That’s a fan’s video of Kevin Garnett’s pregame routine from a couple of years ago. It has remained largely unchanged and, from beginning to end… that is to say, from the head-butting, shorts tying bit at the basket support to getting in position after pointing to all 3 refs… takes about two minutes.
Well, that’s just too much for the NBA.
Starting this season, teams will have 90 seconds after introductions to report for tip-off, or face a delay-of-game warning. Two delay-of-game infractions in a single game triggers a technical foul. So while the warning itself is not punitive, it should prompt teams to get ready in a timelier fashion.
The 90-second window is already in the rule book, but it is rarely enforced. The N.B.A. is making it a point of emphasis for its referees this season.
“Simply, to start our games on time,” the N.B.A. spokesman Tim Frank explained.
Congratulations, NBA, for addressing an issue no one cared about. I haven’t heard a single peep from anyone about games not starting on time. I haven’t heard a single fan say “I paid to see a game start at 7:30… NOT 7:31!!”
This rule doesn’t make a lick of sense, which means there has to be something behind it. It’s like when you suddenly see a sign at work that says “please don’t take lunches from the office fridge.” That means someone’s been taking lunches from the office fridge.
Someone, somewhere, complained about this. Perhaps a network executive somewhere. Perhaps a sponsor. Who knows?
But someone had to trigger this. Crazy rules like this don’t just appear out of nowhere. Now we’ll have to see if this changes KG’s routine up at all. The C’s have already been hit with a delay of game warning for this. It’s be really silly to see any team lose points in a game because of it.
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