NEW YORK — The NBA has released its official Points of Emphasis and Areas of Focus for the upcoming season, immediately forcing basketball fans to determine why those are apparently two different things.
League officials insist the distinction is important.
Nobody has yet successfully explained it.
The annual guidance includes increased attention on illegal screens, offensive push-offs, flopping, landing space and several other actions fans previously believed were simply covered by the existing concept of “fouls.”
“Points of Emphasis are things we’re emphasizing,” one fictional league official explained. “Areas of Focus are things we’re focusing on.”
Reporters thanked him for clearing that up.
Teams have already begun reviewing film and preparing players for the annual October tradition of discovering that several things they have been doing for years are suddenly illegal.
Officials stressed that the new guidance is designed to improve consistency.
Players reportedly asked whether consistency itself would be an Area of Focus or merely a Point of Emphasis.
The league declined to specify.
For now, everyone has been instructed to read the materials carefully.
A separate document explaining the difference between the two documents is expected shortly.
