The average televised NBA game lasts for more than 2 hours, taking every stoppage into account. At times, it can become hectic for fans.
Former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy recently suggested how the league can reduce game time. Van Gundy suggested limiting halftime to five minutes or eliminating it altogether, among other things. Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard agreed with Van Gundy’s proposal regarding halftime.
“I’m with him on halftime, lol… I do not f**k with it.”
I’m w him on halftime lol… I do not fw it https://t.co/IyYqmK7tTg
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) May 31, 2023
As of now, 15 minutes are allotted to teams between halves. The NBA can certainly take a look at Van Gundy’s proposal. The 61-year-old shared his complete thoughts on reducing game time with The Atheltic’s Richard Deitsch.
“So my most radical one is to eliminate free throws until the last four minutes,” Van Gundy said, per The Athletic. “If you get fouled on a shooting foul, you just get the points. You don’t go to the line. And you don’t go to the line for technical free throws. They’re just points. Then I would eliminate halftime. I think halftime is the biggest waste of time. Or I’d reduce it to five minutes so you could go to the bathroom and come back out. This whole idea of what goes on at halftime, I think, is so misunderstood. It’s a lot of either praising what just happened or correcting. But you could do that in two minutes out by the bench in an elongated timeout.
He added: “So free throws would be my first one until the last four minutes. I don’t think you want to take away free throws in the last four minutes of a game. But let’s speed it up. The only person that likes free throws is a play-by-play announcer because they can wax poetically about some story. It’s the extra point of the NBA. It serves no rational, reasonable purpose.”
These are some interesting ideas by the former NBA head coach. But implementing these potential changes could take years.
Moreover, not every player in the league would share the same thoughts as Damian Lillard. Either way, it will be exciting to see if the league moves in this direction to reduce game times.
Portland Trail Blazers Still Focused On Building Around Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard’s future with the Portland Trail Blazers has been one of the biggest talking points for the NBA community ahead of the impending offseason.
Many believe that Damian Lillard may demand a trade this summer if the Trail Blazers fail to build a competitive roster around him. The franchise landed the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, so there’s hope that they will finally be able to get some help around Lillard.
According to a recent report, the Trail Blazers haven’t given up on their 32-year-old superstar and still want to keep him the focus of the organization in the future.
Lillard averaged 32.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 7.3 APG while shooting 46.3% from the floor and 37.1% from downtown. It’s obvious that Lillard has plenty left in the tank.
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