Soaring Scores

Twell as we used to. [Everything’s] a foul now. You could be physical, aggressive [before.] You can’t do that now. The ofense has the advantage now.”

Since ofciating has favored ofenses, it is more difcult to play defense without fouling, making it easier for ofenses to score. George’s point has merit. In the 2012–2013 season, teams committed, on average, 19.8 fouls per game and shot 22.2 free throws per game (which are rewarded after a foul). This year's fouls have increased and teams are now shooting 23.7 free throws per game.

As a basketball fan and frequent watcher, I have to agree with George. More and more, referees are penalizing legal, good defense by calling fouls. Not only does this allow the ofense to shoot more free throws, but it also forces players to be less aggressive on defense, which makes it easier to score. If a player has to stand fve feet away from the ofense as opposed to two feet, it puts less pressure on the offensive player, making it easier for them to shoot an open shot and score.

Having referees skew ofensively isn’t a bad idea for the NBA. It is easy to argue that having more scoring makes for a better end-product for fans and for television. The more the NBA promotes high-fying, high-scoring games that showcase the incredible skills and athleticism that its players possess, the more entertaining the game becomes, which ultimately means more money for the NBA. In 2002, teams scored 95.1 points per game on average. That same year, the NBA signed a television deal worth about 765 million dollars per year. In contrast, in 2016, teams averaged 105.6 points per game and the NBA negotiated a television deal worth 2.66 billion dollars annually. More points means more money for both the league and its players.

Another reason the NBA’s scoring has increased is due to the increased reliance on the 3-point shot. A decade ago, teams only took about 24% of their shots from 3-point land and now, that number has risen to nearly 39%. In 2012-2013, Stephen Curry—leader of the league's 3-point revolution—attempted a league-high 7.7 threes per game, this year he takes 11.5 threes per game. Centers have also caught on with the trend. Centers are known for being tall and using their height to shoot close, high-percentage shots. Ten years ago, the league's highest-scoring center shot two 3-pointers that year, this year, as of March 14, he’s taken 328. Centers that threaten to shoot from the post are a pain for defenders, as they cannot only guard close to the basket and will have to follow their assignment out into the open court. With centers shooting more shots away from the basket, the NBA loses some of its more physical matchups in the paint that made former players such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal a force. By losing this beloved element, the NBA relies on fnesse as opposed to force to drive up ratings.

As an avid fan of defense and physical basketball matchups, the league’s scor - ing rise isn’t the most appetizing to me, but it has done undeniable wonders for the league as business. With ofensively-skewed ofciating and increased number of threes per game, the NBA is scoring like never before.

Letters To The Editor

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by Sam Schwartz

It’s a 3-2 count, the bottom of the ninth inning, bases-loaded, tie game and everyone on their feet anticipating the pitch. STRIKE THREE, but wait, there was no pitch thrown. The batter was called out because he didn’t look at the pitcher in a certain amount of time. The pitch clock is one of three new rules Major League Baseball (MLB) has added to supposedly make the games quicker, more exciting and safer.

The new pitch clock brings a certain amount of time for the pitcher to pitch the ball and for the batter to be ready to hit. Because this is new, major leaguers are having trouble getting ready in the ffteen seconds they are given to pitch. In early spring training, multiple pitchers and batters have experienced the penalty for taking too long to pitch and get ready to hit. As a pitcher, if you take the ffteen seconds you will be given an automatic ball, and as for the hitter, if not ready by seven seconds, they are charged with a strike.

Personally, I love the new pitch clock, and so far, despite the rules imposing more pressure upon the players, I am all for these great additions to the game. This is mainly because data already shows the clock shortens the length of the game time by 25 minutes compared to last season, which didn't have a pitch clock. This is a great thing because it allows for players to have more energy, as a 162game season can probably get tiring. However, I do believe that there is one downside: I feel that in the eighth and ninth inning, the pitch clock will just put even more pressure on the pitcher and batter, to not choke or screw up. Also, a world series champion pitcher, Luis Garcia, has always had a very long and complex pitching routine, which he will not be able to do because of the limited time. Now because of this, Garcia’s pitching will probably get worse along with others with long routines. However, overall, I believe that the pitch clock allows for more exciting games.

The pitch clock is not the only new addition to the league that I don’t discourage. As MLB decided to make the bases bigger to reduce players’ injury rates, the injury percentage dropped by 13%. I don’t see anything wrong with this new addition, and I think that seeing teams’ star players stay healthy will make games more exciting and better to watch. In MLB, in past years, we have seen players overstep the bases and wind up tearing an ACL, but with the larger bases it is probable that this won’t happen as often as it used to.

The fnal rule MLB added is putting shift restrictions into the game. A shift is when the infeld moves to one side of the infeld to lower the hitter's likeliness of getting a hit; if the hitter has a tendency to hit the ball to the right side, the shortstop, second baseman and the frst baseman will all be on the right side of the infeld, and the third baseman will be alone on the left side. This is vice versa for a hitter with a tendency to hit it to the left side. The new rule calls for the separation of the two sides of the infeld, two positions on the right side of second base and the left side so

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Voice Column

The High Tide aims to share the voices of a wider swath of the RUHS student population, beyond just our staf members. If you have a story to share, a unique outlook on something, or a personal opinion, fll out the form linked at the QR code.

now the hitter has easier places to hit the ball. This is meant to raise the batting average and make the game more exciting by putting more runners on base.

I believe this is a great rule change, seeing as sometimes I’ll be watching a game in crunch time and a player will hit a ground ball up the middle, which should be a hit. However, with the shift there is always an infelder standing there, just waiting for the ball, turning a hit into a routine ground ball. The restriction on shifts in the game of baseball will lead to better averages, more clutch hits and more baserunners, leading to more excitement within the games.

Overall, I believe the new rules are benefcial in many ways, when it comes to adding more excitement to a so-called “boring game.”