Explaining NBA rule changes, In-Season Tournament schedule as the season begins -

When the 2023-24 NBA season tips off Tuesday, a few things about the schedule and game itself will look a little different.

The league is implementing a couple of rule changes, embracing a new stance on “load management” and running a new In-Season Tournament this year. If you tuned out for the offseason and are cramming on opening night eve like you’re back in high school, we’ve got you covered with the notes.

Flopping fouls

According to a league rule change, those beloved, theatrical “flops” will be called non-unsportsmanlike technical fouls during the upcoming season.

But how will a “flop” be defined? Using the acronym S.T.E.M.: Reactions to contact that are secondary, theatrical, exaggerated movements will be identified as flops.

In terms of “exaggeration,” NBA senior VP of referee development and training Monty McCutchen shared three identifiers of flops.

Considerable distance traveled by flopping player
Excessive flailing of limbs (e.g., “double arm circles”)
Potential to have injured another player as a result of having flopped

And a few more details about the flopping rules:

If a flopping call is missed in a game but discovered afterward, then the offending player will be fined $2,000.
The non-unsportsmanlike technical foul that comes from a flopping call doesn’t count toward a player’s possible ejection (it takes two unsportsmanlike technicals to be ejected).
If flopping is called on the same play where another player is called for an unsportsmanlike technical, then the two technicals still offset one another (despite the flopping call being non-unsportsmanlike).

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No more rip-through fouls?

McCutchen also said offensive players would not be able to draw “rip-through” fouls against defenders if they are not attempting to make a play toward the rim.

Rip-through movements, which are when an offensive player initiates contact with a defender’s arm but moves the ball away from the hoop (perhaps most famously employed by Kevin Durant), will be considered a non-basketball move and result in a no-call this season.

Second coach’s challenge

In the other major rule change for the upcoming season, coaches can earn a second video-replay challenge if they are successful with their first.

The way this will play out is pretty simple:

If a coach’s first challenge is successful, he gets a second and won’t be charged a timeout.
The second challenge counts as a timeout regardless of whether it’s correct, and then the coach is out of challenges.

Game minimums for major awards

This season, players must be on the floor for 20 minutes in at least 65 games to be eligible for honors, including NBA MVP and All-NBA teams.

There are protections against season-ending injuries (62 games), near misses in minutes (two games of at least 15 minutes) and bad-faith circumstances, The Athletic previously reported.

Relatedly, NBA executive Joe Dumars said earlier this month that teams’ general practice of resting players to prevent future injury and extend careers — commonly known as “load management” — is no longer supported by scientific data held by the league.

Additionally, Dumars said that American professional basketball needed to work to “re-establish” a culture of players attempting to play in most of the 82 regular-season games.

“Before, it was a given conclusion that the data showed that you had to rest players a certain amount, and that justified them sitting out,” Dumars said. “We’ve gotten more data, and it just doesn’t show that resting, sitting guys out correlates with lack of injuries, or fatigue, or anything like that.

“What it does show is maybe guys aren’t as efficient on the second night of a back-to-back.”

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In-Season Tournament

The NBA will roll out its new In-Season Tournament featuring all 30 teams this year, handing out the NBA Cup for the first time on Dec. 9. The format is similar to that of popular international soccer tournaments.

The tournament will play out in two stages, first group play involving each franchise and then a knockout stage when the field trickles down to just eight teams. The group-stage games will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays in November as the NBA divides teams into six groups of five teams apiece, split up by conference. The winners of each group, along with the second-place team with the best record in each conference, will move on. The quarterfinal games will be on Dec. 4 and 5 in a team’s home arena, before the semifinals, on Dec. 7, and the final, on Dec. 9, are held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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West Group A: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Blazers

West Group B: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks, Rockets

West Group C: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder, Spurs

East Group A: 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers, Pistons

East Group B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards, Hornets

East Group C: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls, Magic

Full group schedules

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2023 NBA In-Season Tournament group-stage national TV schedule

Nov. 3

Knicks at Bucks, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Mavericks at Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Nov. 10

Nov. 14

Nov. 17

Kings at Spurs, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Suns at Jazz, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Nov. 21

Nov. 24

Celtics at Magic, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBA TV)
Suns at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. ET (NBA TV)
Heat at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Spurs at Warriors, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Nov. 28

Bucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Warriors at Kings, 10 p.m. ET (TNT)

Flopping fouls

No more rip-through fouls?

Second coach’s challenge

Game minimums for major awards

In-Season Tournament

Full group schedules

2023 NBA In-Season Tournament group-stage national TV schedule

Further reading