Shot clock
A shot clock is used in some sports to quicken the pace of the game. It is normally associated with basketball, but has also found use in sports such as snooker, professional lacrosse, water polo, and korfball.
In basketball, the shot clock is a timer designed to increase the pace (and consequently, the score[1]) in games. The offensive team must attempt a field goal before the shot clock expires, and the ball must then either touch the rim or enter the basket, or the offensive team will be assessed a violation resulting in loss of possession. However, if the ball leaves the hand of the player before the shot clock goes off and makes it or hits the rim, it is not a violation.
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[edit] History
[edit] Background
The National Basketball Association (NBA) had problems attracting fans (and television coverage) before the shot clock's inception.[2] This was largely due to teams killing the clock once they were leading in a game; without the shot clock, teams could pass the ball nearly endlessly without penalty. If one team chose to stall, the other team (especially if behind) would often commit fouls to get the ball back following the free throw. Very low-scoring games with many fouls were common, boring fans. The most extreme case occurred on November 22, 1950, when the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers by a record-low score of 19-18, including 3-1 in the fourth quarter.[3] The Pistons held the ball for minutes at a time without shooting to limit the impact of the Lakers' dominant 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) George Mikan. The Pistons attempted 13 shots in the game. The St. Paul Dispatch wrote "[The Pistons] gave pro basketball a great black eye."[4] NBA President Maurice Podoloff said, "In our game, with the number of stars we have, we of necessity run up big scores."[5] A few weeks later, the Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Olympians played a six-overtime game with only one shot in each overtime. The NBA tried several rule changes in the early 1950s to speed up the game and reduce fouls before eventually adopting the shot clock.
[edit] Creation
It first came to use in 1954 in Syracuse, New York, where Danny Biasone, the owner of the NBA's Syracuse Nationals, experimented using a 24-second version during a scrimmage game. According to Biasone, "I looked at the box scores from the games I enjoyed, games where they didn't screw around and stall. I noticed each team took about 60 shots. That meant 120 shots per game. So I took 48 minutes - 2,880 seconds - and divided that by 120 shots. The result was 24 seconds per shot."[3][6] He then convinced the NBA to adopt it for the 1954-55 season. The Nationals went on to win the 1955 championship.
[edit] Results
Well-known clock killer Bob Cousy stated "I think [the shot clock] saved the NBA",[3] coach and referee Charley Eckman said "Danny Biasone saved the NBA with the 24-second rule,"[7] and league president Maurice Podoloff called the adoption of the shot clock "the most important event in the NBA."[3] The NBA itself states "Biasone's invention rescues the league."[7]
When the shot clock first came into play, it made many players so nervous that the clock hardly came into play, as players were taking fewer than 20 seconds to shoot. According to Syracuse star Dolph Schayes, "We thought we had to take quick shots - a pass and a shot was it - maybe 8-10 seconds...But as the game went on, we saw the inherent genius in Danny's 24 seconds - you could work the ball around for a good shot."[6] The shot clock, together with some rule changes concerning fouls, immediately revolutionized NBA basketball. In the last pre-clock season, teams averaged 79 points per game. In the first year with the clock (1954–55), the average was up to 93 points;[3] by the fourth year (1957–58), it was 107 points.[8] The advent of the shot clock coincided with an increase in attendance, which increased 40 percent within a few years to 4,800.[9]
When the rival American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed in 1967, it used a 30-second clock, as had the short-lived American Basketball League (ABL).
[edit] Adoption by NCAA
In the 1969-70 season, NCAA women's basketball used a 30-second shot clock on an experimental basis. The shot clock was made official in NCAA women's basketball in the 1970-71 season.[10] There was a resistance to the implementation of a shot clock in men's NCAA basketball due to fears that smaller colleges would be unable to compete with powerhouses in a running game. However, after extreme results such as an 11-6 Tennessee win over Temple in 1973 support for a shot clock began to build.[11] A 45-second shot clock was introduced in the NCAA men's game in the 1985-86 season. In the 1993-94 season, the NCAA men's shot clock was reduced to 35 seconds.[12]
[edit] Adoption in Philippine basketball
From its inception in 1975, the Philippine Basketball Association adopted a 25-second shot clock. This is due to the fact that the shot clock installed on then the main venues of the league, the Araneta Coliseum and the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, can only be set on 5-second intervals. The league later adopted a 24-second clock staring in 1995 PBA season. The Metropolitan Basketball Association used the 23-second clock from the its maiden season in 1998. In college basketball, the NCAA and the UAAP adopted a 30-second clock until the 2000 season. Both leagues used the 24-second clock since 2001.
[edit] Operation
In the NBA (since 1954), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) (since 2006), and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) (since 2000; 30-second from 1956 through 2000), the shot clock counts down 24 seconds, thus often being called the "24-second clock." Failure to attempt a shot that hits the rim within this time results in loss of possession. A buzzer goes off and a yellow LED light strip on top of the backboard illuminates when the shot clock reaches zero.[citation needed] In the 2011–12 NBA season, the last five seconds of the shot clock was modified to include tenths of a second. This allows players to see precisely how much time they have to shoot and allows officials to determine any last-second shots easily.[13]
Furthermore, the shot clock is not reset on a foul in the frontcourt. Rule changes in the NBA since 1998, and in FIBA after 2010 state the shot clock will be reset only if 13 seconds or fewer are on the shot clock, after which it is reset to 14 seconds.
Men's college basketball uses a 35-second clock (since 1993; 45-second from 1985 through 1993) in the United States, and a 24-second clock in Canada. Women's college basketball in the United States uses a 30-second clock; in Canada, it uses a 24-second clock. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which sets rules for high school basketball in the U.S., does not mandate the use of a shot clock, instead leaving the choice to use a clock and its duration up to each individual state association. Proposals to adopt a national shot clock for high school basketball have been voted down by the NFHS as recently as 2011.[14] Currently, eight U.S. states require the use of a shot clock of either 30 or 35 seconds in high school competition: California, Maryland (girls only), Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington.[14]
FIBA 33, a formalized version of three-on-three halfcourt basketball recently developed by FIBA, uses a 12-second clock.[15]
| Organization | Duration |
|---|---|
| NBA | 24 seconds |
| WNBA | 24 seconds |
| NCAA Men | 35 seconds |
| NCAA Women | 30 seconds |
| CIS | 24 seconds |
| NFHS | 35/30 seconds (some states only) |
| FIBA | 24 seconds (full-court game) 10 seconds (FIBA 33) |
Other sports
| Sport | Organization | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Lacrosse | MLL | 60 seconds |
| NLL | 30 seconds | |
| Ringette | N/A | 30 seconds |
| Water polo | FINA | 30 seconds |
[edit] See also
- Play clock, used in American and Canadian football.
- Four corners offense, offensive stall strategy in basketball
- Stall Count, used in the sport of Ultimate.
- Time limit, the same concept applied to video games.
[edit] References
- ^ For example, the Boston Celtics scored an average of 79.7 points per game from 1946–47 to 1953–54; from 1954–55 to 1961–62, after the introduction of the shot clock, they scored an average of 113.1 points per game. See databaseBasketball.com entry.
- ^ Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA, in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached, and Built Pro Basketball, by Terry Pluto (1992), pgs. 23-31
- ^ a b c d e "History of the Shot Clock" NBA.
- ^ Pomerantz, Gary M. (2005). Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era. New York: Crown. pp. 31–2. ISBN 1400051606.
- ^ Pomerantz 2005, p.33
- ^ a b Pluto, pg. 29
- ^ a b "1954-55 SEASON OVERVIEW" NBA.
- ^ Pluto, pg. 28
- ^ Pomerantz 2005, p.33–4
- ^ Official 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Records Book, p. 245
- ^ Strange, Mike (2007-11-07). "Temple set stage for shot clock". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Scripps Interactive Newspaper Group. http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2007/nov/07/night-crawler-temple-set-stage-for-time-clock-in/. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
- ^ Official 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book, p. 278
- ^ Zillgitt, Jeff (December 24, 2011). "New points of emphasis in NBA officiating". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/story/2011-12-24/New-points-of-emphasis-in-NBA-officiating/52208690/1. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ a b Halley, Jim (5 May 2011). "Focus on high school shot clock heats up as states make move - USATODAY.com". USA Today (McLean, VA: Gannett). ISSN 0734-7456. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2011-05-15-high-school-shot-clock_N.htm. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^ FIBA (2 June 2010). FIBA 33: Official Rules of the Game. Downloadable from the official FIBA site here (click on the link immediately below "FIBA 33 Official Rules").
[edit] External links
- 24 Seconds to Shoot snopes.com
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