NBA: Top 5 storylines of the first 10 games of the season

4. The game has gotten tougher.

One of the more peculiar things people have noticed is that NBA basketball has become tougher on the offensive end. There are two main factors that have led to this; a new ball and rule changes.

This season the NBA is using balls produced by Wilson rather than Spalding. Wilson had been the provider of NBA balls from 1946 but was replaced by Spalding in 1983. Now Wilson is back, and with vengeance, it seems.

As of 11/08/2021, the average team FG% is only 44.8% which is the lowest since 2004 and the average team 3P% is only 34.1%, which is the lowest since 1999. A lot of high-profile players have spoken out about this.

"Paul George said of the new ball, “It doesn’t have the same touch & softness that the Spalding ball had”."

NBA players usually shoot hundreds of shots a day, which leads to hundreds of thousands of shots over a career. They train for consistency so that come game time, shooting is automatic and they don’t have to think about it. They are used to playing with a ball that feels a certain way, and their way has been disrupted this season.

I have no doubt that this will even out going forward as players get used to the new ball, but it’s interesting to see how a small change like altering the make of the ball has such a drastic impact on the league.

The other main factor is the new rule change regarding ‘abnormal’ moves attempted by players in order to draw fouls. Before this season, NBA refs were very generous in giving fouls when the offensive player made contact with his defender. The massively benefitted players like James Harden and Trae Young, both of whom were excellent at drawing contact and knocking down free throws.

Now refs won’t give these calls, and you can see the results. James Harden averaged 7.4 free-throw attempts per game last season, now he’s only at 4.8. Trae Young? 8.7 to 5.6. Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s vice president of referee development and training, said the change was to promote “good play”, but I think there is also a commercial aspect as well.

The NBA is a business and is in the market of making money. Its product is entertainment, and basketball is at its most entertaining when it’s as up-tempo as possible. Free throws stop the game clock, meaning the game slows down, which is a less exciting product to sell.

Whatever the reasons, there’s no doubt this has had a significant effect on the league.