No shot < .7 sec -- Anyone heard a rule like this?

[JRutledge]

There was a play that happen in the NBA in the mid-80s, where a NY Knick player made a shot with .7 seconds on the clock, against the Chicago Bulls to win the game. The NBA was the first to make a rule that you could not "catch and shoot" with a certain amount on the clock. I think there original rule was .7 seconds, like our current .3 seconds rule. They might have changed it later, but that is where the .7 comes from. I cannot think of the player that hit this "famous" shot that changed everything. But on replay and with a clock, you could tell the clock was not started properly and this brought on the change. Also, tenths of a second was very new at that time as well. Before there was no need for this kind of rule in theory. Now you would be hard pressed to find a scoreboard that does not have tenths of a second on it.

Peace