One of the weirdest complaints about the NBA is that the game is somehow less pure than the college version because teams don’t try hard in every game and are going through the motions. Of course, the whole load management debacle gives some credence to that theory, but it completely devalues the incredible skills of the best players on the planet.
Just read this list from Sports Illustrated in 1998 and odds are you’ve read something similar in a Facebook comments section recently. Of course, it’s unlikely any of those people have actually sat down and watched an NBA regular season game this millennium, but nonetheless, it seems like the quality of play is always getting picked apart in the Association.
Now comes a narrative that no sports league has endured in our lifetimes – is there too much scoring?
That’s the question John Hollinger asks in a column at The Athletic noting that scoring for each team across the league has jumped an absurd 15 points per game in the last decade. 25 years ago the Sacramento Kings led the league in scoring and were the only NBA franchise averaging triple digits at 100.2 PPG. This year the Grizzlies are last in the league in scoring at 107.5 PPG. Five teams currently average over 120 PPG, incredibly.
Over time, sports leagues have always changed rules to increase scoring, and thereby, the entertainment factor that exists at games. In scientific terms, chicks dig the long ball. That’s why the NFL adopted the Mel Blount rule. Why the NHL got rid of the two line pass. And why MLB adopted a pitch clock, larger bases, and a ban on shifts.
The NBA has seen their share of rule changes, but also a seismic shift in the way the game is played. Teams have discovered the true power of the three pointer, eschewed mid-range shots, and focused on attempting as many efficient shots as possible. More threes and a faster pace has also opened up the game for easier twos, leading to a scoring bonanza.
But instead of celebrating the historic heights, or being in awe of Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic putting up 70 and 73 points respectively in a week, there was criticism. It was dismissed as just a “lack of defense” you see. Even Hollinger himself is concerned if NBA scoring gets any better, the game will be seen as a farce.
“If offenses keep adding a point in efficiency every season, games like “Indiana 157, Atlanta 152” will become a nightly mockery of the game instead of a once-a-season spectacle,” Hollinger writes.
The NBA is never going to be able to please everybody. Someone will always complain that traveling is never called. So what! The NBA has achieved what every other league has sought in every year of its existence. Offenses are king, points are flooding the scoreboard, and given the ratings and social media numbers produced, fans seem to be buying in. You didn’t hear the masses complaining about a “lack of defense” when Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were putting up record passing numbers did you? Do kids play video games to practice their zone defense? Do fans buy tickets or subscribe to League Pass to see Jrue Holiday’s pick and roll defense? Please!
If the NBA were to take a step towards decreasing scoring and tightening up defenses, it would be one of the craziest decisions imaginable. The Utah Jazz scored 54 points in an NBA Finals game less than 30 years ago. We don’t have to go relive those dark ages again. Now more than ever, sports have to compete with each other and with entertainment for eyeballs. Leagues have to work twice as hard to get viewers to tune in and to stick, especially if you’re not named the NFL. And if the NBA has to sell record-setting scoring to the masses, then so be it. It could be far, far worse.
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