The October portion of the 2018-19 NBA Schedule is now behind us. There were some incredible contests and individual performances to enjoy, but even the most-offensive-minded hoops fan would have to admit something strange is going on. Points are being scored at a nearly unprecedented rate, and one has to wonder if teams can roll at this accelerated pace for the next six months, plus the post-season. Statisticians and scoreboard operators are working up more of a sweat than players are on defense, and need ten hours of sleep after games. Welcome to The National Buckets Association.
BY THE NUMBERS
There were 110 National Basketball Association contests in October 2018. On 13 occasions already, a team has scored 120 points and lost the game. The Minnesota Timberwolves, coached by a guy with the league-wide reputation as a defensive genius, have allowed 120 points or more in five of their first ten games. Derrick Rose turned the clock back to a point even he had never reached by scoring a career-high 50 points against the Utah Jazz — a group noted for its strong defensive play — on October 31, and the Wolves needed every one of them to win the game, 128 to 125.
The champion Golden State Warriors lead the NBA in scoring in 2017-18, averaging 113.5 points per game. Through October of the 2018-19 season, 12 of the 30 NBA teams have eclipsed that scoring average in the early going, led by the Warriors at 125.0, with their guys seemingly taking turns going on scoring binges while their opponents watch, powerless to do anything about it.
And just to prove the month of October was no fluke, the Sacramento Kings got the month of November started by hanging 115 points on the Atlanta Hawks on the road — after three quarters, finishing with 146. This is the same Sacramento squad that ranked dead last in NBA scoring in 2017-18 at 98.8 points per game.
THE THREE-POINT SHOT (AGAIN)
Yes, the attempted three-point field goals have increased slightly in 2018-19 over last season, with teams jacking up an average of 31.5 per game, or about 35 percent of all field goals attempted (90.2 per game). We should have known something was afoul when Detroit Pistons’ center Andre Drummond, a throwback low-post center (and one of my few last hopes for saving this sport along with Rudy Gobert and a few others) who’d attempted only 30 three-pointers during his first six years in the league, swished one in his team’s opener against the Brooklyn Nets as this long-time basketball junkie watched in horror.
I will unabashedly root for Milwaukee’s Giannis Antentokounmpo to win the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, for it would be quite a feat without relying on the three-point shot (thankfully, he hit only one of sixteen attempts in October 2018 and is at 28 percent for his career) in today’s NBA. Of course, to watch the Bucks is to watch yet another seven-footer and former low post center, Brook Lopez, camping out in the farthest reaches of the offensive end of the court, creating room for Giannis to operate in space.
Guys like Detroit’s Blake Griffin are now operating on the perimeter, handling the ball and doing crossover dribbles and spin moves like guards, then punctuating with three-pointers. But even with all the unlikelies scoring from long-range, the shot isn’t even the main culprit for this season’s uptick in offensive output, at least to this point.
SCORING IS ENTERTAINMENT, SO WE’LL MAKE IT EASIER TO SCORE
In all major team sports with the exception of soccer, recent rule changes have been implemented to generate more scoring. and the NBA’s new emphasis on preventing defenders from impeding the movement of offensive players is just the latest version of a change making it more difficult to play defense (football has really done a number on defensive players over the years). Some of us old-timers remember when hand-checking was allowed (imagine trying to slow down guys like Tiny Archibald or Calvin Murphy without hand-checking); now with more teams spreading the floor combined with the new rules, the defense is almost totally at the mercy of the opponent having an off shooting night.
And for those of us who like to see at least some defensive resistance, the sport almost has an arcade/video game-like feel to it on some nights, and the final scores resemble those we saw in the American Basketball Association 50 years ago.
The rule change re-setting the shot clock to 12 seconds instead of 24 on offensive rebounds results in more field goal attempts as well, and probably additional three-point attempts as the ball is kicked out to a less populated area of the court.
Hopefully, the league’s hunger for more scoring doesn’t backfire during the latter portions of the regular season as veteran players assured of a spot in the post-season (or without hope of one) may see the need to rest more often as they prepare for the post-season grind.
ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE MADE BY SOME, SOMEHOW
The crafty coaches and the veteran defensive-minded players will figure out a way to defend effectively within the rules. The shrewd general managers will find players who can “defend without fouling.” The pace will slow down as the long season inches towards the All-Star Break and the tired legs take over. Right now, the offense is clearly ahead of the defense, and that is by design. The quicker pace is clearly the norm these days, but it will edge closer to sanity later in the season, even if it doesn’t get there totally.
Even some bad teams can score (especially with THESE rules), but when it’s trophy time, the good teams that figure out how to make opponents work to score will still have the greatest chance of winning.
Fortunately, even rule changes can’t touch that reality.
