Why don't we see a lot of 50 pt hames in the playoffs or 30 ppg seasons anymore

[juju151111]

I haven't seen one in a while or did Mj spoil us into thinking 30 ppg was routine.

[AirTupac]

No more prime Kobe / Wade :(

[Fudge]

Don't worry. We thankfully have Kevin Durant.

[kennethgriffin]

Isolation ball is dead

Midrange ball is dead

Post up game is dead



Its a 3pt passing game now


Only way teams can do that is if theres ball movement...


There wont be another kobe/jordan for a long time


Durant is the only guy who can still average 30+ playing the new way cause his range is unlimited and he can just shoot over everyone at 7 feet

[ralph_i_el]

Because team basketball is the norm. Depending on one guy to score 30+ every game is not going to win you a ring anymore. Durant is really the only guy that is efficient enough to score 30+ ppg consistently without overshooting.

[Lebronxrings]

Because team basketball is the norm. Depending on one guy to score 30+ every game is not going to win you a ring anymore. Durant is really the only guy that is efficient enough to score 30+ ppg consistently without overshooting.
so did lebron die or something. Durant is a good scorer, lebron is the best player in the world...

[zeerghit]

Isolation ball is dead

Midrange ball is dead

Post up game is dead



Its a 3pt passing game now


Only way teams can do that is if theres ball movement...


There wont be another kobe/jordan for a long time


Durant is the only guy who can still average 30+ playing the new way cause his range is unlimited and he can just shoot over everyone at 7 feet

i agree kobe/jordan peak
now:
durant, westbrook,davis,lebron, maybe even lillard in this situation is capable to avg 30+ pgg

[Lebron23]

Team Ball is now the current trend in the NBA.

[ralph_i_el]

so did lebron die or something. Durant is a good scorer, lebron is the best player in the world...
:confusedshrug: Durant is a better scorer. Bron is at his best getting the entire team involved

[DonDadda59]

Because Kevin Durant was injured last season. The season before he won the scoring title averaging 32 PPG.

And all the players capable of doing that are either retired or on their way out. We're witnessing the most talent deficient era in the NBA since the early 70s.

[juju151111]

Team Ball is now the current trend in the NBA.
Bulls averaged 20+ asts

[Mr. Jabbar]

to put it simple: cause collusion.

players capable of those numbers are teaming up with other players capable of those numbers

[DonDadda59]

Bulls averaged 20+ asts

Not just the Bulls, the league as a whole averaged more APG on similar paces:

'94-'95
Pace: 92.9
APG: 23.4

'14-'15
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

There just aren't many guys around who can do it. Simple as that. Put Bean in the fountain of youth and make him 26 again and he averages 30 PPG in his sleep.

[oarabbus]

Where Have All The Gunners Gone?

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/53534/where-have-all-the-gunners-gone

[juju151111]

Because Kevin Durant was injured last season. The season before he won the scoring title averaging 32 PPG.

And all the players capable of doing that are either retired or on their way out. We're witnessing the most talent deficient era in the NBA since the early 70s.
True and the 90s made it seem like everyone was doing ut but it was only mj and 1 season for karl

[Cold soul]

Isolation ball is dead

Midrange ball is dead

Post up game is dead



Its a 3pt passing game now


Only way teams can do that is if theres ball movement...


There wont be another kobe/jordan for a long time


Durant is the only guy who can still average 30+ playing the new way cause his range is unlimited and he can just shoot over everyone at 7 feet

That's one post I actually agree with.

[juju151111]

Not just the Bulls, the league as a whole averaged more APG on similar paces:

'94-'95
Pace: 92.9
APG: 23.4

'14-'15
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

There just aren't many guys around who can do it. Simple as that. Put Bean in the fountain of youth and make him 26 again and he averages 30 PPG in his sleep.
Agreed also

It still happens. You still see 30 ppg players. They aren't as frequent, granted, but they still happen. Wade, Lebron and Durant all have at least one 30 ppg season in their careers. Kobe is just finishing a career where he did that several times. In the 3pt era, there have been 32 player-seasons of 30+ ppg.*

Only 32. And that's across 14 players.

Nique 2x
Wade
McGrady
Moses Malone
Karl Malone
Bernard King
Jordan 8x (and 7 in a row)
Lebron 2x
Iverson 4x
Gervin 2x
World B Free
Durant 2x
Dantley 3x
Kobe 3x


The most recent of these was 13-14, when last Durant achieved the feat. It happens, but we've been averaging less than one of these per year over the past 35 seasons. It's far less common when guys aren't playing 40+ mpg regularly. You have to be really good (like most of these guys), or shoot a LOT while playing a lot of minutes (like most of them from AI and Nique; obviously, you still need talent to some given extent). Stackhouse came pretty close and the number of guys who've neared this arbitrary marker is higher. You add in like 28+ from Ewing, 3 or 4 seasons from Shaq, a D-Rob season, Bird, and on and on and on.*


What we're really experiencing here is the continued effect of Jordan Withdrawl. He did it for 7 years straight, and really, 8 full seasons in a row. We grew accustomed to seeing that, since it was associated with winning and dominance. But realistically, that scoring rate isn't really that common. If you look at a lot of older stars, you'll find their PER36 rates are quite a bit lower than their per-game scoring averages in many cases. Oscar loses like 4, 5 ppg off of his prime averages for this very reason, because wicked-high minutes were way common into the early 70s.*

Jordan scored 63 in the main because the Bulls were dreadfully bad and no one else was going to do anything to help.*

Sidebar, since 99-00, there have been 8 games of 50+ points scored in the playoffs.*

3 from Iverson, and 1 each from Ray Allen, Dirk, Kobe, Vince and Karl Malone (yeah, I know, right? he was 36).*

89-90 to 98-99, there were 5 of them: 1 from Barkley and 4 from Jordan.*

79-80 to 88-89, there were 6 of them. 1 each from Nique and Sleepy Floyd, and 4 from Jordan.*

See where I'm going with this?

MJ is the reason we think about this stuff and why there is any discussion of this era-related crap, as if it has much at all to do with the way the game is played now as opposed to one particular player dominating the league in a particular fashion.*

Over the last 35 seasons, there have been 19 games where someone scored 50+ points in a playoff performance. Eight of them were by Jordan, and nobody else but Iverson has more than one. You'll notice a reasonably similar trend in terms of 30+ ppg seasons. No one else has more than 4, and the guys who have 3 and 4 mostly did it on fairly limp squads that needed major bootstrapping on offense. A couple of the current mega-stars have done it once or twice, but as their team quality improves, the need for that kind of scoring outburst over the length of a whole season is required less and less desirable for team offensive efficacy (unipolar offenses are way predictable and simpler to defend).*

Single-game outbursts?*

We've had 79 player-games of a guy going off for 50+ in the regular season going back to 04-05. That's about 7.2 per year.*

Here

I don't feel like listing them all out, but the usual culprits are there. That's a decade's worth of games. I will list the number per year, though (note, by calendar year, not necessarily by season, cuz I'm lazy):

Spoiler:*

04: 3
05: 9*
06: 15
07: 12
08: 7
09: 10
10: 1
11: 2
12: 3 (lockout year)
13: 3
14: 6
15: 8



You can pretty clearly see the rules change, but also that 14 and 15 have stabilized back in the general area of 6, 7, 8 of these games per season. Not a ton of difference compared to any time in the past 3.5 decades.*


99-00 through 03-04, there were 31, or about 6 per year.

89-90 - 98-99: 49 (13 of them were Jordan), about 4.9 per year.*

79-80 - 88-89: 60 (17 of them were Jordan), or 6 per year.*



Can we be done with this "we have less isolation/individual scoring because of the new era" stuff now, please? IT's inaccurate, and roughly as inaccurate as all of this dreadfully incorrect "the post is dead!" junk that we see every bloody season.*

There is such a thing as year-to-year variance; the talent cycle exists. Team roster context affects whether or not the top-end talents of the league are gunning like wild or they are playing in a more balanced team context (like when Wade and Lebron were on the same team, and with Durant and Westbrook playing alongside one another when they are each healthy).*

Things to consider, folks.

[DonDadda59]

True and the 90s made it seem like everyone was doing ut but it was only mj and 1 season for karl

Yup. Only 2 players hit 30 PPG in the 90s- Jordan and Malone, Karl only did it once. From 2000-2010, 6 different guys reached the 30 PPG plateau. Since 2006 Kobe, Iverson, Wade, LeBron, Durant have all hit 30 PPG.

So the 90s had less 30 PPG scoring and more APG on lower-similar paces.

Go figure.

[DonDadda59]

Agreed also

It still happens. You still see 30 ppg players. They aren't as frequent, granted, but they still happen. Wade, Lebron and Durant all have at least one 30 ppg season in their careers. Kobe is just finishing a career where he did that several times. In the 3pt era, there have been 32 player-seasons of 30+ ppg.*

Only 32. And that's across 14 players.

Nique 2x
Wade
McGrady
Moses Malone
Karl Malone
Bernard King
Jordan 8x (and 7 in a row)
Lebron 2x
Iverson 4x
Gervin 2x
World B Free
Durant 2x
Dantley 3x
Kobe 3x


The most recent of these was 13-14, when last Durant achieved the feat. It happens, but we've been averaging less than one of these per year over the past 35 seasons. It's far less common when guys aren't playing 40+ mpg regularly. You have to be really good (like most of these guys), or shoot a LOT while playing a lot of minutes (like most of them from AI and Nique; obviously, you still need talent to some given extent). Stackhouse came pretty close and the number of guys who've neared this arbitrary marker is higher. You add in like 28+ from Ewing, 3 or 4 seasons from Shaq, a D-Rob season, Bird, and on and on and on.*


What we're really experiencing here is the continued effect of Jordan Withdrawl. He did it for 7 years straight, and really, 8 full seasons in a row. We grew accustomed to seeing that, since it was associated with winning and dominance. But realistically, that scoring rate isn't really that common. If you look at a lot of older stars, you'll find their PER36 rates are quite a bit lower than their per-game scoring averages in many cases. Oscar loses like 4, 5 ppg off of his prime averages for this very reason, because wicked-high minutes were way common into the early 70s.*

Jordan scored 63 in the main because the Bulls were dreadfully bad and no one else was going to do anything to help.*

Sidebar, since 99-00, there have been 8 games of 50+ points scored in the playoffs.*

3 from Iverson, and 1 each from Ray Allen, Dirk, Kobe, Vince and Karl Malone (yeah, I know, right? he was 36).*

89-90 to 98-99, there were 5 of them: 1 from Barkley and 4 from Jordan.*

79-80 to 88-89, there were 6 of them. 1 each from Nique and Sleepy Floyd, and 4 from Jordan.*

See where I'm going with this?

MJ is the reason we think about this stuff and why there is any discussion of this era-related crap, as if it has much at all to do with the way the game is played now as opposed to one particular player dominating the league in a particular fashion.*

Over the last 35 seasons, there have been 19 games where someone scored 50+ points in a playoff performance. Eight of them were by Jordan, and nobody else but Iverson has more than one. You'll notice a reasonably similar trend in terms of 30+ ppg seasons. No one else has more than 4, and the guys who have 3 and 4 mostly did it on fairly limp squads that needed major bootstrapping on offense. A couple of the current mega-stars have done it once or twice, but as their team quality improves, the need for that kind of scoring outburst over the length of a whole season is required less and less desirable for team offensive efficacy (unipolar offenses are way predictable and simpler to defend).*

Single-game outbursts?*

We've had 79 player-games of a guy going off for 50+ in the regular season going back to 04-05. That's about 7.2 per year.*

Here

I don't feel like listing them all out, but the usual culprits are there. That's a decade's worth of games. I will list the number per year, though (note, by calendar year, not necessarily by season, cuz I'm lazy):

Spoiler:*

04: 3
05: 9*
06: 15
07: 12
08: 7
09: 10
10: 1
11: 2
12: 3 (lockout year)
13: 3
14: 6
15: 8



You can pretty clearly see the rules change, but also that 14 and 15 have stabilized back in the general area of 6, 7, 8 of these games per season. Not a ton of difference compared to any time in the past 3.5 decades.*


99-00 through 03-04, there were 31, or about 6 per year.

89-90 - 98-99: 49 (13 of them were Jordan), about 4.9 per year.*

79-80 - 88-89: 60 (17 of them were Jordan), or 6 per year.*



Can we be done with this "we have less isolation/individual scoring because of the new era" stuff now, please? IT's inaccurate, and roughly as inaccurate as all of this dreadfully incorrect "the post is dead!" junk that we see every bloody season.*

There is such a thing as year-to-year variance; the talent cycle exists. Team roster context affects whether or not the top-end talents of the league are gunning like wild or they are playing in a more balanced team context (like when Wade and Lebron were on the same team, and with Durant and Westbrook playing alongside one another when they are each healthy).*

Things to consider, folks.

Dat beautiful basketball research. :bowdown:

http://replygif.net/i/933.gif

[sd3035]

Durant can do it

[Fallen Angel]

The last player to lead the league in scoring averaging >30 PPG while making the NBA Finals is Michael Jordan in 1996, 1993, 1992, and 1991. The last player before him was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971.

[GrapeApe]

Because team basketball is the norm. Depending on one guy to score 30+ every game is not going to win you a ring anymore. Durant is really the only guy that is efficient enough to score 30+ ppg consistently without overshooting.

This is basically the answer. The NBA will always be star driven, but there's been a shift away from the iso and hero ball that characterized the league for many years. Shot attempts are more evenly distributed there's a greater overall emphasis on scoring efficiency. As mentioned above, very few players are capable of efficiently scoring 30 ppg.

[juju151111]

The last player to lead the league in scoring averaging >30 PPG while making the NBA Finals is Michael Jordan in 1996, 1993, 1992, and 1991. The last player before him was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971.
Exactly people keep thinking that what Mj did was the norm. It wasn't, winning a chip while averging 30 ppg is not the norm.

[Dro]

so did lebron die or something. Durant is a good scorer, lebron is the best player in the world...
Lebron is not the scorer that Durant is.......

*in before someone posts stats*...

[Kvnzhangyay]

Not just the Bulls, the league as a whole averaged more APG on similar paces:

'94-'95
Pace: 92.9
APG: 23.4

'14-'15
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

There just aren't many guys around who can do it. Simple as that. Put Bean in the fountain of youth and make him 26 again and he averages 30 PPG in his sleep.

There's less assists because 3 point shots have less accuracy so less shots are made (those that count as an assists) to generate same amount of points. Simple as that

[DonDadda59]

There's less assists because 3 point shots have less accuracy so less shots are made (those that count as an assists) to generate same amount of points. Simple as that

'96-'97
PPG: 96.9
FGM: 36.1
FG: 45.5%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 90.1
APG: 22

'13-'14
PPG: 101
FGM: 37.7
FG: 45.4%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

Keep reaching doe. :applause:

[Young X]

All the top scorers are on good teams that don't need high volume shooting.

Look at the top volume scorers today:

Durant - Thunder (only averaged 32 because Westbrook missed like half the season)

Harden - Rockets

Bron - Heat/Cavs

Curry - Warriors

Westbrook - Thunder

^ All on good teams. If you put someone like Harden on a team like the Nuggets or Magic you'd see him either crack or get close to 30.

Compare this to the early '00's when T-Mac and AI were on offensively depressed teams and you see the difference.

[AirFederer]

to put it simple: cause collusion.

players capable of those numbers are teaming up with other players capable of those numbers

Bron, Wade
Kobe, Dwight

Correct?

[ralph_i_el]

'96-'97
PPG: 96.9
FGM: 36.1
FG: 45.5%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 90.1
APG: 22

'13-'14
PPG: 101
FGM: 37.7
FG: 45.4%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

Keep reaching doe. :applause:

96-97 had a short 3 point line

[DonDadda59]

96-97 had a short 3 point line

And...

[f0und]

because teams have figured out that if you cant score 30+ppg without being a low % selfish chucker, then dont try.

jordan is a rare exception in many things and this is one of them.

[Rocketswin2013]

All the top scorers are on good teams that don't need high volume shooting.

Look at the top volume scorers today:

Durant - Thunder (only averaged 32 because Westbrook missed like half the season)

Harden - Rockets

Bron - Heat/Cavs

Curry - Warriors

Westbrook - Thunder

^ All on good teams. If you put someone like Harden on a team like the Nuggets or Magic you'd see him either crack or get close to 30.

Compare this to the early '00's when T-Mac and AI were on offensively depressed teams and you see the difference.
I could see Curry getting around 30 PPG on an average team with higher minutes(around 38 per game). Westbrook was at 28 PPG on 34 minutes...

[ralph_i_el]

And...

Teams attempt way more 3's today, at the same fg%, from a longer line.

Teams shooting more 3's= teams searching from open J's.

Shooting more 3's correlates with teams that spread their shot attempts around.

[DonDadda59]

Teams attempt way more 3's today, at the same fg%, from a longer line.

Teams shooting more 3's= teams searching from open J's.

Shooting more 3's correlates with teams that spread their shot attempts around.

No it doesn't :roll:

The Rockets set the record for most 3s made/attempted this season. You know who had the record before that?

The Knicks. Carmelo, JR Smith... yup, those Knicks.

More 3s correlates only with more guys chucking 3s.

The Spurs in 2014 took about about 900 less 3s than the Rockets would a year later. They were ranked 16th in 3s attempted/gm. But they were #1 in APG and universally considered a great passing team.

[sdot_thadon]

'96-'97
PPG: 96.9
FGM: 36.1
FG: 45.5%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 90.1
APG: 22

'13-'14
PPG: 101
FGM: 37.7
FG: 45.4%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

Keep reaching doe. :applause:
My nikka, did you really post the short line stats? I get what you seek to prove but the guy has a point. It may not be the end all look on it, but it makes perfect sense.

[DonDadda59]

My nikka, did you really post the short line stats?

I also posted no touching on the perimeter stats too. :confusedshrug:

[Foster5k]

All the top scorers are on good teams that don't need high volume shooting.

Look at the top volume scorers today:

Durant - Thunder (only averaged 32 because Westbrook missed like half the season)

Harden - Rockets

Bron - Heat/Cavs

Curry - Warriors

Westbrook - Thunder

^ All on good teams. If you put someone like Harden on a team like the Nuggets or Magic you'd see him either crack or get close to 30.

Compare this to the early '00's when T-Mac and AI were on offensively depressed teams and you see the difference.
Melo on the Knicks tho.

[Young X]

Melo on the Knicks tho.Peaked around 29 PPG. Shot attempt wise he got up about 22 a game which is Jordan/Kobe level. If he had been a little bit more efficient he'd have averaged 30.

[Angel Face]

Because no one can, except Kevin Durant who was injured last season. :roll: @ more team ball being played today compared to the past. The answer is simply no...

in 1992 - 1993 NBA season alone, the Bulls averaged 26.0 Assist per game yet MJ still managed to do his usual 30ppg season, 32.6ppg to be exact.

Top 5 team assists per game 1992 - 1993 season

1. Cleveland Cavaliers - 28.6
2. Los Angeles Clippers - 27.3
3. Utah Jazz - 26.5
4. Charlotte Hornets - 26.4
5. Indiana Pacers - 26.1
* Chicago Bulls - 26.0

comparing this to...

Top 5 team assists per games 2014 - 2015 season

1. Golden State Warriors - 27.4
2. Atlanta Hawks - 25.7
3. Los Angeles Clippers - 24.8
4. Boston Celtics - 24.5
5. San Antonio Spurs - 24.4
*Washington Wizards - 24.0

It's only a myth that there's less team ball played in the past era. In fact during the 80s and 90s you will see a lot of ball movement better than the drive and kicks that we're watching today. Also, there's no other player besides Kevin Durant can crack the 30ppg barrier. The current league is lacking elite scorers comparable to the past era.

[Indian guy]

Anymore? Since when exactly was either happening frequently? From 1990-1999, we only had 5 50 point games in the playoffs, with MJ having 4 of them. From 2000-2009, we had 8. 0 so far from 2010-2015, which makes sense since the best scorers have pretty much all been on great teams for a while now. As far as 30 ppg goes, it only happened 6 times in the 90's (MJ with 5 of them). 11 times in the 00's. 2 times in the 10's.

30 ppg and 50 point playoffs games are very, very rare and always have been.

[Kvnzhangyay]

'96-'97
PPG: 96.9
FGM: 36.1
FG: 45.5%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 90.1
APG: 22

'13-'14
PPG: 101
FGM: 37.7
FG: 45.4%
3P FG: 36%
Pace: 93.9
APG: 22

Keep reaching doe. :applause:

You proved my point....

Because there's more 3point field goals being attempted, the overall shooting % will be down, meaning that it takes more passes to get an assist. As such, this proves that there is more passing going around, in order to average the same amount of APG despite more reliance on 3 point field goal attempts

[sdot_thadon]

I also posted no touching on the perimeter stats too. :confusedshrug:
That thing you just did in the post, there's a name for it that escapes me atm.
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4644635/dhalsim.jpg
Unless you're going to sit here and tell me in the 90's the shot 3s with forearms in their backs too.......

[bobopenguin]

bran tried during playoff, but failed. not everyone's kobe.

i am a big bran stan.

[sdot_thadon]

I'd have figured someone would mention fga by now. I think another aspect is the culture of the game has changed as well. Stars don't routinely shoot 25 times a game in the modern game. I don't think it could even be done without the right situation otherwise they'd face heavy criticism. It will take for someone to come along with the proper skillset to do it in this era. Durant is the only one I've seen who can do it effortlessly it seems. But even he has to shoot and make a bunch of ft to do it with such low fga numbers.

[DonDadda59]

That thing you just did in the post, there's a name for it that escapes me atm.
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4644635/dhalsim.jpg
Unless you're going to sit here and tell me in the 90's the shot 3s with forearms in their backs too.......

Nah bruh, that's why they DIDN'T start taking 15+ 3s until the NBA started the process of removing hand-checking.

This:

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/CQqc9x.gif

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/3-27-2015/d7ZkI6.gif

Vs

This:

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/Vbg-am.gif

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/4-Zuby.gif

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/_EMbS6.gif

Not hard to figure out why 3 attempts and %s skyrocketed after hand-checking was eliminated. But maybe I'm giving people way too much credit. :confusedshrug:

[bluechox2]

3 words : super best friends

[HighFlyer23]

Because Kevin Durant was injured last season. The season before he won the scoring title averaging 32 PPG.

And all the players capable of doing that are either retired or on their way out. We're witnessing the most talent deficient era in the NBA since the early 70s.

Gonna have to agree with this

Overall athleticism is still good and the league is still competitive, but star power ends when Lebron and Durant

These new n1ggas aint filling the void

[sdot_thadon]

Nah bruh, that's why they DIDN'T start taking 15+ 3s until the NBA started the process of removing hand-checking.

This:

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/CQqc9x.gif

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/3-27-2015/d7ZkI6.gif

Vs

This:

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/Vbg-am.gif

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/4-Zuby.gif

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-08-2015/_EMbS6.gif

Not hard to figure out why 3 attempts and %s skyrocketed after hand-checking was eliminated. But maybe I'm giving people way too much credit. :confusedshrug:

Coolest thing about all that is, none of that shit is actually footage of what a 3 point attempt looks like in the 90's bro. They shot them, it just wasn't as popular a strategy as it is today. I mean I could counter and show you gifs of MJ's 6 3s IN THE FINALS with Noone within 5 feet of him, but what would that prove?

[warriorfan]

Coolest thing about all that is, none of that shit is actually footage of what a 3 point attempt looks like in the 90's bro. They shot them, it just wasn't as popular a strategy as it is today. I mean I could counter and show you gifs of MJ's 6 3s IN THE FINALS with Noone within 5 feet of him, but what would that prove?

That James Harden 3 pointer would of never happened in the 90's. The defender was forced to sag way off Harden because if he tried to get on him he would of gotten torched without being allowed to handcheck. In the 90's you can get up in his face and put your hands on the guy. There is gonna be no Harden-Ball bullshit where he flops into you on purpose and gets 2 free throws. There will be no wide open 3 pointer.

[DonDadda59]

Coolest thing about all that is, none of that shit is actually footage of what a 3 point attempt looks like in the 90's bro. They shot them, it just wasn't as popular a strategy as it is today. I mean I could counter and show you gifs of MJ's 6 3s IN THE FINALS with Noone within 5 feet of him, but what would that prove?

:lol

In '94-'95 the NBA eliminated full court handchecking (still remained in the half court from the foul line in) as well as shortening the 3-point line. Like magic, NBA teams went from attempting 10 to 15 3s per game (the largest season to season change). From '98-'05, with the line moved back and half court hand-checking allowed, the league shot in the 34.6-35.4 range from 3. Once hand-checking was removed entirely from the game, those %s went up immediately to the 35.6-36.8 range.

*I eliminated lockout seasons because they produce anomalies*

Amazing that given more space and freedom on offense, guys mysteriously and immediately started taking more 3s while shooting them at a higher %.

Probably just a coincidence though.

[GIF REACTION]

As soon as I explained the issue to Thorpe, he declared "I know exactly what's going on."

The defense.

Thorpe explains it best in the video, but the gist is this: In recent years more and more NBA coaches have signed up for the defensive philosophy, popularized by Tom Thibodeau since 2007-08, of "flooding ball-side box."

This is not the same as double-teaming, but it has some similarities. When the ball is on one side of the court, watch for this: Very often an extra defender sneaks over to join the action, bringing a crowd of defenders closer to the ball. It's something that became legal when the NBA began allowing zone defenses in 2001, but it took until 2008 for coaches to really figure out how to take best advantage.

That's when the big-time gunners started to disappear.

Flooding the side of the court with the ball makes everything tougher for that star scorer, starting when he makes the catch and assesses options. Driving lanes are tighter or closed off entirely. More defenders have more ability to get hands in faces. It's difficult to reach favored spots on the court, and to operate once there. These are the times that try virtuoso's souls.

And when there's an extra defender on one side of the court, the good play is pretty obvious: pass to the other side, where your team has the numbers advantage.

If Thorpe is right, that this team defensive technique is to blame for our new shortage of big scorers, there are various ways you might expect the data to have his back. For instance, secondary scorers -- those guys catching the ball on the sparsely defended weak side -- ought to be scoring more, while top players could expect to see an uptick in assists.

That's all happening. Stars putting up big numbers are incredibly hard to find this season compared to five years ago, but overall team scoring is down only about two points per game -- the non-star scorers must be picking up a little slack.

And as for assists, in 1985-86, the 10 players who played the longest minutes in the season's first 36 games combined for 1,308 assists. Five years ago, that number was 1,482. This year it's all the way up to 1,768.

ESPN Expert Professional NBA writer Henry Abbott wrote a whole ****ing article on this topic, which was posted earlier in this thread. Who are you going to believe, a bunch of Jordan fanboys who grew up jacking off to Jordan VHS tapes... Or one of the premier NBA writers on the planet, who talks to players, coaches, scouts, other analysts, people in the KNOW of the NBA.

It's a pretty simple decision. Sorry don. Sorry 3ball. But there's a reason why guys like Henry Abbott and Zach Lowe are earning the big bucks writing about the NBA, while you guys and Bruce blitz are reserved to youtube channels and message boards. Truth hurts.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Anymore? Since when exactly was either happening frequently? From 1990-1999, we only had 5 50 point games in the playoffs, with MJ having 4 of them. From 2000-2009, we had 8. 0 so far from 2010-2015, which makes sense since the best scorers have pretty much all been on great teams for a while now. As far as 30 ppg goes, it only happened 6 times in the 90's (MJ with 5 of them). 11 times in the 00's. 2 times in the 10's.

30 ppg and 50 point playoffs games are very, very rare and always have been.

This.

[ralph_i_el]

No it doesn't :roll:

The Rockets set the record for most 3s made/attempted this season. You know who had the record before that?

The Knicks. Carmelo, JR Smith... yup, those Knicks.

More 3s correlates only with more guys chucking 3s.

The Spurs in 2014 took about about 900 less 3s than the Rockets would a year later. They were ranked 16th in 3s attempted/gm. But they were #1 in APG and universally considered a great passing team.

That team started Jason Kidd. Without him ball movement fell off. They were a good team that year specifically because chuckers like Melo actually bought in to ball movement.

Also, I said correlates. You can always find an example that bucks a trend. The Heat and Spurs of the past few season shot a lot of (open) 3's and did so by moving the ball. Last years Warriors....obviously did the same.

The Rockets basically mandated that their players take 3's instead of mid range shots. That's not how must teams are getting their 3's.

[ralph_i_el]

ESPN Expert Professional NBA writer Henry Abbott wrote a whole ****ing article on this topic, which was posted earlier in this thread. Who are you going to believe, a bunch of Jordan fanboys who grew up jacking off to Jordan VHS tapes... Or one of the premier NBA writers on the planet, who talks to players, coaches, scouts, other analysts, people in the KNOW of the NBA.

It's a pretty simple decision. Sorry don. Sorry 3ball. But there's a reason why guys like Henry Abbott and Zach Lowe are earning the big bucks writing about the NBA, while you guys and Bruce blitz are reserved to youtube channels and message boards. Truth hurts.

Everybody has seen the Lowe article from a few years back. Some folks will never accept it.