.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:27 PM ^
I do.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:26 PM ^
I'd like to see all free thows now shot from the three point line and anywhere on the arc.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:31 PM ^
Born with three arms? The NBA need officials!
February 25th, 2014 at 4:31 PM ^
No thanks
February 25th, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^
A panel of 5 judges to grade each score and give them the ability to award additional points based on on each component like proper vertical take off and rotations prior to dunking.
February 25th, 2014 at 4:35 PM ^
/icedanced