The NBA is trying to make the game balanced and fair for all the parties involved. They want the teams to compete fairly as well as give fans their money’s worth. Their latest move to address the latter issue is moving the announcement of the starting lineup earlier.
Zach Lowe confirmed a proposal that has been talked about by The Association for a while:
The league has also proposed a tweak requiring teams to announce their starting lineups at least 30 minutes before tip-off — up from 10 minutes, per sources.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) September 15, 2019
This potential tweak was also reported last month, and this can be seen as an assist for gamblers who make bets on NBA games. Since basketball is a game where a star’s absence can make a team exponentially worse, it’s important for bettors to know which players will be stepping up on the game. This would also be a positive move for daily fantasy players as they set their lineups with the best players available.
Lawrence Wilson of HowTheyPlay wrote a comprehensive article about NBA teams resting stars. While there are plenty of issues that come with resting players, it’s interesting that he pointed out the move’s effect on the game’s level of play:
Resting players also has effects on competitive balance. A team may rest players during the heat of a playoff race where one game could decide whether they go on to the next round. When you rest players you are intentionally not fielding the best team available for a given game.
Some NBA coaches may not be a fan of this tweak since they like to be secretive about their starting lineups, but others may welcome the move to eliminate some of the games they play when it comes to who’s in and who’s out.
Of course, this is only one of the many solutions the league is looking to implement about the issue. We can expect the league to take more actions as time goes on.
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