A massive change to the NBA might be coming.
And fans aren’t too thrilled about it.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has brought up the possibility of the NBA going from four 12-minute quarters, to four ten-minute quarters.
48 minutes of playing time being reduced to 40, slicing off 20 percent of actual game time.
Silver appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and floated the idea.
“As we get more involved in global basketball, the NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes,” Silver said.
“I am a fan of four 10-minute quarters.
“I’m not sure how many others are, and putting aside what it means for records and things like that, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits.”
People weren’t too thrilled with Silver and his new idea.
“This clown has to be removed. He’s destroying the game,” one person wrote on X.
“The NBA lacks overall effort and intensity on the court. Need to bring that back before worrying about quarter time lengths,” another person chimed in.
“Shortening the game is not the problem with the NBA,” one person expressed.
Silver and the NBA have bigger problems than just figuring out the length of the game itself.
For example, Silver has been trying to solve the league’s three-point problem and what he can do to stop teams from attempting with what seems like 50 a game, which makes for a bad product.
“I don’t want to knee-jerk move the three-point line,” he said.
“We’re going through a process now, seeing how these players are adapting to the new rules and figuring out whatever changes we should make.
“I wish it were as simple as just moving the three-point line back because then we would just do it.
“Part of the concern from the basketball folks is that if you move the three-point line back, you’ll end up clogging up this area under the basket and that’s not such attractive basketball either.
“I think this is doable by examining the game and seeing where this is going… I assure you, we are on it.
“I think it’s a very fixable issue. As stewards of the game, we’ll tweak it. We will correct those issues.”
Silver has a lot to tweak.
The NBA’s ratings and viewership have steadily been in decline over the last couple of seasons, and it’s Silver’s job to figure out why and to stop them from snowballing off a cliff.
Solving the three-point crisis is a must and finding a way for the league’s star players to play on a nightly basis is a major concern.
The actual game doesn’t seem to be that big of an issue, but if Silver believes it is, then it’s a safe bet to take his word for it.