New Format for NBL 2010 Season

Just six months ago many in the media were claiming the end of the NBL as teams like the Brisbane Bullets, Sydney Kings/Spirit, South Melbourne Dragons and the Melbourne Tigers appeared unable or uninterested in playing ball. The NBL managed to convince the Tigers to play and launched a "new" NBL with a reduced 8 teams. Soon after came a new logo and claims of a new format that would change the league. The NBL launching a new league is as common as a new coach announcing his team would be playing "an up-tempo brand of basketball that would be exciting to watch" so I was not a believer.

However this season it appears I was wrong. Along came reduced quarters, changes to the travelling rule interpretation, reduced personal foul count and new Foxtel commentators. The game has changed and as a result I think the league hasn't looked this good since its heyday in the 90's.

From 11 teams to 8 Teams
Say goodbye to the Brisbane Bullets, the Sydney Kings/West Sydney Razorbacks/Sydney Spirit and the South Melbourne Dragons. Now losing teams in major cities isn't a good thing but with less roster spots the talent on each team has increased dramatically. No longer are the 8th and 9th players just for garbage time, they're playing night in and night out and expecting to have an impact. The end result is that the old cliche that "any team can win on any given night" is a reality. I've made money in my online betting account this season just by betting on the proposed "underdog" for most games.

From 48 Minutes to 40 Minutes
Taking a measly 2 minutes off each quarter to fit in with FIBA rules doesn't sound like much of a change but this change coupled with the increased talent has changed the game dramatically. Welcome to a new "NBA Jam" style of basketball where the full court press is ever more prevalent and there are as many substitutions as an NFL match. If you're the 9th guy on the team and you only get 5 minutes of court time, you better come to play and play at a frantic pace. I was at the Perth Wildcats Vs Adelaide 36ers game on October 17 and saw the cats put up 110 points in just 40 minutes, they struggled to do that in 48 minutes last season.

From 6 Personal Fouls to 5
The NBL also implemented another FIBA rule and reduced the personal foul limit from 6 to 5 which was logical given the quarter change. The fact was you had to have grown up with Melvin Thomas as your childhood hero to be getting fouled out last season. This season there are a few more players fouling out but generally it's just resulting in more bench rotations. If you get 2 fouls in the first quarter, you will be benched.

Footy Boofheads Commentating?
The second biggest surprise for me was the exodus of John Casey and Steve Carfino and the addition of AFL commentators Dwayne Russell and Brian Taylor. OK, lets be honest, surely this was just a cost cutting move to to save some money by having BT and Russell commentate in the AFL off-season. The biggest surprise? It works and works well. BT and Russell actually have basketball backgrounds and run the show well with Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal pointing out the things that only seasoned veterans would notice. The diehard fans would be appalled by some of the "basic" questions BT asks of Gaze but I'll let you in on a secret, he already knows the answer.

Prognosis Positive
The new format for the NBL for 09/10 is looking good. Although going forward you need interest in the big smoke of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne the reduced league is looking like a better product. The old cliche of "any team can win" is actually true with the 2nd last Cairns Taipans knocking off the 1st placed Wollongong Hawks just last week. Have the crowds been better this year? Marginally but I feel the NBL has a much stronger, more exciting product to market after this years changes