The NBA is allowing hand checking

[Got Nuffin]

It's easy to track when the NBA's stance on hand-checking changed... see Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns in 2004-2005.

That coincided with the NBA prohibiting hand checking above the free throw line. It's fine if we want to put the genie back in the bottle... but these sorts of rules aren't always made in a vacuum. Consider what was happening at the time...

2004 ECF scores:

74 - 78
67 - 72
78 - 85
68 - 83
65 - 83
65 - 69

Do we really want to go back to anything remotely close to that? I don't know what the answer is... maybe there are other tweaks. I'm just pointing out that basketball fun was on a trajectory straight down... and I welcomed the SSOL Suns with open arms at the time.

Exactly this. I always correlate the 'freedom of movement' NBA era with Steve Nash. His explosion imo was a result of the loosening of the rules around how you could defend a perimeter player, whether you want to call it hand-checking or whatever. This was also the beginning of the end of the real big man, slow it down, post players in the NBA as teams realised that perimeter players suddenly became much more efficient if you are not allowed to hinder their movement in any way until their back was turned.

I miss the style of play somewhat, but you're exactly right I doubt I could sit through a 76-72 Knicks vs Heat ECF after watching today's freeflowing game.

[LaLover11]

The NBA is best when the scores are between 95-109.

Not a fan of the mid-2000s when scores were in the 70s but also can't stand the early 2020s when scores were in the 120's and 30s.

Just make it 1st to 100 wins

Great on paper, but makes broadcasts really hard. 2004 Pacers vs. Pistons might have been longer than a baseball game, but the games in the first half of the season might have been shorter than a romantic comedy.

I believe it would force all regular season games to become competitive because teams can't be lazy anymore.

If it's a defensive game fans get more value because it would become a long fun game.

If it's a offensive heater and the team that hits 100
Than the deserve and get rewared with less minutes per game avoiding fatigue injuries.

[ScrantonBulls]

Absolutely. I watched Curry get played with just as hard 80s/90s defense as anyone wants to claim and in 2022 with almost no calls and he still dominated. And yet people would still claim "the NBA needs to bring back hand-checking to stop the 3P shot" -- just comedy. Some of these people I wonder if they even watch playoff games, or if they just post on RealGM while yelling at clouds. Regular season has been soft, prior to this season's post All-Star break. But we've been seeing physicality, including hand-checking, in the playoffs.

And I say this as someone who watches old games in the off-season all the time. I'm a big Jordan and Magic fan, people just forgot and don't go back and watch.

https://youtu.be/GivsQwwiDDs?si=ftnm9bu1Uv3oTtsD

What does Hubie Brown know about basketball, right? Dismissing handchecking as negligible is stubborn and ignorant. It’s not a coincidence that scoring leaders went from mostly bigs to mostly perimeter players as the rules were implemented.

And it’s not just handchecking. It’s the three second violation, and it’s basically accepted by now since so many international players including
Giannis Luka Jokic have said it’s easier to score in the NBA. They wanted to open the game for accessible scoring, and that’s exactly what they did. Saying anything else is just denying the obvious with bias. Otherwise, explain the purpose of those rules and how they wouldn’t impact scoring.

Defensive three seconds violation became a thing when the NBA when the NBA got rid of illegal defense back in 2001, before then there was simply no need to it because zone defenses were illegal so defensive players didn't really camp in the paint like they do in Europe. Illegal defense made it super easy for the offense to turn the game into Iso ball, which made it unbearable to watch, combine that with the average talent level in the league going down due expansion = scoring nosediving, forcing the NBA to go nuclear and get rid of illegal defense, later getting rid of handchecking in 2004. (Important to note that handchecking was heavily limited by previous rule changes in 1979 and especially 1994, being only allowed within 15 feet of the basket).
The 7SSOL Suns were the first team built to try taking advantage of the new rule changes, prioritizing shooting ability and speed over size in their roster construction, blitzing the league all the way to a 62-20 record, however they couldn't get over the hump for various reasons and that team eventually traded Shawn Marion for Shaq without much success in order to beef up for the playoffs.
A couple of years later, Stan Van Gundy followed the same principles in Orlando, playing Rashard Lewis at the PF position and surrounding Dwight Howard with 4 shooters to create spacing. That team managed to surprise everyone with a trip to the NBA Finals, beating the much favored Cleveland and Boston on the way before losing to LA in 5.
A couple of years later, after losing to the Mavs in the Finals, Erik Spolstra went and spent the summer with Chip Kelly in Oregon, coming up with the "Space and Pace" offense by moving Bosh to the center position, and LeBron to the 4, making opposing centers leave the paint to protect initially Bosh's mid range jumer, and eventually his 3 ball. That, combined with that Pat Riley surrounded the roster around the Heatles with great shooters, made LeBron's and Wade's life driving to the basket that much easier, leading the Heat to win 2 rings.
Meanwhile the talent level around the league has started to increase significantly thanks to the influx of international players and better skills training in the early ages, players got more comfortable shooting the ball, handling it and passing it as well. At the same time, Daryl Morey in Houston realized something very basic, it's better to shoot 3s rather than mid range jumpers, leading the league into today's shot pattern of mostly 3 pointers and shots in the paint rather than the mid range jumpers that were very popular until then.
Those two trends ended up in the Steve Kerr Warriors, led by the Splash Brothers who could drain 3s from practically everywhere, taking the genie out of the bottle fully and starting the 3 point revolution that we are very much feeling today.
Those are changes that mean that even letting players handcheck at pre 1979 levels wouldn't bring back. Sure, you could handcheck Curry, but he will create the space eventually with his handles and then launch the 3 with his limitless range and ultra quick release. You can try to handcheck Luka (And a lot of teams do!), but he is still gonna create the space and then either launch the 3 or pass it to the open man. You can try to handcheck Haliburton, but most likely he'll still drop a dime that will embarrass the defense.
The players today are simply too good to be so easily limited by handchecking, they WILL create the space they need.
At first glance, sure, it looks like scoring is down sharply in the playoffs, during which refs have really let them play, but that has a lot to do with pace being sharply down, as offensive rating is still 113.3 (Or higher than any year in NBA history except the last two). Slower pace could indeed be due the increased physicality, however it could also be a result of the blowouts fest that the playoffs have been so far, with 4th quarter possessions generally lasting longer during blowouts.
BTW, offensive rating is sharply up in Europe as well, it's pretty much at NBA levels there these days. The trends are strong there too.

bUt HuBiE bRoWn SaId So!!1

[ScrantonBulls]

What is with this weird fan myth around hand checking?

Hand checking has never been allowed or disallowed. It's been a point of emphasis that has been called more or less at different times. It's never been legal or illegal.

Regardless, it's never had the impact that fans seem to think it does. NBA historians who have done the research have debunked this over and over again.

For those that don't know the history, hand checking is one of the most diabolical defensive tactics known to man.

I'm sorry Sealab, but this is silly. Completely incorrect and only something said by "those that don't know the history".

It's generally meatballs who are weirdly insecure about the current era's talent and want to prop up their favorite eras.

[Swindle]

Watch on YouTube

Fs in the chat for Alton Lister @2:45

[Johnny Bball]

I don't think most people are aware that where hand checking is not allowed is above the free-throw line/lower defensive box, and don't know that it also changes when a player back is turned and they are then allowed to use a forearm/elbow.

[John Murdoch]

Yeah like everyone is saying its been much more enjoyable product this way. Now we need to srsly consider scrapping replay and challenges unless its within the last 5minutes of a game , keep the flow somewhat like premeire leaugue

[SelfishPlayer]

Yeah like everyone is saying its been much more enjoyable product this way. Now we need to srsly consider scrapping replay and challenges unless its within the last 5minutes of a game , keep the flow somewhat like premeire leaugue

Some of the things that the NBA did to speed the game up like a 14 second shot clock in certain situations and an 8 second backcourt violation were probably more positively impactful to true fans than eliminating defense.