Points Per Game

[Amphatoast]

I notice that this year, not 1 player is averaging 27points per game or better. Last year we had a couple of players averaging 30ppg+ but now the highest is 26.9ppg by Iverson.

Does anyone know why ppg is down? Is it the zone defense? Injuries? high scorers sharing ball down??

[benji]

All the roster changes + Droves of players who can't shoot a jumper + Slowest pace since the invention of the shot clock = low scores

[Alex Italo]

Add to that the fact that some of the past scoring champions have to share shots with guys that used to be 1st option on their former teams:
Iverson > Robinson
Kobe > Malone - Payton (not counting Shaq )

I thought that McGrady would explode in Orlando but I guess the whole team is struggling.

[Nick]

You could say T-mac has to share his points with Juwan Howard. *shrug*

[Nel]

T-MAC's shots are not falling this year. Its maybe because of the zone defense but heck if you're a great player you could find ways to score. IMO he would finish the year as the top scorer but a loser.

[1CenT]

Better Zone Defences..
I was expecting Pierce to up his scoring this year to 28-30ppg
but then i watced him and hes been sharing the ball much better and Celtics got a underrated shooting team... Welsh, Mike James, Walter can shoot. Baker, Ricky can score a bit
and also PP hasn't been shooting the ball that well in beginning of season or the last week..

Peja is doing great tho..
Tmac's shots aren't falling true..

[sliccat]

The zone defense was designed specifically to limit single player preformance, and is the main reason behind PPG dropping. Another reason is that coaches are now hired specifically for defense. The last reason is that people like AI, T-mac, and Paul Pierce don't have enough teamates to spread the ball around, allowing teams to focus solely on guarding them, knowing their teams will fall apart if they don't score.

[bballer22]

Tmac has been bak shooting well with a couple of 30 pts games, It was the zone at the beggining but now all the scorers are getting over it.

Can u see the pattern here, Last year and the year b4 when teams didnt use Zone as much player slike Kobe, Tmac, AI Shaq PP, all were dominaitng scorers, and whats the one thing they all have incomon, they all drive more then anyting. When they drive an make shots then they shoot better. They all have more inside outside game. Now Peja he can shoot better then all of them and Zone helps him out with that.

[Wall St. Peon]

Zones can be broken by players who drive...they need to cut through the holes in the zone and then get hit with the pass..it's a relatively simple concept taught in college, which is one reason tmac had problems...he ISO'd too much, and that doesn't work with the zone.

You're right about Peja, though....I haven't seen many kings games, but I'm assuming he's getting most of his points from people collapsing on a person driving into the lane and dishing or collapsing on divac or brad miller in the paint, and they just pass out. Probably why Miller was averaging such and absurd amount of assists for a while...

Scoring could be high if players knew how to shoot...but the mid-range jumper is a lost art, and that tends to be an area left open in a zone...

[air gordon]

i've seen a lot of king games.. peja is just absolutely amazing on offense- thats why he is scoring so much. also the kings run a simple of play of peja passing to divac/miller in at the elbow or 3pt area, then peja curls around divac/miller and either gets the ball handed back for an open look or continues to curl around the screen and gets slick pass for an easy layup.

the kings run the same set with bibby also and peja gets those open looks when teams collapse on bibby.

the kings offense is most fun to watch hands down