Last season data shows that inside scoring is on the rise and it would take over the league's offense. Also, the league is still soft and has been favoring offensive players.
It is indeed a new era of bigs and commonsense offense by going for higher percentage shots.
4. Fewer 3s!
One reason why efficiency has gone up over the last decade is that the league has learned that three is greater than two. But this season, the league-wide 3-point rate (3PA/FGA) actually dropped for the first time in the last 12 years.
The last drop was from 2009-10 to ’10-11, and the last drop this big was in 1997-98, when the 3-point distance moved back to 23′-9″ from 22′-0″ (where it was in 1994-95, ’95-96 and ’96-97).
So how did efficiency go up so much while 3-point volume when down? The answer is inside the arc.
Last season, the league shot an all-time high of 53.3% on 2-pointers, and it was the first time in 31 years that the average 2-point shot (1.065 points per attempt) was worth more than the average 3-point shot (1.061).
This season, the league took that all-time high of 53.3% and destroyed it, shooting 54.8% inside the arc. We saw the best marks for both shooting in the paint (57.8%) and mid-range shooting (42.0%) in the 27 years for which we have shot-location data. And the percentage of 2-point shots that came from mid-range (19.3%) dipped below 20% for the first time in those 27 seasons.
So not only did the league take fewer 3s, it took fewer mid-range jumpers too. And though 3-point percentage went up, the average value of a 2-point shot (1.096 points per attempt) was again higher than the average value of a 3 (1.082).
6. More scorers than ever
There were 19 players who averaged at least 25 points in 40 games or more this season. That was six more than last season and three more than in any other season in NBA history.
There were also 203 40-point games this season, 84 more than there were last season (119) and 61 more than the previous high of 142 in 1961-62 (when there were a lot fewer games total).
Though league-wide pace (99.8 possessions per team per 48 minutes) was up from last season, it was down from three and four years ago. But there were 54 players with a usage rate of 25% or higher this season, the most in the 27 years for which we have play-by-play data.
USG% = Percentage of teams possessions used (via FGA, turnovers and trips to the line) while on the floor.
30%+, 25%+ = Number of players with a usage rate of at least 30 or 25%
More high-usage players leads to more guys scoring at a high volume.
It is indeed a new era of bigs and commonsense offense by going for higher percentage shots.
4. Fewer 3s!
One reason why efficiency has gone up over the last decade is that the league has learned that three is greater than two. But this season, the league-wide 3-point rate (3PA/FGA) actually dropped for the first time in the last 12 years.
The last drop was from 2009-10 to ’10-11, and the last drop this big was in 1997-98, when the 3-point distance moved back to 23′-9″ from 22′-0″ (where it was in 1994-95, ’95-96 and ’96-97).
So how did efficiency go up so much while 3-point volume when down? The answer is inside the arc.
Last season, the league shot an all-time high of 53.3% on 2-pointers, and it was the first time in 31 years that the average 2-point shot (1.065 points per attempt) was worth more than the average 3-point shot (1.061).
This season, the league took that all-time high of 53.3% and destroyed it, shooting 54.8% inside the arc. We saw the best marks for both shooting in the paint (57.8%) and mid-range shooting (42.0%) in the 27 years for which we have shot-location data. And the percentage of 2-point shots that came from mid-range (19.3%) dipped below 20% for the first time in those 27 seasons.
So not only did the league take fewer 3s, it took fewer mid-range jumpers too. And though 3-point percentage went up, the average value of a 2-point shot (1.096 points per attempt) was again higher than the average value of a 3 (1.082).
6. More scorers than ever
There were 19 players who averaged at least 25 points in 40 games or more this season. That was six more than last season and three more than in any other season in NBA history.
There were also 203 40-point games this season, 84 more than there were last season (119) and 61 more than the previous high of 142 in 1961-62 (when there were a lot fewer games total).
Though league-wide pace (99.8 possessions per team per 48 minutes) was up from last season, it was down from three and four years ago. But there were 54 players with a usage rate of 25% or higher this season, the most in the 27 years for which we have play-by-play data.
USG% = Percentage of teams possessions used (via FGA, turnovers and trips to the line) while on the floor.
30%+, 25%+ = Number of players with a usage rate of at least 30 or 25%
More high-usage players leads to more guys scoring at a high volume.
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