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Zolak & Bertrand

Ban halftime? Mazzulla suggests another bold NBA rule proposal

"I just don't understand it. ... It's useless."

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NBC Universal, Inc.

Joe Mazzulla joins “Zolak & Bertrand” and explains why he’d be in favor of the NBA banning halftime breaks.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver made headlines this week when he told The Dan Patrick Show that he's a "fan" of 10-minute quarters.

"I'm not sure that many others are," Silver admitted. "Putting aside what it means for records and things like that, yeah, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits."

Shortening quarters from 12 to 10 minutes would take eight minutes of game time off the clock, which could make each game around two hours in length when you add in things like halftime.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is no stranger to unique rule proposals, and he suggested one during his interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand show Thursday.

"If it was up to me, I wish we would ban halftime. I can't stand halftime," Mazzulla said, as seen in the video player above. "I just don't understand it. I guess I do from a business standpoint, but I hate it. It's useless.

"It gives you an opportunity to escape from the arena. It gives you an opportunity to escape from the competitive arena. I've never understood it from a psychological perspective of -- it's crazy, I think in cricket they take a few hours off."

When asked if Mazzulla would be in favor of two 20-minutes halves like college basketball, he responded, "Oh, hell no. We can't do that."

There are pros and cons to halftime. If your team is playing fantastic at the end of the second quarter, the halftime buzzer could halt your momentum and give the opponent time to regroup and make adjustments. On the flip side, sometimes halftime comes at the perfect moment, especially if your opponent is doing something strategy-wise that you didn't prepare for. The break also gives players time to get some treatment for injuries.

Nearly every spot that uses a clock has a halftime, so it's not like basketball is unique in that aspect.

Mazzulla had some interesting rule proposals earlier this season, including an idea for a power play and bringing back fighting.

"I think we should institute power plays where, instead of taking the ball out on the side, if you commit a foul, the guy goes to the other side of halfcourt, and he can't leave the halfcourt circle until like three seconds," Mazzulla said back in October.

If the league is looking to shake things up, it should give Mazzulla a call. Not all of his ideas are feasible, but he's very creative.

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