Or at least one game to start with. The preseason Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets contest at Brooklyn on Sunday will be just 44 minutes long, shaving a minute off each quarter from the longstanding tradition of 48-minute NBA games. NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn says the league is trying everything to keep its product fresh. Thorn told USA Today that in looking at the big picture “one of the things that keeps coming up is our schedule and the length of our games.”
It’s just one preseason game, but the league is hoping for benefits with nobody really noticing the loss, like when manufacturers take a half-ounce away from your yogurt or soft drink. Over the course of an 82 game season (a length that is also, considering Thorn’s comments, not set in stone) it would reduce game time by a total of 328 minutes–or about seven games. Tim Duncan, btw, votes yes. (We assume, anyway.)
