A lot of talk about scoring (more in a bit), but instead let’s go to the rankings . . .
#30 Phoenix Suns (2-11, -13.5, LW: 30)
#29 Atlanta Hawks (3-10, -9, LW: 27)
#28 Cleveland Cavaliers (1-11, -9.8, LW: 28)
We are currently wondering which is more likely to happen: The Browns winning 10 games within the next two and a half years or the Cavs winning 10 games by the All-Star Break. “Smart” money is on the Browns, but “Neither” is not an impossible correct bet.
#27 Minnesota Timberwolves (5-9, -6.1, LW: 25)
#26 New York Knicks (4-10, -5.2, LW: 22)
#25 Chicago Bulls (4-10, -6.4, LW: 26)
#24 Washington Wizards (4-9, -7.5, LW: 29)
Oh, what a difference a year makes. Last season they were four games ahead of this year and things just don’t look good. They are being outscored by 8.8 per game, outrebounded by 9.2 per, and allowing teams to shoot 39.0% from three, good enough for next to last in the league. It’s been 40 years since the Wizards franchise won the title. Make that 41 years after this season.
#23 Miami Heat (5-8, -0.8, LW: 16)
Am I the only one concerned about 37-year old Dwyane Wade getting 26 minutes per game? I get that Erik Spoelstra isn’t exactly overwhelmed with options, but just, wow.
#22 Houston Rockets (5-7, -4.7, LW: 17)
#21 Orlando Magic (6-8, -4.8, LW: 24)
#20 Dallas Mavericks (5-8, -2.3, LW: 21)
#19 Detroit Pistons (6-6, -1.2, LW: 20)
#18 Brooklyn Nets (6-8, -0.9, LW: 15)
#17 Sacramento Kings (8-6, -1, LW: 12)
#16 Boston Celtics (7-6, +1.7, LW: 13)
#15 Indiana Pacers (8-6, +2.7, LW: 10)
#14 New Orleans Pelicans (7-6, +1.8, LW: 23)
#13 Memphis Grizzlies (7-5, +1.2, LW: 11)
#12 San Antonio Spurs (7-5, +1.1, LW: 9)
#11 Philadelphia 76ers (9-6, -0.2, LW: 14)
#10 Los Angeles Lakers (7-6, +0.7, LW: 18)
#9 Utah Jazz (7-6, +2.2, LW: 19)
#8 Denver Nuggets (9-4, +6.4, LW: 4)
#7 Los Angeles Clippers (8-5, +4.6, LW: 7)
#6 Charlotte Hornets (7-6, +7.4, LW: 6)
#5 Oklahoma City Thunder (8-5, +3.5, LW: 8)
#4 Golden State Warriors (11-3, +9.9, LW: 1)
#3 Toronto Raptors (12-2, +8, LW: 3)
Seriously, who saw this coming from the Great White North? They are outscoring their opponents by nearly 10 points per 100 possessions and have a two and a half game lead on the rest of the conference favorites. Not a bad debut for rookie head coach Nick Nurse.
#2 Milwaukee Bucks (10-3, +11.9, LW: 5)
#1 Portland Trail Blazers (10-3, +9.7, LW: 2)
One hot discussion topic throughout the league so far has been how the rules changes have affected the scoring. I’m actually curious to see how this all plays out. For starters teams last season averaged 86.1 shots and 106.3 points per game. This season they are averaging 86.4 shots per game and 107.3 points per game. Last season teams averaged 29 three point attempts per game, this season teams are up to 31.4 shots per game.
As for shooting percentages teams are shooting .457/.352/.761 (FG/3P/FT) this season, last season they shot .460/.362/.767. Again, not much difference. Let’s take a random season:
Shots/Gm: 88.6
PPG: 110.2
Shooting: .487/.282/.756
3-Point Attempts: 3.3
How about this one:
Shots/Gm: 81.3
PPG: 95.5
Shooting: .445/.354/.752
3-Point Attempts: 14.7
The first season is the 1985-86 season, the second is the 2001-02 season. Clearly the league does not want to go back to 2001-02, and to be honest, for the complaints about how they don’t play defense today, how about the 80’s? One tenth of the three points attempts, and seven percentage points worse, and averaged more points because why? Until the Pistons started to get going in the late part of the decade no one was playing defense.
The modern game of basketball is different from what it was 30 years ago. All the sports are. But you can’t convince me that the quality of play in the NBA is worse today than it was back then. But as I said, let’s have this season play out.