Possessions are limited in a game, because the time is limited. There is no question about that. There is never an unlimited amount of possessions in a game of basketball. It's just simply not possible.
Because their are a limited number of possessions, keeping a player to 1-17 is more beneficial to your team than what 0-8 is. that's not to say 0-8 isn't a good job, it just means 1-17 is a better job.
Sorry but that is simply wrong. Time is limited (even though it really isn't because theoretically you can have an unlimited number of overtimes), but the possessions are not limited. I refer you back to my example with the numbers. Are you saying there is a limited amount of numbers between 1 and 3? There is an unlimited number of numbers between any 2 numbers, just like there is an unlimited number of potential possessions between any increment of time.
Possessions
are limited, dut to the time restraint. We're not talking about unlimited overtime periods, we're talking about a 48 minute game (that's the amount of time that was played in the game in question).
Anyway, back to my point. Time limits the number of possessions available. Fact. Let's take an extreme (and completely absurd) example - in a game of basketball it's simply not physically possible to have more than one possession per second (it's arguable that's even possible, but we will digress). Given a 48 minute game, that limits the number of total possessions available to 48 x 60 = 2,880 possesions in a game (completely ridiculous, but I'm using it only as an example). 2,880 becomes the limit as it is physically impossible to have anymore possessions in a 48 minute game.
We are bound but what is actually physically possible! There can't be an unlimited number of possessions, given the time constraints, as it is not physically possible.