NBA stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards are among the players who are posting incredible statistics game after game this season. With NBA offensive stats continuing their upward surge this year, why are the top players now dominating more than ever before?
The Importance of Three Pointers
Even the best players from past eras tended to have relatively low three-pointer totals. Shaquille O’Neal famously scored just a single three-pointer in his career. Michael Jordan scored hundreds of threes, but he also pointed out in interviews the danger of being over-reliant on this scoring method. Modern basketball tactics put far more emphasis on this aspect, leading to players like Stephen Curry and Donovan Mitchell regularly racking up several three-pointers in each game.
In fact, the leading teams like the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics are currently hitting more than 40 threes in most games. This shift in approach has led to teams scoring far more points than had been the case historically. The top players who can score consistently from distance are now claiming a higher percentage of the overall points totals too.
This has also led to an explosion of interest in daily fantasy sports, as fans look to select their own rosters based on who is probably going to score lots of points regularly. The Chalkboard sign-up details listed by Saturday Down South reveal how new players get two bonuses when they start playing. This site covers a variety of sports, with a simple design and good social features that allow you to join the community while deciding which stars to pick for your team.
As well as highly–skilled players who feel confident throwing the ball from far out, this change in strategy has also led to a faster pace of play, with teams more spread out across the court. This has led to the situation where about a third of the franchises in the NBA now score at least 120 points in each game, with plenty of players reaching 40 points, as detailed by the Olympics site.
The Case for the Defense
If teams are scoring more points than ever before, does that also mean that defenses are now poorer? Well, NBA defenses now find life more difficult because it’s almost impossible to stop the best players scoring spectacular three-pointers from distance.
Their task has been made more complicated by the latest rule changes. This look by HoopHype at how defenses have changed over the years shows how tactics and rules have led to it being far more difficult to stop their opponents from scoring, even though the defensive players are arguably even more athletic than in the past. The rules are also stricter on defensive foul play, with shooters being more heavily protected.
This all adds up to create free-scoring games where the action comes thick and fast. The best NBA players are scoring points at a historically record rate, but don’t be surprised to see new tactics and possibly even rule changes designed to strengthen the defensive side of the sport.
