Scoring has been down in the NBA since Feb. 1, and it’s a hot topic around the league. The conventional wisdom is that the league told referees to swallow their whistles a little, and they did—foul calls (on and off the ball) are down, free throws are down, and so are a variety of other things, such as defensive 3-second calls.
The league said, essentially, “Don’t look at us” in a memo to teams obtained by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The NBA is telling teams the league office did not deliver a directive to reduce scoring in Tuesday’s Competition Committee call, but “this trend will continue to be monitored,” according to a memo obtained by ESPN. “Slower pace, style of play, competitive intensity, officiating…
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2024
The NBA shared with teams one of league’s focuses in competition committee meeting had been on offensive players hunting for fouls and veering off paths into defenders – and how those recent points of officiating emphasis have impacted a decrease in league scoring, according to…
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2024
Scoring in the NBA was at the highest level since Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell were in the league this season, but there has been a noticeable drop in scoring since Feb. 1, which has been tied in part to a decrease in free throw attempts. Games are seeing 5.2 fewer free throw attempts after Feb. 1 compared to before, according to Seth Partnow, writing for Dunc’d On Prime.
The league can deny its involvement but nobody around the league is buying it. Referees appear to be calling the game differently, and that’s only happening at the league’s behest.
That’s not all the league told teams on Friday, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.
Teams were informed today that doing away with OT scoring for point differential purposes is under consideration for next season's NBA Cup.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 15, 2024
Also under consideration: Proposal to use "Round of NBA Cup Advancement" as the first playoff tiebreaker rather than head-to-head results.
That second part would be a radical change — head-to-head has been the primary tiebreaker in the league for years. To decide a playoff seeding based on how a team played in December doesn’t seem fair or wise.