Luka Doncic scored 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks, Joel Embiid cracked 70 points a few days earlier. Scoring explosions like this are becoming more and more common, but why is it really the case? We try to classify the recent fabulous achievements.
Is 60 the new 40? Within a week there were four 60 point games, whereby Luka Doncic (73) and Joel Embiid (70) even broke the 70-point barrier, something only eight other players had previously achieved. The fact that Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker each put up 62 points on the respective days (both lost with their teams) was almost lost.
To compare that. Between 2000 and 2010, there were only nine 60-point games from just five different players: Kobe Bryant (5x), Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Shaquille O’Neal and Tracy McGrady.
So a trend that we have experienced over the past six or seven years continues: scoring inflation. Does this mean that defense is no longer played or that points are worthless? It’s more a matter of perspective.
NBA: All 50-point games this season
NBA: More was only scored in the 1960s
In the 1960s, for example, a few players dominated, many of their records still stand today, especially Wilt Chamberlain’s. There would be 50 points per game, the legendary 100 point game or the first triple-double season of Oscar Robertson or, for example, Bill Russell, who collected 22.5 rebounds per game (and eleven rings in 13 years) over his career (!).
In February 1960 there were 51 boards in a single game, but as a team, the Celtics grabbed an incredible 93 rebounds at the time. That’s still an impressive 54 percent of all rebounds, but when you compare it to this season’s leader – Andre Drummond with 25 boards (Chicago as a team 48 rebounds) – it sounds a little less incredible.
So what do rebounds have to do with scoring? Well, no missed shots, no rebounds. No points without throws. And there were a lot of litters, especially in the early 1960s. Here’s a comparison to the 1960/61 season, where teams threw more than ever before.
So we’re talking about 20 attempts and 14 free throws per game, which were taken more back then. The tempo was significantly higher, but there was no three-man line at that time and with the exceptions of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Robertson, it was mainly centers who dominated the game. Nevertheless, the fact that we are currently seeing so many points is nothing new, most NBA fans simply don’t know the earlier times.
In terms of pace, we are not experiencing a season that is a great outlier. To better compare, we use the numbers from basketball-reference.com, which differ slightly from the official NBA numbers. This season, there is an average of 99.2 ball possessions per game for each team. This value is, for example, lower than 2018/19 (100) or the bubble season (100.3).
Before that, the last time 100 ball possessions were reached was in the 1988/89 season, the years in which Michael Jordan won one scoring crown after the other. In 1986/87, MJ averaged 37.1 points and didn’t take a single three-pointer per game. It wasn’t until the mid-90s that the game slowed down significantly, when isolations and post-ups became the majority of NBA offense.
NBA: Efficiency records are broken year after year
That only changed in 2004, when the NBA realized that defenses were becoming too dominant and Detroit was able to win playoff games with 69 points. Hand checking was abolished, guards were given more freedom, and the offensive rating jumped on average by over 3 points. Since then there have only been minor changes, such as several adjustments to the continuation rule, which tend to put offensive players at a disadvantage.
Since 2004, however, the average offensive rating has skyrocketed by a whopping 13 points per 100 possessions, and a new record (currently 115.8) is likely to be set this season. With 108.1 points per 100 possessions, the Memphis Grizzlies are currently at the bottom of the league; in 2003/04 this was only exceeded by the Dallas Mavericks (112.1) and Sacramento Kings (110.3), who were known as spectacular teams at the time.
Or were they the first to understand the direction in which the NBA would develop? Both teams played with lineups that included at least four shooters. Dallas relied on Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Antoine Walker, Antawn Jamison (Sixth Man) and Dirk Nowitzki, Sacramento on Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Peja Stojakoic, Chris Webber and Vlade Divac.
They were all good shooters to some degree, and they were all capable of making plays themselves – a constant in today’s offense. Along with the Phoenix Suns, these teams pioneered how a modern NBA offense works. Complete specialists have become increasingly rare, especially in the playoffs these days they are hardly playable, especially if they can’t throw.
That’s why the argument that there is less defense these days doesn’t hold water. It is obvious that 82 games in a season do not always provide the highest intensity and was no different 20 or 30 years ago. The difference from back then is that today every play can be seen worldwide. In the past, people often played games for three quarters and instead focused on the few highlight games that were then shown on national television.
NBA: The talent pool has gotten bigger
This can also distort the perspective if you say that (of course) everything used to be better (By the way, there were discussions like this in the Magic Bird years too) Rather, there are two other factors that raised the scoring to a new level. On the one hand, the focus on the three-man line and the resulting mathematical advantage, on the other hand, the much higher skill level in the association.
Nowadays everyone should dribble, throw and pass, which wasn’t always the case before. Isolations play an increasingly smaller role and are in principle only reserved for the best scorers in the league. The same applies to the long two-pointer, which is now frowned upon, but which has not died out as a stylistic device, especially in the playoffs.
International players have significantly expanded the NBA’s talent pool and also brought parts of European basketball culture with them. With Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Luka Doncic (Slovenia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), four of the best players in the world do not come from the USA, and it is possible that there will be none for the first time, plus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada). Americans made the All-NBA First Team.
And that’s not because the Americans are weak, they also still have countless superstars (just take a look at them the provisional Olympic squad), it’s simply a golden generation that last existed perhaps around 35 years ago (Bird and Magic at the end of their prime, the up-and-coming Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Charles Barkley, and, and, and …)
At the same time, it’s not like defense has been banned from the game. The Nuggets were an exception last year, so to speak, thanks to the offensive genius Jokic, but their defense was also an important factor in the crucial moments. Previous champions like the Warriors, Bucks and Lakers also defined themselves primarily by their defense. Not because they took everything away from the opponent, but because they had strategies to at least contain the offense.
NBA: A Golden Generation for Basketball
But sometimes that doesn’t help either, it’s always been that way in basketball. Everyone is welcome to watch all of Luka Doncic’s buckets against the Hawksoften it was simply impossible to defend, also because double teams against the Slovenian are often even worse due to his brilliance (here too: not only the stars, the role players have also become better).
The situation is similar with Embiid. When he sinks one mid-range throw after another, sometimes you can just take your hat off. This Spurs team simply had no resources, but who does in the regular season against Embiid, who can only be accused of a tendency to blatantly call fouls here and there.
This is at least a point to start from. It’s too easy to sell contact, it’s too difficult for today’s defenses to defend adequately. It’s possible that sooner or later the league will counteract this a bit and orient itself more towards FIBA basketball when it comes to contact, but that won’t make the cabbage fat.
Even in FIBA tournaments, the scoring has increased significantly despite better conditions for defense. We only remember the epic 113:111 semi-final of the DBB against the USA – in 40 minutes. The amount of scoring didn’t bother anyone at the time, so you should classify the recent performances accordingly and you don’t need to make fun of 70-point games (which weren’t forced).
2024-01-29 08:04:00
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