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Originally posted by 5 sport ref
No mercy rule in Illinois. We were at a clinic that had three coaches at a session where we could ask them questions. I asked about the mercy rule, and all three coaches were against it. They didn't like it because in a blow out they could get all their players in game situations whether winning or losing.
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This is not entirely true. We do have a mercy rule but it is not for all games. It only applies to tournament play (not post season play) if the host wants to adopt it and the officials and teams have been informed before the tournament begins. The rule comes into affect during a 30 point lead or more in the fourth quarter only. Also if the lead gets lower than 30, then the clock still runs during all times except timeouts (team or injury)
Quote:
Originally posted by 5 sport ref
I really don't understand their thinking. On the other hand, in football coaches that are getting blown out want the clock to run faster than it can so they can get the game over. Blow outs aren't fun for anybody; the players, coaches, refs or fans.
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In football players can get hurt and hurt seriously. That just does not happen that much in basketball. A weaker football team can get literally beat up in a blowout. Cannot say that happens that much during a basketball game. Because if a team is getting blowout, it has more to do with they team not making shots. The game of football has many more breaks in the action and delays are much more common. Even in a bad blowout in basketball, the clock can run for a few minutes without stopping. That does not happen in football. Football plays last about 7 seconds long (if that). Incomplete passes, penalties, plays out of bounds all delay the game considerably. During a basketball game, the clock does not really stop for that many long periods of time. Usually a blowout in basketball is not necessarily that much longer than a closer game. Actually it is the closer and tighter games that last longer. More timeouts and more FTs at the end of the game to lengthen the game.
Quote:
Originally posted by 5 sport ref
Blow outs aren't fun for anybody; the players, coaches, refs or fans.
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I would not go that far either. Sometimes blowouts are less stressful from an officiating point of view than a tight nail bitter. The outcome is not going to hindge on a call I might have to make in the closing seconds. In a blowout the outcome is long decided and you can cruise to the finish. And the bench players get a chance to play that hardly ever play during important moments of a game. It is nice to see the crowd go crazy over the 15th player on the team score his only basket of his season. Do not get me wrong, I love a close and tight game, but it is nice to have a blowout to offset those close ones every now and again.
Peace