Basketball Intelligence for 4/4/24
MVP blowouts, Malachi Flynn's 50-piece (!!), and more
LEAGUEWIDE STORIES
Kram Session: Joel Embiid’s Return and the NBA’s Playoff Seeding Scramble
Zach Kram, The Ringer
Why MVP races have become victory laps instead of actual competitions
There’s been a jumpy but undeniable increase in the winner’s share of the MVP voting over time, meaning that the eventual winner has increasingly siphoned up the top votes. There hasn’t been a share below 0.85 since 2006 (remember this year a few paragraphs from now)…
But the biggest milestone was the invention of Twitter in 2006. The NBA milieu has an outsized presence on Instagram, Reddit, and most other networks, but Twitter (now X) remains the league’s preeminent "town square." Voters interact with fans, other media members, trolls -- anyone at all! -- while giving their own informed opinions and encountering a constant, babbling stream of feedback.
NBA Power Rankings: Dallas rises through the West as the Hawks and Pacers battle in the East
Staff, ESPN
What We've Hated This NBA Season
How modern offenses blend old-school tactics with new-age skills
Joe Wolfond, theScore
Make no mistake, the pick-and-roll is still very much the NBA's bread-and-butter action. But after years of proliferation, it's started to become a bit less prevalent. The league is averaging 68.8 ball screens per 100 possessions in 2023-24, the second-lowest frequency of any season in Second Spectrum's 10-year database and down from 71.8 two years ago, according to a source with access to the data. More of the pick-and-rolls that do get run either materialize in the flow mid-possession, or are used to set up subsequent off-ball actions. Five years ago, the average team finished 18.9% of its possessions via pick-and-roll ball-handlers. That's down to 16.1% this season, according to NBA Advanced Stats.
A James Harden-Clippers mystery, hope in Philly, crumbling Cavs and more NBA pre-playoff takeaways
Sam Amick, The Athletic
Since Towns went down with a torn meniscus on March 4, the 24-year-old Reid has averaged 18.8 points (42.7 percent from 3 on 7.4 attempts per), 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 blocks, one steal and 29.5 minutes per game. Before Towns went down, the undrafted fan favorite was averaging 12.3 points (41 percent from 3 on 4.6 attempts per) 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 blocks, 0.7 steals and 23 minutes.
The Wolves, who just keep winning no matter how wild their ownership situation might have turned, have gone 10-4 while posting the league’s fourth-best net rating and maintaining the top spot in the West (they’re tied with Denver at the moment).