STACK SMACK: Jerry Stackhouse on the rule changes this season

One of the most electrifying basketball players in the game, Jerry Stackhouse has captivated NBA fans since his pro debut in 1995. The former Tar Heels star scored 27 points in the first game of his rookie season and has improved every year, averaging 29.8 points and notching an NBA season-high 57 points in 2000-01. Check back frequently on FOXSports.com for Stack's insight and analysis throughout the season as the Pistons pursue a playoff berth.

For more on Stack, check out his official website at jerrystackhouse.com

The changes in the NBA rules have been more of an adjustment than a difficult transition for me. There are definitely still ways for me to attack the zone, or what's called the tilt defense. The tilt is when teams bring their big man over and stand him outside of the lane to try to stop guys who are good at one-on-one situations or like to penetrate. Now it's really a matter of trusting your teammates, because when teams try the tilt, they're putting themselves at a disadvantage on the weak side. So if you just move the ball around, then you should still be able to get a good shot on the weak side. The new style of play does hamper guys like Allen Iverson and myself who are primarily one-on-one players, though. If we don't move the ball around, then we're left taking a lot of forced shots. I've really tried to limit myself from taking so many forced shots — that's why my numbers are down a little bit, but my shot attempts are down, too. We haven't seen it that much so far, but the Timberwolves are one of the teams that like to use a lot of zone defenses. They can afford to use them because they're a very aggressive rebounding team. They consciously have five guys going after offensive rebounds at all times and they're pretty good defensive rebounders, as well. And then you've got Kevin Garnett, who's going to get a ton of rebounds anyway and make it easier for them to use the strategy. A lot of teams don't use the zone because it's simply hard to rebound out of and puts you in a bad position. When you're in a man-to-man situation, guys know that they have to block out the man they're guarding. In the zone, however, guys get confused as to who they should block out. That's why I think a lot of teams haven't taken advantage of the new "zone-friendly" rules.

THE NBA'S NEW RULES

Illegal defense guidelines have been eliminated. A new defensive three-second rule prohibits a defensive player from remaining in the lane for more than three consecutive seconds without closely guarding an offensive player. The time that a team has to advance the ball past midcourt is now 8 seconds instead of 10. Brief contact initiated by a defensive player is allowed if it does not impede the progress of the player with the ball.

Since the league has allowed the zone and tilt defenses, teams have become more passive, but they're also moving the ball more. I don't necessarily think it's been good for the game, though, because you're taking away some of the most exciting players and some of the most exciting plays from the game. Basically, guys who really wouldn't have become factors before are becoming them now. Normally you would take them out of the play in lift situations, but now they've become factors because it forces all five guys to be an offensive threat when you play a zone. Another change that's received a lot of attention is the new backcourt rule, but I don't think it's really sped up the game. It's created a few more possessions — probably an average of three or four more per game — but it hasn't really changed the game much because it was rare when you saw a 10-second call anyway. Now that they've moved it back to eight, guys are still just rushing it up court just to get past the half-court line. But once they've crossed half court, they're delivering the ball and getting into their sets. Not everybody is just running across the half-court line blowing into a fastbreak offense. Overall, I'm sure the changes have been pretty hard on the refs. It's hard being an official anyway without having to adjust to a whole lot of new rules. In fact, there are probably some officials who haven't made the new defensive three-second call all season. That's tough for teams to deal with because it sometimes seems like the games are officiated very differently from one game to the next. You might have one game in which there's an emphasis on making these calls, but then the next night a team could do the same thing and the officials won't say a word. The defensive three-second call is basically like a block or a charge — it's a judgment call.

MORE OF STACK'S SPIN
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I can't say that all of the changes have helped or hurt my team because they're universal rules and every team has had to adjust to them. There are certain teams that try to junk up the game and play variations of the zone, but you just have to prepare a little differently — it's still basketball. We're still getting good games with high scores and a really good brand of basketball, and that's what it was designed to do. If I could change any of the new rules, though, I would definitely get rid of the zone. But you know, I think we have a pretty good thing going on with NBA basketball. I'd like to see the officials be a little more consistent, but I guess that it's the same as it would be if you were playing recreation basketball — you always want the officials to call it both ways.