I Present The Dumbest Fucking Rule Ever: G League Is Having One-Shot Free Throws Worth 1, 2 or 3 Points This Season

[Source] – The NBA G League is experimenting this season with a new rule under which all trips to the free throw line will include only a single foul shot that will be worth one, two or three points depending on the nature of the foul leading to the attempt, officials told ESPN.

It marks the latest move — in both the G League and the NBA — to improve game flow and reduce the length of games. Officials estimate that moving to a “one foul shot for all the points” model will shave between six and eight minutes off each G League game, says Brad Walker, head of basketball operations for the league.

The G League will revert to traditional free throw rules for the last two minutes of regulation and overtime, officials say. Shooting fouls on made baskets — “And-Ones”– will proceed the same way, with the shooter attempting one free throw worth one point.

I didn’t want to blog this. I didn’t want to bring attention to this, but I see everyone on Twitter talking about this in the basketball world and my job is to blog things that people talk about. So here it is.

This rule fucking sucks. I’m not someone who is stuck in the mud when it comes to adjusting rules or speeding up the game. But fundamentally changing the game is so goddamn stupid. This isn’t like the NCAA doing it just for the NIT either, this is a league that sends guys to the pros. Play by the NBA rules. That simple.

This isn’t something that needs to be changed. Why not adjust rules that people could get on board with – i.e. being allowed to take the ball off the rim like FIBA. Something like that. Don’t give me the rinky dink league bullshit rule change.

You could have guys hunting for free throws more now and trying to purposely draw fouls since it’s just one shot and worth three potentially. Or on the flip side you could have more hacks and fouls because it’s worth one shot. That’s the one thing to watch. Either way, it’s dumb.

Sometimes I hate change and this is one of those times you can get off my lawn.