5 NBA rule changes the Toronto Raptors need to see next season

No. 4: An alternative to fouling out.

This NBA rule change needed might be the most controversial. Just because it’s out of the box, however, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily impractical.

When fans go to see a professional basketball game, they want to see their favorite teams and to see specific players compete. Generally, those in attendance want to see the best the game has to offer, which is why it’s always a real disappointment when star players don’t get into a game.

It’s equally disappointing when a player fouls out of one. Look no further than to Game 7 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets where P.J. Tucker and Blake Griffin both fouled out in overtime.

There is a way to punish individual players and their teams for having six personal fouls without removing the player completely. In a situation where a game goes to overtime and a star is unavailable, it shines a light on exactly how much this rule change is needed.

Instead of removing a player for going over the personal foul limit, they should be allowed to continue playing. No player would be removed from a game for common fouls no matter how many they accumulated. However, each time a player commits a foul beyond the six they’re allowed, it sends their opponent to the charity stripe for an extra free throw.

This means, if a player who already has six personals then fouls an opponent unsuccessfully trying to make a layup, it would send the shooter to the line for three shots. If the foul is made during a three-point attempt, then the shooter would get two free throws if the three-pointer was converted and four if it wasn’t. This would potentially set up a possible five-point play.

If the foul occurs on the floor and the team isn’t in the penalty, then the player who drew that foul would shoot one shot and their team would maintain possession.

This rule change puts pressure on the coach to determine how they want to proceed in their game planning. If, for example, Fred VanVleet received six fouls, there’s a good chance that Nick Nurse would ride with him in that dangerous position because he’s too valuable to the Raptors to take off the court. However, if it was a bench player, Nurse would certainly have a shorter rope.

In order to properly implement this rule change, the league would need to keep the flagrant foul ejections. Should a player receive two flagrant “1” fouls or a single flagrant “2”, he would still be ejected under the current rules. The pace of the game is another issue that must be worked out.

This would need to be maintained in order to ensure that players aren’t taking liberties and injuring their opponents. The same would be true for players who receive two technical fouls in a single game. They too would be sent to the showers early.