Phil Jackson has some very interesting ideas to improve the NBA.
Jackson told Charley Rosen of Today’s Fastbreak that if it were up to him, he would implement a four-point line.
“Why not have a four-point line about 35 feet out?” Jackson suggested. “It wouldn’t be long before players will get reasonably comfortable shooting from out there. And having a four-point line would certainly serve to enable teams to catch up in what are now blowout games.”
Jackson also wants to lengthen the shot clock by six seconds.
“This would give offenses more time to get low-post players involved, make defenses work harder, and encourage more passing and player movement,” Jackson said.
Jackson’s proposed changes would seemingly make life really difficult for opposing defenses. They’d have to defend basically the entire half court for a full thirty seconds per possession. His intent is probably both to make it easier to come back in blowouts and to improve floor spacing and perhaps emphasize post play. Some have called for moving the three-point line, but this is an entirely different animal. Don’t expect anything like it to happen anytime soon.
