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:
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):
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
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