It's easy to miss. One of those things you see every day but don't notice. Jazz director of media relations Kim Turner and Starzz director of public relations Patti Balli had to look at photographs to confirm it, and when Balli asked why during a WNBA PR directors' teleconference Tuesday morning, all she got was dead air.
What happened? Well, since the Jazz last played the NBA Finals in the Delta Center June 11, the paint - the lane on the court - shrank four feet in width. Actually, it happened in eight NBA arenas shared with WNBA teams this summer.Have you noticed? Probably the only people who have are the ones who had to make the changes. And the person who decided that the key for the WNBA would be 12 feet wide instead of the 16 feet wide that the NBA court must provide.
The official WNBA explanation is so obvious it took an hour to research it in the league offices: "We wanted to stay consistent with the NCAA format," said WNBA director of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf in a statement to the Deseret News made through WNBA assistant communications director Katherine Wu Tuesday.
The NBA widened its lane years ago when players began getting taller and playing above the rim, as they say. It added the little sidecar rectangles to each side of the lane and made the men stand back a bit. The NCAA retains the 12-foot lane, and the WNBA adopted that because it has worked well in college competition, Krauskopf said.
That's one of the differences in rules between the NBA and WNBA.
Among the other major differences, the fledgling WNBA has its orange-and-white ball that is 28.5 inches in circumference, while the NBA uses an "orange" ball 29 5/8 inches in circumference. The WNBA 3-point arc is the same as the NCAA's, 19-foot-9, while the NBA's has been 22 feet but goes to 23-9 next season, with the exception of a 22-foot distance in the corners so that there's standing room for those size-18 feet.
NBA rosters require 12 active players. The WNBA allows only 10, but it gives each team a two-woman "developmental roster." Development players may practice but not dress for games or travel with the teams. They may be activated, but, barring trades, a player on the active roster must clear waivers to be put on that team's development squad to make room for the one activated..
The other big differences are in game times played and length of shot clocks (24 seconds in the NBA, 30 seconds in WNBA). The NBA plays four 12-minute quarters, while the WNBA sticks with the colleges and plays two 20-minute halves separated by a 15-minute intermission.
And, avoiding confusion, the WNBA allows zones and has no illegal-defense rule.
STARZZ IN THEIR EYES: Utah leads all WNBA teams in blocked shots, averaging 5.25 a game behind league-leader Elena Baranova (13 total, 3.25 bpg), Karen Booker (.75) and Jessie Hicks (.75) . . . Coach Denise Taylor is looking for more consistent scoring, though the Starzz are No. 2 in the WNBA in points per game (70.8) and second in assists (16.75). Opponents, however, average a league-high 77.3 points a game against Utah . . . Dena Head (7-for-7) and Deborah Carter (6-6) have yet to miss free throws.
REVUE, TOO: The Starzz open the Jazz's Rocky Mountain Revue, the NBA's premier summer league, on July 26 at 2 p.m. when they will host the Cleveland Rockers on NBC-TV, and will close the Revue hosting the Houston Comets Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. in the Delta Center.
IT'S CROWDED: Through the first 16 regular-season games, the WNBA counted total attendance of 165,898, an average of 10,369 a game (Utah's capacity is 8,915). The home opener for the New York Liberty vs. the Phoenix Mercury drew the WNBA-high of 17,780 Monday night. Both teams visit the Delta Center this week (Phoenix Thursday, New York Saturday).