On Sunday, I happened to catch the end of the NBA All-Star game, and I was surprisingly mystified by what I was watching.
Instead of the final quarter being a 12-minute period, they set a target number — 24 points more than the leading team’s score in honor of Kobe Bryant — and then played basketball with only the shot clock.
I was mesmerized that the All-Star game actually saw some defense being played. Instead of just trying to run out the clock, the players were actually engaged in trying to win the game.
I thought that was a great idea to try in the other games. One place I’d really look at is high school basketball. In a close game, I absolutely hate watching the fourth quarter of high school basketball. Without a shot clock, teams don’t run their normal offense. Many times, they stop playing offense altogether and just try to hold the ball so all they have to do is hit free throws or run out the clock.
It’s a tried and true strategy I’ve seen throughout my life when it comes to the fourth quarter.
If there might be a situation to go with the Elam Ending, I think high school basketball’s fourth quarter seems like a good option.
I know there is no shot clock to force teams to score, but the fact that you have to get to a certain number instead of draining the clock should make teams run their offense like normal. There’s no advantage to milking the clock because there’s no clock to milk. You have to hit a certain score to end the game.
Now, maybe it’s something you shouldn’t try with regulation, but I do see an issue with it in overtime. One former ref told me a story of his version of an Elam Ending.
They were headed to their fifth overtime. It was a school night. Everyone wanted the game to be over, but they couldn’t break the tie. So the ref called the coaches together and said, “I’m throwing this ball up, and the next team that scores wins the game. Both coaches agreed, and sure enough, we tipped it off and a team scored right away.”
The ref got a call the next morning from the state association, but he argued that they’d still be playing if they didn’t do that.
I don’t think we need to change right now, but I think it’s certainly something high school basketball needs to consider.
Brent Maze is the publisher of the Appeal. Contact Brent at bmaze@newtoncountyappeal.com.
