Newz Forum: BASKETBALL: NBA to experiment with 3-point shot in NBDL

NEW YORK (AP) - The NBA has no plans to change its rules for the 3-point shot, though it will proceed with an experiment for its developmental league in which all field goals will be worth two points until the final five minutes of regulation and overtime.

"This is a not a rule for consideration in the NBA and has never been discussed by the competition committee," NBA vice president Stu Jackson said Thursday, adding he expects the minor league NBDL to approve the experiment for the season that begins Nov. 19.

It would be the first time in the NBDL's four-year history that an experimental rules change would be instituted.

"We have a minor league that has proven successful in being a training ground for players, coaches and future administrative staffs, but until now we haven't utilized it as a potential laboratory for the game in general," Jackson said.

Jackson said data would be reviewed after the NBDL season to assess what impact the rule had on mid-range jumpers, offensive coaching strategies and overall field-goal percentages.

The NBA has had a 3-point shot for baskets made from beyond 23 feet, nine inches (22 feet in the corners) since the 1979-80 season, and the number of attempts has steadily risen over the course of the quarter-century in which the rule has been in effect.

"If you look at the game overall, including the collegiate and high school level since the inception of the 3-point shot, it's being taken with an increasing amount of frequency, which in part has driven shooting percentages south," Jackson said. "The 3 has become a real focal point of offenses, and we would like to turn the clock back and see what the game is like without it and the effect it has."

No rules changes will be in effect for the upcoming NBA season, Jackson said, although referees have been instructed to call fouls on defenders who extend their forearms to impede the progress of offensive players.

But radical changes aren't uncommon in the NBA, especially when you consider zone defenses were first allowed for the 2001-02 season.

Steve Kerr converted a record 45 percent of 3-point shots during his playing career. But he is in favor of a rule to abolish the shot because he reportedly feels it is "shot way too often these days, and it's hurting the game."

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[Edited on 10/14/2004 by Gibbs Baby!!!]