NBA Finals: Timeout question

[Thunder]

How many timeouts do each team get in the NBA finals? (Full, and 20 second)

When are the TV timeouts scheduled for in each quarter?

Why did Bill Russell sell himself out and appear in that god-awful “24 Seconds To Live” commercial series?

OK… I want answers for the first 2 of those questions. The last one has no rational answer.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

According to nba.com:

Each team is entitled to one (1) 20-second timeout per half for a total of two (2) per game, including overtimes.

…

Each team is entitled to six (6) charged timeouts during regulation play. Each team is limited to no more than three (3) timeouts in the fourth period and no more than two (2) timeouts in the last two minutes of regulation play. (This is in addition to one 20-second timeout per half.)

…

In overtime periods each team shall be allowed three (3) 60-second timeouts regardless of the number of timeouts called or remaining during regulation play or previous overtimes. Teams are permitted no more than two timeouts in the last two minutes of the period.

…

There must be two 100-second timeouts in the first and third periods and three 100-second timeouts in the second and fourth periods. If neither team has taken a timeout prior to 5:59 of the first or third period, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it at the first dead ball and charge it to the home team. If no subsequent timeouts are taken prior to 2:59, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it and charge it to the team not previously charged. If neither team has taken a timeout prior to 8:59 of the second or fourth period, a mandatory timeout will be called by the Official Scorer and charged to neither team. If there are no subsequent timeouts taken prior to 5:59, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it at the first dead ball and charge it to the home team. If no subsequent timeouts are taken prior to 2:59, it shall be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take it and charge it to the team not previously charged.

The 100-second TOs are the TV Time Outs, if no one has already called a time out by a certain point in the game.

I believe during the playoffs, the rules for TV TOs might change slightly.

Happy

[Thunder]

Thanks, but I really wanted to know about the NBA Finals. I couldn’t figure it out in Games 1 & 2.

The way it’s set up in the regular season, both teams HAVE to call a time-out each period, or else they’ll lose it.

[BobT]

I think the timeouts are scheduled for the same time, but they just make them longer.

A lot longer.

They do the same thing in the NCAA basketball tournament. Former UCLA coach Steve Lavin said you could play fewer players in the NCAA tournament because the timeouts were so long that you could get players longer rests.

[Jimmy_Chitwood]

I can’t find an online reference to back me up, but I believe each team gets a seventh full timeout during the Finals. The only thing I could find to check on that was the ESPN game-log thing from Game 2, and it had the timeouts listed as number 1/7, 2/7, etc, so I think that may be the case. Like I said, though, I don’t know for sure.

[BobT]

I looked at the play-by-plays on the NBA website for the first two games and in Game 2, the Lakers, who used up all their timeouts in regulation, took six full timeouts and 2 20-second timeouts.