It will be interesting to see how teams will plan for this for a whole season. Brings back memories of the no shot clock days and Dean Smiths 4 corner offense or the Cincinnati team that the Ramblers beat running the weave out front. It seems to me that the game has become so physical it has taken some of the beauty away.In the video the the 63 championship game no defender seemed to be within two feet of the player they were guarding and no hand checks.

That's nothin'. I never got within five feet of anybody I was guarding. It always looked like I was playing a zone when everybody else was playing man to man. I called a switch on practically every defensive possession.

If the shot clock is reduced by some 15% from 35 to 30, shouldn't the shot clock operator also take a 15% salary reduction?

I'd say the shot clock operator should get a 15% raise since he'll have to press the button more often.

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I have often marveled at the same thing. And one of the teams was supposed to be a defensive powerhouse! - though partly because oxen ball was confused with defense by Sports Illustrated. Certainly, the grabbing, pushing, and hand checking that's now allowed lets you guard more closely. For example, just having a hand on your opponents, even if you don't apply pressure and impede progress, gives you an early warning system for which direction they are going. But to my eye, legitimate defensive technique and effort have also improved a lot. The Ramblers had great defense in 63 as well, but the point of it was steals and blocks (and frankly, rest) rather than taking a team out of their game with constant pressure.

It seems to have changed a lot....used to be you used to have quick feet to get in front and or turn a player.....NOw just get hands on and push...to me it has taken away some of the beuauty of the game.....but they tried to change it last year by calling the hand check and went away from it cuz there were so many kids in foul trouble and it was really slowing the game down. We will see what the 30 second clock does

The '63 team was good defensively, with a lot of steals because of their quickness. Play near the basket was very physical, but I don't recall the guard play as being very physical at all. The following year I came to Boston for law school and attended Celtics' games. The pro game was unbelievably more physical than the college game. I still remember how surprised I was at the difference.