I really want to like the NBA...

[moqui]

It's the reason the Lakers are struggling. They are old and do not have enough scoring.

that is exactly backwards . . . the Lakers are 6th in scoring but 23rd in points allowed

they are old, you are right - too old to defend on the perimeter, and the plan of just trying to funnel everything into Dwight has sagged on the weakness of his back & shoulder

 

[Gabjon]

I think it's mostly the last one. The league is shooting 36% from 3 this year. No season in the 1980's did they shoot better than 32% from 3. 1995 was the first year ever that the league finished at 36%.

Teams are scoring 105.5 points per 100 possessions this year. From 83-93 the league figure was pretty much around 108 every year. We had been right around the 107-108 level for the 5 years prior to the lockout; we haven't quite gotten back there since.

The change in pace is ridiculous; teams average about 92 possessions per game now, they were over 100 just about every season in the 80's

The change in pace is do to more player movement and ball movement, those things take longer than Iso ball. I also think the rule changes took a couple of years to take full effect.

 

[Cuse44]

that is exactly backwards . . . the Lakers are 6th in scoring but 23rd in points allowed

they are old, you are right - too old to defend on the perimeter, and the plan of just trying to funnel everything into Dwight has sagged on the weakness of his back & shoulder

That's not exactly fair. LA has the 3rd highest pace in the NBA. Any NBA team who puts up a lot of shots is going to score points, but who, besides Kobe is a good scorer on that team?

 

[Gabjon]

That's not exactly fair. LA has the 3rd highest pace in the NBA. Any NBA team who puts up a lot of shots is going to score points, but who, besides Kobe is a good scorer on that team?

Nash is statically one of the greatest shooters in NBA history...

 

[Cuse44]

Nash is statically one of the greatest shooters in NBA history...

Shooting a good % doesn't make you a good scorer. He avgs 14 ppg over his entire career. A career he is clearly on the downside of.

 

[moqui]

That's not exactly fair. LA has the 3rd highest pace in the NBA. Any NBA team who puts up a lot of shots is going to score points, but who, besides Kobe is a good scorer on that team?

they are also 8th in offensive efficiency, which takes pace into consideration.

trust me, I live in LA . . . even with the Clippers playing well, this is a Lakers town first and the city is full of angst over their team. The papers, the radio, the television are full of Lakers analysis, and everyone knows the problems primarily are on the defensive end.

the numbers are all against you on this - both in pure points and efficiency, the Lakers offense is not great but plenty good.

 

[Gabjon]

they are also 8th in offensive efficiency, which takes pace into consideration.

trust me, I live in LA . . . even with the Clippers playing well, this is a Lakers town first and the city is full of angst over their team. The papers, the radio, the television are full of Lakers analysis, and everyone knows the problems primarily are on the defensive end.

the numbers are all against you on this - both in pure points and efficiency, the Lakers offense is not great but plenty good.

I should be working and don't have don't have the time to look up numbers but being Knicks fan I know D'Antoni ball all too well. His offensive system is great although I don't believe it should ever be run for 48mins a game more of a change or run with a certain personal. The knicks run it to this day but only about 25% of the game unless they are rolling, but he coaches 1970s defense! M2M with little to no adjustments, he is the reason why Amare is clueless on D to this day.

 

[Cuse44]

they are also 8th in offensive efficiency, which takes pace into consideration.

trust me, I live in LA . . . even with the Clippers playing well, this is a Lakers town first and the city is full of angst over their team. The papers, the radio, the television are full of Lakers analysis, and everyone knows the problems primarily are on the defensive end.

the numbers are all against you on this - both in pure points and efficiency, the Lakers offense is not great but plenty good.

I still see it as more related to pace than LA having good offensive players. You do raise good points, however. I look at a team like Denver who has worse defensive numbers than LA, yet is 12 games over .500. Golden State and Houston are other examples. If you play at that high of a pace you are going to give up points. The majority of the teams in the NBA who play a top pace also give up the highest number of points on defense.

 

[moqui]

points per possession is normalized for pace, and Denver's points per possession are +3.9 over their defensive ppp . . . the Lakers' are just 1.5.

again, the fact is that the Lakers' offense is in the top 25% of the league in efficiency. all year long, they have lost games they could have won because their defense fell apart in the 2nd half.

in any case, we are both wrong - IMO, the Lakers were never going to be a top contender because of their defense, but they are currently completely out of the playoff structure because of their poisonous team chemistry.

 

[cto]

The NBA playoffs are very exciting and I will watch a little when they get to the playoffs but the season is too long and there shouldnt be basketball in June. Christ by then I already have in 40 rounds of golf.

And the Red Sox are already out of the Pennant Race.

 

[Marsh01]

And the Red Sox are already out of the Pennant Race.

Nicely played

 

[NineOneSeven]

This Pitt/ND game is much more exciting than NBA games couchburn

 

[rrlbees]

This Pitt/ND game is much more exciting than NBA games couchburn

Definitely.

Sent using my Commodore 64

 

[shandeezy7]

This Pitt/ND game is much more exciting than NBA games couchburn

On pace to barely reach the 40's. I think we scored in the 40's on my 4th grade team.