From the Toronto Star:
WATERLOO, Ont.-As if integrating nine new players into the Raptors lineup isn’t difficult enough, the coaching staff is also working around a formidable impediment to a productive training camp – the NBA’s restrictions on practice time.Teams are allowed precisely three hours of court time daily, which the Raptors are dividing into two 1 1/2-hour sessions this week.
League rules also say that only one of the workouts can include defensive contact, which doesn’t help a team attempting to improve on near-league-worst defensive stats. And the list of restrictions goes on.
But if you’re wondering why you haven’t heard anyone criticize the rules, consider that Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was fined $100,000 (U.S.) for speaking the following three sentences.”It’s part of the hypocrisy of the NBA,” said Cuban in 2004. “People complain about fundamentals, but when you want to practise, you can’t practise. It’s crazy.”