Why did the committee decide not to just simply adjust the current illegal defense rules?
Jackson: A major reason why we didn’t just again elect to deal with the illegal defense guidelines was that’s what we effectively have been doing for the last 20-30 years and it’s led us to this point where we have a game that is not necessarily a game that flows or has a lot of movement. Rather than trying to tinker with rules that we thought were not advantageous to the game, we decided to eliminate them completely. How do you respond to the criticism that allowing zone defenses will only serve to further restrict the individuality and athleticism that makes the NBA great? Jackson: Well, I don’t necessarily agree with that because what identifies our league are the great plays and great athletic players in it. Whether you use the illegal defense guidelines or you allow any defense, those great players will still be our best players, no matter what type of defense you throw at them. On the other hand, if defenses are designed to stop a player with a specific type of zone defense, that
