NBA Board of Governors approves 3 rule changes for 2018-19 season
The NBA Board of Governors approved three rule changes to commence in 2018-19 season with emphasis on speeding up game and clarity on existing rules.
As expected the NBA Board of Governors (BOG) have approved three rules for the upcoming season. The first will speed up the game and is currently used in Europe and in the G-League. Specifically, following an offensive rebound the shot clock will be reset to :14 instead of the previous :24.
This rule change is expected to help speed up the game. With a :24 clock many offenses tend to work the ball around, not taking a shot until more than half the clock has elapsed. This was particularly true in clutch time (final five minutes of games).
More from Thunder News
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Teams with the lead would typically crash the glass and when successfully grabbing an offensive rebound utilize the full shot clock to eclipse time without running a play, or waiting til the last second to run a play.
Two other incidences apply where the shot clock will only be reset to :14 seconds: defensive team loose ball fouls or offensive out of bounds
The second rule approved isn’t a new rule. Rather it is clarification on an existing rule – namely the clear path rule. How the clear path foul is called has seemingly been inconsistent and not being applied as it was meant to be. A clear path foul is called on a break away bucket, in the past determining where the players were caused confusion which the rule change fixes.
As per NBA.com:
"As part of the clear path foul rule simplification, referees will no longer need to make judgment calls as to whether or not a defender was between (or had the opportunity to be between) the offensive player with the transition scoring opportunity and the basket. In addition, referees will no longer have to determine whether or not the defender was at any time ahead of the offensive player prior to committing the foul, nor will it be relevant whether or not a defender beat the offensive player with the transition scoring opportunity into the frontcourt. Further, plays of this nature will no longer have to originate in the backcourt (since transition scoring opportunities can originate in the frontcourt)."
The final rule is also a tweak to an existing rule – the hostile act rule. In this case the rule change allows for less restriction of what can be reviewed on video.
Full description of the rule changes which will be implemented immediately can be found on NBA.com. The rules were unanimously passed.