Rules changes most significant since shot clock

Just when it seems Michael Jordan is seriously considering lacingup the sneakers again, the NBA implements a package of new rules thatcould keep him in dress shoes.

Then again, it might be argued that the impetus behind the newguidelines was the NBA's sagging popularity since Jordan retiredafter the 1997-98 season. If TV ratings and attendance figures areany indication, the game isn't "Fan-tastic" anymore, so a 12-memberpanel recommended a face-lift.

The changes, approved Thursday by at least 20 of the 29 teams,include the following:

Eliminating all existing illegal-defense guidelines.

Establishing a defensive three-second rule that will limit thetime a defensive player can remain in the lane unless he is closelyguarding someone.

Reducing from 10 seconds to eight seconds the amount of time ateam will have to advance the ball past midcourt.

Eliminating touch fouls by allowing brief contact initiated by adefensive player if it does not impede the progress of the playerwith the ball.

"Are we aware of TV ratings and attendance? Yes and yes," saidPhoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, who chaired the committee thatrecommended the changes. "And we think these changes will bebeneficial in every sense.

"It's probably one of the most significant changes since the 24-second clock. That the league is willing to make this move shows it'sproactive about its game."

The Washington Wizards' vote was cast by majority owner AbePollin. Jordan, who is a Wizards minority owner and president ofbasketball operations, is on record as being against the changes.

"It eliminates the marquee players," Jordan said. "If you playVince Carter and Kobe (Bryant), Shaquille (O'Neal) and players likethose, you're going to zone them.

"One thing they want to eliminate is the isolation play.Isolation, in the past, always has been the flagship of wherecreativity has come from."

Imagine Jordan's last shot in the 1998 NBA Finals against Utah.After he loses Bryon Russell on the famous shake-and-bake, hand-check move, another defender playing a zone steps in to contest thejumper that secured the Bulls' sixth title.

"Great players will still be great," Colangelo countered.

But will their impact be reduced?

"Yes, the rules may hamper the superstars," Milwaukee Bucks coachGeorge Karl said. "You're going to see the peripheral players steptheir games up a bit because they will be left open more often.

"When you give us more tricks and more abilities to zone and tipup the game, we're going to be pretty good at letting the right guyget open."

So instead of "Hack-a-Shaq," it will be "Pack-a-Shaq," with onedefender in front of O'Neal, one behind and another roaming in hisvicinity.

"It's going to be tough for the post players," Bulls forward EltonBrand said. "The zone is for jump-shooters where you pack it down inthe middle with a lot of bodies.

"I'm trying to expand my game, regardless, so I'll just keepshooting those jumpers."

Colangelo reminds those concerned about zones of the new rule thatwill bar a defensive player from staying in the lane longer thanthree seconds if he is more than an arm's length away from his man. Aviolation will result in a technical foul.

"That will prevent an out-and-out zone from being played in thepure sense," Colangelo said. "There's going to be a lot more man-to-man defense than people think."

The eight-second rule is supposed to encourage teams to pressurethe ball in the backcourt, which could speed up the game. The changein the touch-foul rule is designed to put an end to the cheap foulsthat have resulted since the league banned hand-checking two yearsago.

Bulls coach Tim Floyd isn't convinced the changes will be thatdramatic. Floyd, in his third season with the Bulls, coached for 12seasons on the college level, and he said the zone is not the end-all defense.

"Only two teams have won the national championship in collegebasketball playing exclusively a zone defense: Villanova and MagicJohnson's Michigan State team," Floyd said. "Everybody else plays manbecause there's more ball pressure and you force more turnovers andcontest shots and get more defensive rebounds.

"I predict the team that wins the NBA championship next year willbe playing a lot more man than zone."

That team will have the athletes to play a man-to-man defense. Buta team such as the Bulls, which has a limited number of players whocan cover one-on-one, should benefit the most from the new rules.Bulls operations chief Jerry Krause, however, was against the rulechanges, according to league sources.

"Definitely, young teams won't be exposed as much with one-on-onemoves and guys going by us for buckets," Brand said.

So the days of Detroit's Jerry Stackhouse torching the Bulls for57 points, as he did April 3, could be over. Stackhouse figures tohave two guys hanging on his jersey at all times.

"That's why I don't understand it," Brand said. "If they're tryingto score more and make it more exciting, why put a zone in?"

Jordan may be asking the same question. And while the NBA can'tdevelop rules based on the possibility of one player returning, maybethe league should say these changes are "99.9 percent" final.

Colangelo said the league will test the new rules during summer-league play and make adjustments, if necessary.