NBA going with shorter games for Disney exhibition openers

first exhibition games of NBA restart will go a little more quickly than usual.

NBA is tweaking rules for those initial matchups, going with 10-minute quarters instead of usual 12 minutes. change is for several reasons — among m, t wanting to overly tax players’ bodies after y went more than four months without games, and because some teams do t have ir full rosters at Walt Disney World yet because of coronavirus and or issues.

“This is a different situation,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday. “In all areas, really. ... I do think that re’s some latitude to do some different things.”

Exhibitions start with a four-game slate Wednesday and continue through July 28. Each team will play three exhibitions, and last two for each club will have traditional 12-minute quarters. Plans call for all 33 exhibitions to be televised by some combination of local TV, national TV, NBA TV or NBA League Pass.

league is still working on some of specifics for first games, even wher to give teams option of wearing uniforms or practice gear. Most teams, as of Saturday, were still planning to wear ir usual regular-season uniforms for all three of ir exhibitions -- new jerseys featuring social justice messaging will t debut until seeding games that count begin July 30.

Or changes for exhibition games may include using more than three referees in a rotating system, though that also remains under discussion.

Players apparently had t been told first exhibitions will go faster.

“I don’t kw about that yet,” said Oklahoma City guard Chris Paul, president of National Basketball Players Association. “So, I’ll find out.”

exhibitions will be played like rmal games — score and stats will be kept, and it will be a chance for league’s stat crews that were hired to work for three months at Disney to work out any kinks in system.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he’s taking a different view than he does for typical preseason matchups. For first time, he’s talking with coaches of teams Heat will face — Sacramento’s Luke Walton and Utah’s Quin Snyder — to see if re are any specific situations those clubs want to work on in those games.

Spoelstra simply bumped into Snyder in lobby of a Disney hotel and from re, idea of one team helping out ar in exhibitions was born. Heat and Jazz will t play in a seeding game and couldn’t meet in a game that counts at Disney until NBA Finals.

“You have to fast-track so much before you get to that eight-game regular season. ... We’ll approach it that way and play probably everybody available, but definitely work on some things and do a little bit of evaluating as well,” Spoelstra said.

exhibitions will be helpful in breaking up motony of practice, Denver coach Michael Malone said, but he stressed that player health will come before anything else in those games.

“ . 1 thing for me is can we get through se three scrimms healthy and t getting guys put in a position where y’re overworked, playing too many minutes and getting hurt,” Malone said. “I think vast majority of 22 teams will approach it same way.”

Im credits: AP