Thursday, June 03, 2010

Comparison (part two)

Game One of the NBA Finals: 78 stoppages of play, not including the stoppage between free throws (which, with some players, lasts quite a while).

By quarter: 22-15-22-19.

In comparison with the Stanley Cup Finals game I recorded, that's 80% more stoppages of play per minute. The NBA game took 2:48 to play, and it wasn't even competitive at the end, so the last two minutes didn't include any intentional fouling or timeouts.

Plus, no one is ever in a hurry after a whistle stops play in the NBA. Guys are barely even walking. In the NHL, the goal is to have a faceoff within thirty seconds of a whistle, and the officials are often sprinting to get the puck to the correct faceoff circle.

So that's why the NBA felt glacial to me compared to the NHL: it is glacial compared to the NHL.

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