NBA: Four minutes shorter than the standard

It will be an experimental game between Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics as they will play with a 44-minute preseason game this coming Sunday. It will be four-minute shorter than the usual play we see - declared by NBA on Tuesday.

"At our recent coaches' meeting, we had a discussion about the length of our games, and it was suggested that we consider experimenting with a shorter format," NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn said in a statement.

He added: "After consulting with our Competition Committee, we agreed to allow the Nets and Celtics to play a 44-minute preseason game in order to give us some preliminary data that will help us to further analyze game-time lengths."

The teams will play one minute shorter than the standard as the mandatory timeouts will be reduced. It will become four 11-minutes quarters at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn according to the NBA statement.

"When this idea came up at the coaches' meeting, I thought it was a unique experiment that was worth participating in," said Nets head coach Lionel Hollins.  

"I'm looking forward to gauging its impact on the flow of the game. Since there is a shorter clock, it affects playing time, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays into substitution patterns."

A reduced number of timeouts will be applicable in the second and fourth quarters, with each quarter including two mandatory timeouts. The current NBA game features three mandatory timeouts in the second and fourth quarters.

"I thought it was a unique experiment that was worth participating in," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. "I'm looking forward to gauging its impact on the flow of the game. It will be interesting to see how it plays into substitution patterns."

Celtics coach Brad Stevens noted the NBA's history of changes, including shot clock time changes and 3-point arcs.

"I appreciate the NBA's long history of forward thinking and willingness to try new ideas," Stevens said. "We told the NBA that we'd be happy to participate in this trial during a pre-season game. I look forward to experiencing it and continuing the dialogue."

(Source: Yahoo Sports)