NBA to experiment with 44-minute game

By BRYAN ROSE
FanSided

Do you think the average NBA game goes on for too long? Perhaps things could be shortened? It appears the league office may agree with you as the NBA is considering experimenting with a 44-minute game.

In fact they're more than just experimenting with it as they plan to introduce the shortened format in an exhibition contest on Sunday at the Barclays Center when the Brooklyn Nets host the Boston Celtics.

"We have looked at everything that we do and are taking a fresh look at all the different things we do," NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said. "One of the things that keeps coming up is our schedule and the length of our games. ... Our coaches talked about it, and a lot of them seemed to be in favor of at least taking a look at it. We talked with our competition committee, and they were in favor of taking a look at it."

The major benefit here is the health of the players as they'll play less minutes a game and while the four-minute difference doesn't seem major, it would prove to be significant over the course of an entire 82-game season. Of course, on the flip side it's four less minutes of time for advertisements. Sure, the NBA could make up time on television by having longer timeouts but the in-arena advertising could potentially suffer in such a scenario.

In terms of implementing the 44-minute game this season at the NBA level, that doesn't appear to be something that will be considered. However, the NBA could possibly look into using such in the Developmental League.

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