Adam Silver’s up-tempo NBA getting the scoring boost it craved

This past Wednesday’s 10-game NBA slate marked the 84th day (excluding NBA “dark nights on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) of 2018-19 regular-season play – 84 down, 84 to go (excluding the six-day ASB and the league’s yielding of the hoops stage to the NCAA on April’s first Monday).

Last season at this same point, a mere five NBA teams – GSW, Houston, Toronto, New Orleans, Cleveland – were scoring 110+ points per game, while two – Memphis, Sacramento – were posting fewer than 100 ppg for their half seasons.

For this year, SIXTY PERCENT of the league averages 110+ ppg, topped by the Bucks at 117.5 – bottom-sitting Chicago scores 100.7

Here are the per-game “vital statistics” of the average NBA team through 84 playing dates for last season and for this season:

2017-18                2018-19

39.2 – 85.3          FG          40.7 – 88.6
.460             FG%             .460
10.4 - 28.6          3FG         11.0 – 31.1 
.363             3FG%               .353
.336                3PAr              .351
16.7 – 21.9          FT          17.8 – 23.3
.766               FT%              .763
9.7 – 43.2    OReb-TReb    10.3 – 44.9
.223              OR%              .230
14.7               TO’s               14.1
.134               TO%              .125
105.5             Points             110.2
97.8            Poss/Pace         100.2


Observations: (Not much change from the 7-week point)

A squad takes about three-and-a-half more FG’s this year, two-and-a-half of them treys. Notice that the usage rate (3PAr) for three-point shots is still just about the same as the connect rate – if 3PAr would equal or exceed 3FG% for the season, that would be an NBA first.

Here’s a good one – the one-and-a-half increase in Total Rebounds is split pretty evenly between O-boards and D-boards.

Free-throw attempts have been up about one-and-a-half per team per game all season.

In a pace that is a couple of possessions faster, a team commits one fewer Turnover every other game.


Here are the per-game “vital statistics” of this season’s average NBA team by six-week segments (quarter-seasons, you could say):

Day 1 - 42                        Day 43 - 84
40.8 – 89.0            FG         40.7 – 88.3
.458              FG%              .461
11.0 – 31.3          3FG          11.0 – 31.0
.350             3FG%               .355
.353              3PAr                 .351
18.1 – 23.7           FT            17.5 – 23.0
.763               FT%                 .763
10.5 – 45.0      OReb-TReb      10.2 – 44.7
.233               OR%                 .228
14.3                TO’s                  13.9
.125                TO%                 .124
110.6              Points               110.0
100.8             Poss/Pace             99.8


Kinda strange that scoring dipped slightly while shooting got better during the second six-weeks.


Abacus Revelation for the Road

I don’t know but … this just “feels” to me like the kind of season when Pop’s team seems to come out of the West. The Spurs underwent as thorough make-over last summer as Boston did the previous year.

How’s for a C’s – Spurs Final??


image: wsj.com
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