On the Clock: NBA rule could impact pregame rituals

It’s hard to imagine a hoop world minus a few pregame rituals.

Really, NBA.

The league is considering moving things along, in terms of pregame antics, and that could greatly curtail the creative instincts of the likes of LeBron James, almost the entire Thunder team and, closer to home, the lively Metta World Peace and Dwight Howard.

How do you confine genius to 90 seconds?

That’s the timeline — teams would have 1½ minutes from the end of player introductions to tipoff. If a team violates the rule, it could be hit with a delay-of-game warning, and reports say that two such warnings would result in a technical foul.

Frankly, the Clippers would have been in serious trouble in the Baron Davis days. Davis stretched the limits and almost always was last on the floor, greeting and hugging almost every player on the court like a proud host.

Man-hugs all around. All that was missing were cigars and a bottle of Cristal Brut.

So we will ask Metta what he thinks about the potential curtailment of pregame freedom. The Lakers, who were given a day off Wednesday, will practice later today before heading to Las Vegas.

Presumably, the town is more than ready for World Peace.

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