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Celtics-Nets to play 44-minute preseason game

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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A weekend preseason date between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets will be a trial case for an abbreviated game length of 44 minutes.

The game Sunday at Barclays Center will be reduced as the NBA examines “the flow of a shorter game as compared to the standard 48-minute game.”

Four 11-minute quarters and a reduction in mandatory media timeouts the second and fourth quarters could expedite the game.

“At our recent coaches’ meeting, we had a discussion about the length of our games, and it was suggested that we consider experimenting with a shorter format,” NBA President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn said. “After consulting with our Competition Committee, we agreed to allow the Nets and Celtics to play a 44-minute preseason game in order to give us some preliminary data that will help us to further analyze game-time lengths.”

Two mandatory timeouts per quarter remain in place — at the first dead ball under 6:59 of the period if neither team has taken a timeout prior, and the second mandatory timeout will be triggered by the first dead ball under 2:59 if neither team has taken a timeout subsequent to the first mandatory timeout.

Typically, there are three mandatory timeouts in the second and fourth quarters.

“When this idea came up at the coaches’ meeting, I thought it was a unique experiment that was worth participating in,” said Nets coach Lionel Hollins. “I’m looking forward to gauging its impact on the flow of the game. Since there is a shorter clock, it affects playing time, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays into substitution patterns.”

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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