NBA To Use Nets v Celtics Preseason Contest To Test A New, Shorter Game Format

NBA To Use Nets v Celtics Preseason Contest To Test A New, Shorter Game Format

The NBA on Tuesday announced that it will play a 44-minute game during the 2014 NBA preseason when the Brooklyn Nets host the Boston Celtics at the Barclays Center on October 19 to examine the flow of a shorter game as compared to the standard 48-minute game.

NBA President for Basketball Operations Rod Thorn said: "At our recent coaches' meeting, we had a discussion about the length of our games, and it was suggested that we consider experimenting with a shorter format. After consulting with our Competition Committee, we agreed to allow the Nets and Celtics to play a 44-minute preseason game in order to give us some preliminary data that will help us to further analyze game-time lengths."

Under the experimental new format, the contest between the Nets and the Celtics on Sunday will be four minutes shorter than the NBA's standard 48-minute game as it will feature four 11-minute quarters. There will also be two mandatory timeouts per quarter. One will come at the first dead ball under 6:59 of the period if neither team has taken a timeout prior, and the second will be triggered by the first dead ball under 2:59 if neither team has taken a timeout since the first mandatory timeout. Under the standard format, there are three mandatory timeouts in the second and fourth quarters of a 48-minute game. The Nets and the Celtics are willing participants in the trial run for the shorter game format.

According to Nets Head Coach Lionel Hollins, "When this idea came up at the coaches' meeting, I thought it was a unique experiment that was worth participating in. I'm looking forward to gauging its impact on the flow of the game. Since there is a shorter clock, it affects playing time, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays into substitution patterns."

Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens said, "I appreciate the NBA's long history of forward thinking and willingness to try new ideas. We told the NBA that we'd be happy to participate in this trial during a preseason game. I look forward to experiencing it and continuing the dialogue after October 19."

 

 

Tags : nba nba news nba streaming nba trade nba trade news nba trade rumors nba trade rumors 2014 espn nba trade rumors nba standings NBA playoffs nba trades nba streaming nba rumors nba live nba scores nba schedule nba nba news nba streaming nba trade nba trade news nba trade rumors nba trade rumors 2014 espn nba trade rumors nba standings NBA playoffs nba trades nba streaming nba rumors nba live nba scores nba schedule