It’s been a big month now since the NBA turned the engine back on. A month that we are able to draw up a first assessment of the consequences of the new rules in the game. Barbed wire, old percentages and a good leap back in the nineties, we draw more good for the moment. what a failure. We debrief.
No, just because the players are afraid of being picked up by Isaiah Stewart under the hoop doesn’t mean they don’t score anymore. Since this summer, the referees no longer have the same whistle instructions and kick out the little troublemakers who, last year, were still making their mark on fake shooting. From 8.7 shots attempted last season, Trae Young only shoots 5.7 at the start of the year. The effect is the same for Damian Lillard who went from 7.2 to 4.1. Obviously, it’s a whole part of the game of these boys that has disappeared. The stats of the Portland big boss in 2020-21? 28.8 points and 7.5 assists at 45% shooting including 39% at 3-points. Dame’s stats this season? 21.6 points and 8.1 assists at 39% shooting including 29% from the parking lot. A whistle effect that restored confidence to the defenders, previously afraid to play the shot thoroughly. It was therefore felt on the general scoring! It is no longer rare to close shop on a score in the 90-85, made of large blocks well clutched in the money time (poke Anthony Davis), and it’s downright fun. The matches are generally more pleasant to watch and less choppy, and some players directly concerned by the origin of the new rules, get used to it. We think of James Harden who, even if he is still looking for his cruising speed, gradually decides his percentages and obtains almost as many free throws as in the previous season (6.8 against 7.3). We are going forward.
Evan Fournier is the first victim of the new Trae Young rule pic.twitter.com/wvnE2cPo6U
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 20, 2021
This season, the best defense is that of the Warriors who limit their opponents on average to… 100 points (best defense since the Spurs in 2015-16). Last year, the Lakers were the No. 1 bulwark of the League with 107 points conceded per game, a significant difference which, although the Dubs play perfectly together, reveals an uninhibited character of the defenses. Is it positive? It depends on individual judgment, maybe some prefer spectacular games that end at 130-130 and go into overtime. Sad irony, the Garden loves these padlocked atmospheres but has been the first to suffer since the beginning of November. The outside line Kemba Walker – RJ Barrett – Evan Fournier is not in his plate and if Julius Randle responds more present, the Knicks will have to recover their snipers who have been swinging the cobblestones for three weeks now. This is in total agreement with the ranking of the best attacks in the League this season. The Jazz leads the dance with 114.5 points slammed, which last season, would have only given them ninth place in the table. The Warriors, second with 112.9 points per game, would have been only twelfth in the 2020-21 fiscal year. Further proof that the League, in his personal esteem, had reached a point of no return.
From one extreme to another, the NBA wanted to put in place what for a very long time, had been asked of it. It does a lot of good for the intensity of the regular season games, having pleasantly gained in roughness.
