Officially confirmed! Big changes in NBA! Three new rules revealed: Curry’s second spring?

With the Lakers losing by one point to the Kings 116-117, the preseason officially ended, and the regular season is about to begin. But it is worth noting that the league seems to have already begun to take action before the regular season begins.

According to reporter reports, the NBA will make changes to a number of game rules in the new season. How will these rule changes affect the new season?

Below, let’s talk about the reforms in each rule:

The first rule change: ultra-long shots at the end of the quarter are not counted as personal shots;

In past games, for shots at the end of a single quarter, some players would choose to take buzzer-beating shots, even ultra-long shots without hesitation. However, in order to protect their own shooting percentage, many players choose to give up on such ultra-long buzzer-beating shots, or pass the ball to their teammates to shoot.

But with the start of the new season, this situation will change. During the offseason, the league officially adopted a rule:

Shots taken from the backcourt in the last 3 seconds of the first three quarters, with a distance of more than 36 feet (approximately 10.97 meters), will only be counted as team shots, and will not be counted in the player's personal shooting data.

The changes to this rule are obvious. For last-minute shots, players can shoot if they want. No matter what the result is, it will not affect the player's shooting percentage. Whenever the opportunity arises, just shoot boldly.

Borrowing from the league’s official explanation, this rule modification is mainly to improve the enjoyment of the game. This kind of ultra-long buzzer-beating shot across half the court is a round that can easily arouse the atmosphere of fans. The league naturally hopes that more people can take such ultra-long shots, so it actively chooses to solve the worries of some players who are concerned about shooting percentage.

Looking back at last season, the league statistics showed that the shooting rate of ultra-long buzzer-beating shots was only 4%. Curry and Jokic made the most shots, with a total of seven shots. After the rules are revised in the new season, fans have the opportunity to see more people take bold shots at the last moment and contribute more highlight moments.

The second rule change: high-fiving defense is prohibited;

During the offseason, the NBA officially announced:

"Hot Stove Contact" after shooting is considered a foul.

To explain briefly, in the new season, defensive players are prohibited from hitting the opponent's hand after an offensive player shoots. Such high-five defense will be punished as a foul. In the past, referees turned a blind eye to this kind of action, but this is no longer the case in the new season. As long as the defender reaches out to hit the shooter's hand, regardless of the size of the action, a foul can be called as long as the contact is made.

The purpose of this rule modification is obvious, which is to protect pitchers. After this rule was announced, Warriors coach Kerr immediately spoke in agreement:

"Curry has been slapped too much in the past few years. He got slapped a few times in every game. Finally, someone took care of it."

After the trial run of this new rule, the effect of the game was immediate. In the previous preseason game against the Trail Blazers, Curry scored 13 free throws in just three quarters. Before that, Curry averaged only 4.3 free throws per game last season. The gap between front and back is likely to allow shooting players like Curry to usher in a small climax season in the new season.

But personally, this rule is indeed good for attackers, but it is still slightly disadvantageous for defensive players. While protecting the pitcher, it also significantly increases the pressure on the defender. In the new season, it may be necessary to use footwork and defensive positioning to interfere with the opponent more purely. The defensive advantage of wingspan will also be greatly reduced.

This may activate a new group of defensive talents, but on the other hand, it may also turn the game into a free throw shootout. For this new regulation, this is both a protection mechanism and a challenge.

The third rule change: back-to-back games are prohibited in key games;

The third rule adjustment is probably proposed by the league based on the star injury problems in recent seasons. This has also been a very embarrassing problem for the league in recent years. The direct consequence of an overly tight schedule is frequent injuries among stars; to avoid injuries is to choose to take a rotation, but if a star is absent or takes a rotation due to injury, it will directly cause the enjoyment of the game to be greatly reduced.

This has also been the most troublesome thing for the NBA in recent years. Fans spend money to buy tickets to enter the stadium and want to see the stars. As a result, the stars choose to take a truce back to back. Regarding this phenomenon, dissatisfaction continues to erupt among fans. The league has also begun to realize this situation, and directly issued an order during this offseason:

It is prohibited to arrange key events in the back-to-back schedule.

The so-called focus matches include:

National live broadcast during the opening week, NBA Emirates Cup, Christmas Day, Martin Luther King Day, and ABC Prime Saturday Night Game;

For these focus matches, unreasonable schedules have caused the stars to choose to take turns due to fatigue and lose their enjoyment. However, after the new rules are implemented in the new season, the quality of key matches can at least be guaranteed. Referring to last season's schedule, the league averaged 14.4 back-to-back games in the new season. Although it is not the lowest level, it is also a rare downward trend in recent years.

Although the adjustment is not large, it is already a positive trend for players' health management, and there may be continued optimization trends in subsequent seasons. After all, fans buy tickets and enter the stadium to watch the stars perform.

However, as the league becomes more commercialized, the intensity of games becomes more and more intense, and the players' bodies gradually become overwhelmed. Over time, problems such as injuries and rotations arise. And this time the league finally takes action, it can be regarded as an insurance for the stars in advance..

Judging from these three new rules, the league's thinking is still very clear. It requires both game enjoyment and player safety. However, whether the rule modification is good or bad still needs to be verified in the new season.