Basketball fans will see more action and strategic competition in tight NBA games especially during the last two-minute of regulation. NBA Competition Committee recommends new rules on away-from-play fouls and the board of governors agrees to implement it this 2016-17 season.
Official NBA announcement stressed that officials observed the growing statistical data about away-from-play foul (sometimes called hack-a foul) situations and these are more frequent in tight minutes of each regulation. NBA executive vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe said that this new rule will hopefully drive away the teams from flagrant fouling without affecting the general strategy of the game.
To fully explain the new away-from-play rule, a fouled team will be awarded one free throw and the ball possession in every period. This is contrary to the old rule that away-from-play only applies on the last two minutes of fourth period and on extended regulation. NBA believes that this rule will keep the competitive and safe plays in first through fourth quarters.
To avoid too much physicality in the game, one free throw and a ball possession will also apply during ball inbounding in the last two minutes of any period. A player will now have to fight through screens in safe fashion instead of deliberate fouling.
Another current "unsafe" practice is deliberately jumping at the back of an opponent or committing "hard fouls" in the last two minute. This explains why teams are usually substituting their key players if they are already sure of winning and to avoid potential injuries. These actions are called flagrant fouls before but subject to further assessment by the referees. Hard fouls are now flagrant in all circumstances.
Meanwhile, LA Clippers' blog reported commissioner Adam Silver describing the new rule as a "compromise" although not as pointblank as Clippers fans are expecting. Silver admits that there are instances that the momentum of the game is changed because of away-from-play fouls that send players to the charity stripe. Excitement is also lost in situations when teams resorts to flagrant fouling to avoid trailing opponent to catch. up.
