One of the points of emphasis in the NBA this season has been the introduction of a new rule that stops players from doing unusual movements on the perimeter when shooting in order to draw a foul.
There is no doubt that this is a change that many wanted to see, as perhaps having too many free throws in a game could interrupt the flow and natural progression of the game. A decent amount of people also wanted to see slightly more physicality in the NBA than was allowed previously.
Metta Sandiford-Artest has recently spoken out about the new rules on the latest episode of the Posted Up podcast with Chris Haynes and chided the league for taking this long to change how those plays were called. He noted that the people who made the rules “have never played the game”.
These are people making rules that have never played the game so it takes them seven years to change rules. They should be required to have to play full-court games. If you work in basketball, you should at least put on some shorts and some sneakers, go to Equinox and play some ball. I know guys 80 years old playing ball at Equinox.
So take that suit off, unbutton that tight button-up on your neck and put on some T-shirts, put on some shorts and go play the damn game. It shouldn’t take you seven years to figure it out.
There is no question that many enjoy the game better, though as Sandiford-Artest points out, it took the league some time to figure it all out. Some players have been vocal about how the game is better as well, including another DPOY winner in Draymond Green. It makes sense that defensive-minded players would be happy about the change.
This new rule has improved the ability of players to play defense, and there is no question that it has made a lot of games more interesting. Hopefully this continues throughout the season.
