Amid a record-setting offensive season across the NBA, the league’s competition committee has formally launched a review into whether it needs to implement rule changes to achieve a better balance of offense and defense, according to Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.
“It is a topic that we’re monitoring,” the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told ESPN. “We’re diving in right now to make sure that we’re on the right side of this.”
According to Basketball-Reference, NBA teams are averaging 115.4 points per game so far this season, which is the highest mark since 1969/70.
Scoring has steadily been on the rise since teams averaged just 93.4 points per game during the 2003/04 season. As Bontemps and Pelton detail, the NBA cracked down on defensive hand-checking after that season, which resulted in an immediate increase in scoring, albeit a relatively modest one compared to today’s numbers.
ESPN’s duo suggests that the recent inflation in points per game is more about teams getting smarter about how they attack defenses. The NBA record for effective field goal percentage has been broken in eight of the past nine seasons as teams focus on taking higher-percentage shot attempts.
“More high-percentage shots, which are shots at the rim and three-point shots, are going to lead to more points,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said last month. “Most everybody’s kind of got that as their theme of how they’re playing.”
According to Bontemps and Pelton, the league-wide free throw percentage is at an all-time high this season (78.3%), while turnovers per game (13.6) are the lowest they’ve been since the league began tracking that stat in 1970/71. This season’s three-point percentage (36.7%) is also tied for an NBA record.
Speaking earlier this month to Shaun Powell of NBA.com, commissioner Adam Silver disagreed with the premise that teams’ effort on defense has waned, suggesting that it has simply become more difficult than ever to slow down “the most skilled athletes on the planet.” Silver didn’t rule out the possibility that minor rule tweaks may be necessary.
“Some of that might be minor adjustments in terms of how much physicality is allowed by defensive players,” Silver said. “Even though some of the very people who are complaining about too much offense are the first in many cases to say, ‘My guy isn’t getting the calls he deserves.’ The good news is the game has never been better. These are addressable issues.”
Although the NBA is looking into the subject, the league office will be wary about introducing any changes that swing the scale too far in the other direction. Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who was a member of the Pistons team that lost a low-scoring, low-rated 2005 NBA Finals against San Antonio, suggested last month that the league would prefer a little too much scoring as opposed to not enough.
“When defense was prioritized like that, the game wasn’t as popular. It’s not fun to watch that,” Billups said. “(The 2005 Finals) changed the game. Because if you get to the pinnacle like that, and the ratings are that poor, something has to change. Well that’s what we’ve seen. And that’s why offense is so elevated. And that’s what sells tickets.”
For what it’s worth, Dumars tells ESPN that the league is simply examining the issue for the time being and isn’t on the verge of making any changes.
“It’s not to that point yet,” Dumars said. “We’re diving (into the data) right now and just a ton of film and putting together a ton of reels to be able to look at this and go, ‘OK, yeah, we do have a problem.’ But you don’t make changes like that just on an anecdotal call.”
How about reviewing how half the game is free throws now?
There are less fouls and free throws now as compared to 80s and 90s era.
Hey darkside, maybe review your info before making bogus claims.
Like Ron said below, there are less free throws than the 80s and 90s
But I know doing an ounce of research before making your claims must be too difficult for ya
How about quit trying to manipulate outcomes. This is why the game is a joke right now. 93.6 ppg in 2003 and now 20 years later rule changes are producing 115 points per game. What a joke! I guess it really isn’t a game anymore, and is only entertainment. Used the rule changes to get rid of the big man. That is why the balance is out of whack! It was NEVER meant to be a positionless game. Let the coaches coach! Quit manipulating outcomes.
The early 2000s had offense stifled by the removal of the illegal defense rules and the leaguewide adoption of Zone. They also recently made it harder for bigs to score by allowing teams to pack the lane. Of course offense cratered then. They had the opposite problem from today.
Games ARE entertainment. Nothing but. What on earth do you think they are if not that?
3 points percentage is the most important thing in the basketball
Win
Body to body defense is required
As a genX never liked the all star game because there was hardly any D. Not complaining, because no one gets banged up and it’s just entertainment, so a win. My thing is with all the 3pt attempts, the game has morphed into something much different, a bit all star game like and won’t change.
Sure the playoffs offer an entirely diff type and D comes back into play, but the regular season is just a slow roll into the post season.
Look at a player like (healthy) Ben Simmons, guy could be a monster in the regular season, then well….not in the playoffs.
It’ll be a hoot to see what they come up with.
What game ISN’T “just entertainment “?
Why don’t they review why officials continue to change the outcomes of games incorrectly?
Nobody cares about the offense/defense balance if the NBA isn’t going to get its officials under control
I don’t think they can stop offenses. Like Pelton and Botemps state, and thanks to Mike D’Antoni coaches know how to attack defenses. Even bringing back hand checks wouldn’t work as the defender would have to get in the ball handlers grill. The ball handler would shoot over them or run them into a screen and go around them to the hoop. Moving the three point line back doesn’t have an effect because these guys have logo range and it would spread the defense further opening up driving lanes even more. I guess they could bring back mugging the guards when they drive but I don’t think anyone really wants that.
Get rid of the defensive 3 second rule – remove the whole illegal defense stuff because things are happening too fast anyways for that to be called consistently.
That shouldn’t dampen scoring all that much, but it will at least give some more creative options to the defending teams.
If they can do it in college and every other level of basketball, then why shouldn’t they be doing it in the NBA?
League is at it’s best ever, I wish teams would score much more!!!
Have the refs call TRAVELING !!
Yep. Traveling and carrying. This is the only thing that would make a real difference. They could also re-write the “gather” rule so those ridiculous and un-guardable step back 3’s would be harder to pull off. Because they are unguardable, it’s just a shooting exhibition.
If you’re going to have wacky scoring then just revert to Rock N Jock rules to really lean into it
I believe San Antonio won the 05 Finals, not Detroit. Pistons won in 04
LMAO!! Just repeal the rules enacted since 2000 that knee cap defenses, and balance will return. Of course, they won’t do that. Arsonists don’t put out fires.
bring back hand checking and make the 3pts shot worth 2.5
The old heads really exagerrate the so-called “physical defense” of the 80s and 90s era.
The average scoring in the 80s was 109. What “physical defense” was being played then? They didn’t even shoot a lot of threes and there were more fouls and free throws compared to today.
Hand-checking wouldn’t make much of a difference. Todays players are the most skilled of any era.
This “no defense” argument is getting tiresome.
That 115.4 average is right in line with what I have been saying about a leauge that plays at a 112 pace by instinct.
If you want to be in a true championship window you need to be at 116 to give a team the cushion it needs to combat the natural 5 point slowdown the playoffs bring.
The aging down of the leauge to in the not distant future of 3 – 10 year players making up the team is the driver.
120 is no problem for many right now.
Other than aging up there is nothing to address.
Did 2005 have low ratings because it was low offense? Or because it was San Antonio vs Detroit? Those teams are on the lower ends of ratings even in recent seasons.
I always see the narrative that offense is more popular and it makes sense… but I’ve also never seen a shred of evidence.