With the rise of the three-point shot and how common its being taken now, there have been murmurs about adding something new to the game. And that something new was the 4-point line. Three-pointers are being shot at an all-time high, basically changing the way the game was played from an inside-out perspective. Guys like Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry who can come down the court, hit you with a simple in-and-out and launch a three have made their position so hard to guard but yet so fun to watch. A lot of people, like myself love it because I’m all about the long ball but some old timers take exception to it, simply because “that’s not how the game was brought up“. However, an unexpected NBA legend in Phil Jackson, brought up some new ideas, one being in favor of the 4-point line in a conversation with Charley Rosen:
“Why not have a four-point line about 35 feet out? It wouldn’t be long before players will get reasonably comfortable shooting from out there. And having a four-point line would certainly serve to enable teams to catch up in what are now blowout games.”
Jackson also brought up the idea of adding 6 seconds to the shot clock:
“This would give offenses more time to get low-post players involved, make defenses work harder, and encourage more passing and player movement.”
I get where Jackson is coming from about guys getting comfortable with a four-point line because some of them are comfortable with taking that shot now, exhibit A, Stephen Curry. He takes shots from half court before every game with ease so 35 feet out wouldn’t be a problem for him. But my disapproval with these propositions are they’re simply not needed.
There’s no necessity for adding a 4-point line or 6 seconds to the shot clock. The game is great as it is, why change it? All this would do is give more former players more ammunition on how, ‘the game isn’t the same anymore‘ and start making there comparisons of ‘well, if we had a four point line...’ I respect the hell out of the guys that came before us but I’m tired of hearing that stuff. There’s no need to make any drastic changes to the way the game is being played. The NBA is the best game in the world, so let it be.
