Six Rule Changes Announced for Next Season

NBA head coaches will be able to directly call timeouts next season, one of six rule changes announced Wednesday following the Board of Governors meetings.

Under the current rules, coaches can call timeouts only if play has been stopped because a player is bleeding.

The other big change will give teams two free throws plus the ball after a clear-path foul, instead of one shot.

The other minor changes included:

If a player is hurt after a Flagrant Foul 1 penalty and can’t continue, his coach, instead of the opposing coach, picks a player on the floor to take the free throws. The injured player then can’t return to the game.

Free substitution will be allowed during all 20-second timeouts, instead of only the ones during the last two minutes of regulation or during overtime.

If a player not appearing on the active list enters a game, he will be disqualified at the first dead ball and his team will be assessed a technical foul.

Players along the lane can’t extend their arms in front of an opponent until the shooter has released a free throw. Also, a player not in a lane space must stand behind the three-point line and above the free-throw line extended until the ball is shot.

*

The NBA set an attendance record for the second straight year, announcing that it averaged 17,558 fans for its games.

With the league’s arenas filled to 91.4% of capacity, the league bettered last season’s average of 17,314. Before that, the previous mark had been 17,252 in 1995-96.

*

Larry Brown will return as coach of the New York Knicks. That’s what Brown and team president Isiah Thomas said one day after the Knicks (23-59) completed one of the worst seasons in their history.