Hey NFL and NBA, Listen to Me … Please!!!
My wife tells me all the time that I can be overconfident in my intelligence. I think that is on the same ridiculous level as Jennifer Aniston being overconfident about her looks. With that arrogance in mind, I believe I have the magical and somewhat radical solutions to fix the NBA and the NFL. Unfortunately, I fear like many of my brilliant solutions, they will fall upon deaf ears and my brilliance will be overlooked again. That said, here is my plea.
The NBA and Its 3 Point Problem
Originally, the 3 point shot was a circus shot. A novelty used in desperate times to mount an insurmountable comeback. Something the ABA could advertise as different to get viewers to watch their different brand of professional basketball.
In the 80s, the NBA adopted the line but it was rarely used. No one thought a shot from that distance was a viable option on a good team. The 90s saw Reggie Miller and Ray Allen become valuable because of their ability to stretch the floor with the 3 pointer and more people started using it. Still, old school curmudgeonly coaches and announcers whined about the circus show that was being created.
Nowadays players, specifically Stephen Curry, have become so good at shooting 3s that the 2 point shot is becoming obsolete. Average three point shooters are taking more 3s per game than Reggie ever did and it seemed at the time like he was taking a lot of 3s. Coaches want players to shoot the open 3 instead of taking a lay-up.
Really, this is only a problem in the NBA. Rarely do college or high school teams have the ability to allow players to pass up easy 2s for the non-guaranteed 3s. Coaches may try to teach like the pros but they are kidding themselves if they believe it will consistently work.
So to Adam Silver, here is my solution. Change the value of a 3 pointer to 4 points and the value of a 2 pointer to 3 points. It is simple, requires no big additions to the court, and will devalue the 3.
The math?
Before
33.3% of 3s = 50% of 2s (100pts).
Now in Crewe-World
Based on 100 shots, 33% of new 4s (132 pts) is not close to 50% of new 3s (150pts).
37.5% on 4s = 50% from the rest of the floor (3s)
The complication
Free throws would become an issue as no one needs to see players lining up for three or four shots. My solution would make the first shot, including all techs, worth 2pts and the second worth 1pt or 2pts depending on where the shooting foul took place. This might even speed up the game.
Of course people would complain about what it would do to scoring records and we might get another 100 point game, but people had the same complaint about the introduction of the 3.
The NFL Schedule
I would not add games, but I would spread them out some. Teams would play a maximum of three games a month. I would also mandate a minimum of seven days rest in between games. Game days would be Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. While the majority of games would still take place on Sundays, I would use the Mondays and Thursdays as double hitter divisional nights.
Under my schedule, the league would have two exhibition games starting in the last week of July and the first week of August. Teams would then get a minimum of seven days rest before they play their opener on the second Thursday in August. (Remember minimum of 7 days rest.) I would choose a division and they would play the first of three sets of games on the Thursday.
So if it was the NFC East, Thursday nights would look like this:
Week one
Dallas v Philly
Washington v NY
Week 2
Dallas v NY
Washington V Philly
Week 3
Dallas v Washington
NY v Philly
These teams would then be off until week 5 and would go into the Sunday rotation. Monday nights would involve a similar rotation. This means the league extends its season by four weeks.
Player Benefits
A longer season means more time to get the schemes and become a better team. Players will have more time to heal and reduce their chances of serious injury or concussions. This should lead to better football and longer careers.
League Benefits
If you have your best players on the field, it means more revenues. Add to that, four more weeks of football means four more weeks of television revenues. More games on Mondays and Thursdays mean more revenues. Let's face it; this is the goal of the league; to make money. Guys may put on cologne and a nice shirt so they present well, but we all know their end goal.
Also, the league would appear to be taking a proactive approach to player safety. How could this be considered a bad thing when you look at where they are right now with the long term affects of concussions?
Double bonus: Talk to the good people at EA sports and make the league start date match the release date for Madden football and thus more revenues.
Yep, I’m just that smart.
