NBA hoping to begin games quicker
The NBA is instituting a new rule this season that it hopes will cut down on pregame handshakes and other rituals.
Once player introductions are completed, 90 seconds will be put on the game clock, after which teams must be ready for tipoff. The move is an attempt to speed up games.
In recent years, elaborate handshakes and various routines have become longer, delaying games anywhere from five to 10 minutes after the starting lineups were announced.
"There's a 90-second countdown, it is placed on the clock," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said. "At 30 seconds, there's a warning horn and alert by the refs. At the end, teams need to be ready to tip off or face a delay-of-game warning."
Two delay-of-game warnings would result in a technical foul.
Some players have already blasted the new policy.
"I personally don't like it," Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant told The Oklahoman. "Every player in this league has routines they do with their teammates, rituals they do before the game and before they walk on the floor. The fans enjoy it. You see the fans mimicking the guys who do their stuff before the game. To cut that down really don't make no sense."
