I don't know if anyone saw this game or not but just have a question. I was busy on the computer and listening to the game on TV and didn't really see what happened, but about the middle of the third quarter, T-Wolves on defense and I could have sworn that I heard the announcers say that Garnett was called for 3-seconds, I look up and the lane is cleared and Atlanta is shooting one free throw and then getting the ball OOB.

Anyone out there have any idea what that was all about?

It was probably a defensive 3-second violation. While a "zone" defense is now allowed in the NBA, you cannot be playing a zone AND standing in the lane on defense for more than 3 seconds. If you are playing a man, your defense is legal. The penalty is a technical foul. Think of it as a carryover of the old "illegal defense" rule.

That sounds dumb. :/

Thanks Trigger. Never heard of that before so it kinda confused me there for a while.

Trigger is right, and personally, I don't think it's dumb. You don't have to play man-to-man; but if you choose to go zone, you're not allowed to simply clog the lane. This allows offensive players to run through the lane more freely, increasing offensive opportunities. And that's a good thing.

I know many here will think I'm crazy (in fact, many already do), but I love the NBA rule-set. If the FED adopted NBA rules tomorrow (with minor adjustments for timing issues and court dimensions), I'd have no problem with it.