''I think it's a huge mistake,'' Miami Coach Pat Riley said last week.
''There's not going to be anybody able to drive. With these rules, you're going to be back in the 70's in scoring. You can't force pace.''
''It sounds very bold, and it is,'' acknowledged Jerry Colangelo, the Phoenix Suns owner and chairman of the committee that submitted the recommendation two weeks ago. ''But at this point, it's better than a tweak. The fact is, we don't have any fluidity in our game right now. There is less ball movement and less player movement than there's ever been.''
Most opponents of the rule changes agree with Colangelo that the game has become too stagnant and that the choreography of teamwork has all but disappeared from many arenas. But they don't feel such a dramatic change will suddenly turn the game into the free-flowing style that will raise television ratings and increase fan interest.
''It would change the sport,'' said Tomjanovich, one of the most vocal opponents of the zone defense. ''We should create a situation where great players get a chance to excel. Zones neutralize great athletic ability. People want to see guys who can soar to the basket.''
Calling the committee's proposed changes a ''knee-jerk reaction to complaints about the pace of the game,'' Riley added:
''Fans like to see Vince Carter play one on one outside. That stuff is going to be history. Isolation basketball has been part of the game ever since I've been in it.''
Other coaches like George Karl and Phil Jackson -- weary of the increased focus on defense and the plodding halfcourt sets that have led to the game's stagnation -- are fine with the changes.
''I'm totally O.K. with the zone,'' Jackson said. ''It's going to hurt Shaq, but it's still part of what the game has to be.''
Of more than two dozen players interviewed, an overwhelming number were against zone defenses.
''It will mess the game up,'' Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire said. ''I'm not a big advocate of zone defense. That's the reason why players leave college. You're going to put a box-and-one on Vince Carter? Fans are paying money to see these games. You can't just take away what has essentially made the N.B.A. what it is: one-on-one basketball.''