Complaints about NBA defensive intensity have littered sports debate television, podcasts, and columns all season. As of Tuesday, the top five teams in offensive rating will have the five highest marks in that category in NBA history. Six players have scored 60 or more points this season. Luka Dončić is leading the league in scoring with 34.3 points per game, and is shooting a shade under 50 percent from the field. On Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, his Dallas Mavericks put up 52.7/42.4/60 shooting splits.
It was not enough. The Cavs won 121-119. Their team shooting splits were 53/50/72.2. Five teams average 120-plus points per game. However, a look at the final five minutes of Mavericks vs. Cavaliers shows why currently more points are being scored in the NBA than ever before. The shot-making is mind-boggling.
Dallas was up by 10 points with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Max Strus hit a 3-pointer on the Cavs’ next four possessions. Only one of those threes was from closer than 26 feet. During that stretch, Kyrie Irving walked into a 33-footer like he was casually entering the front door of his home.
There is too much court for players to defend in the modern game. For decades, basketball was a game largely played within 17 feet of the rim. In 2024, an effective defense needs to start at 25 feet. Strus’ game-winner from the back of the logo is not typical, but every other 3-pointer he buried is why defenses are stretched to their limits.
Complaints were loud about this season’s NBA All-Star Game. Certain people, specifically Dončić and Anthony Edwards, didn’t put enough effort into the evening to break a sweat. However, the Eastern Conference was successful on 42 of 97 3-point attempts. The game began with Tyrese Haliburton shooting like a JUGS machine.
Step-back and side-step shots from several feet behind the 3-point line are not going to be defended in an all-star game. Running out at that during an exhibition takes more than an honest effort. That is strenuous physical labor. I understand not wanting to be isolated on Damian Lillard at the top of the key in a meaningless game when he can unload a haymaker between blinks.
As great as Nikola Jokić was in the Western Conference Finals, the reason that the Denver Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers was marksman-type shooting. The moon balls that Jamal Murray was launching from every spot on the floor, broke one of the best defenses in the league that had been bullying opponents in the playoffs. It was his six threes that boosted the Nuggets to a 2-0 lead when Jokić shot 9-for-21 in Game 2.
The NBA has changed forever. As long as the 3-point shot exists, the offensive explosion is forever. That is too much ground to cover and still be able to keep players who thrive at attacking the rim out of the paint.
In the playoffs, especially The Finals, the pace will slow and it will be harder for teams to score. Postseason desperation will result in defenses being able to extend farther out, while tired legs and injuries will also be extra defenders. But during the regular season, there is no way to keep people out of the lane and still contest at 27 feet, consistently over 82 games. Expertise in long-distance shooting that Dr. James Naismith could never have predicted is the cause of high scores, not lazy closeouts.
