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- 📢 FT's Up, Scoring's Down, NBA Pests, Record-Breaking Rookies, Cam Passed the Ball?! Harden Numero Uno, Deflections, 3s & More!
📢 FT's Up, Scoring's Down, NBA Pests, Record-Breaking Rookies, Cam Passed the Ball?! Harden Numero Uno, Deflections, 3s & More!
Curating and Summarizing the Best NBA Content of the Week
Vikram Dimba
October 31, 2024
Welcome to the NBA Librarian Weekly, where we curate and summarize the best NBA content each week.
<1000 words each week. I consume so you don’t have to.
In Today's Edition:
Plot Twist: Free Throws Are Up, But Scoring Is Down!
Free throws are back — a surprise twist, considering the league made an unexpected mid-season change in officiating last year.
Before last season’s All-Star break, teams averaged 22.6 free throw attempts (FTA) per game, with a free throw attempt rate (FTr) of 0.254 and 19.3 fouls per game. After the break, these averages dropped to 19.8 FTA, a 0.225 FTr, and 17.4 fouls. This shift lowered league scoring from 115.5 points per game to 111.5.
But this season, that trend has completely reversed:
Four of the ten highest team single-game free throw attempt totals in recent years have happened this season alone — just one week in!
Teams are now averaging 26.5 FTA per game, a 0.300 FTr, and 21.9 fouls.
Yet, interestingly, league scoring has dipped slightly from last season, with teams averaging 113.6 points per game compared to 114.2.
It’ll be interesting to watch if this trend holds as the season progresses, especially with unprecedented rates in both 3-point and free throw attempts — though it's likely to normalize as the season unfolds.
Bilal Coulibaly’s Offensive Leap
Bilal Coulibaly clamped Trae Young last night, but he also did some really intriguing things on the offensive end of the floor especially in the 4th quarter🧵:
— Jim (@Wiz_Weekly)
4:57 PM • Oct 29, 2024
Bilal Coulibaly drew attention last season as a rookie for his defense, but the 20-year-old’s offense looks tremendously improved this year.
This is a great thread by Jim showcasing his progress: he's improved his handles, keeps his dribble alive, uses his size and strength to attack the rim, and has a quicker release that's led to better shooting. He's even more aware of defensive reads, becoming a threat as a screener, roller, and even a passer.
And this tweet was before his 27-point game last night, where he went 11-14 from the field (plus 9 boards, 3 steals, and 1 block!). He’s averaging 18.8 PPG on 59/42 shooting splits to start the year. I caught the game last night just to see him play — something I don’t often say about Wizards games.
Early Season NBA Pests
Here is a breakdown of the percentile ranks of the inputs to the PEST formula for the top 10.
— Bucknell Sports Analytics (@BuckAnalytics)
6:34 PM • Oct 29, 2024
Early season "PEST" rankings are here, factoring in deflections, charges, shots allowed, steals, blocks, and even distance covered during games. Not too surprising to see the top two, but I’ve got to highlight Dyson Daniels’ impressive start to the season — he led the league in total deflections before missing last night’s game and is averaging nearly 3 steals and a block per game from the guard position.