NBA Notebook: Scoring down as refs roll back free throws to all-time low

Josh Richardson and other players were asked during the preseason about a change the NBA's competition committee formulated over the offseason, much like any other new year would bring new emphasizes for officials. It was hard to tell then how transformative the results of this one would become. 

The league drilled no-calls and even offensive fouls in some cases on plays described as non-basketball moves intended to draw defensive fouls. They became too familiar of a basketball visual, especially the up-fake and lean into contact, so much that kids would likely be replicating it soon if they hadn't already been. Like Halloween, this had to happen for the kids. 

"I think the person you think of most is James Harden," Richardson said earlier this month. "Just because he's so skilled. He doesn't have any holes in his game, so it's like what do you really do? Then, his step-back is so lethal so you've got to close out incredibly hard, and he knows that you're going to be doing that, and so he's just good at kicking his leg or leaving his hand out. You've got to commend it, because they've figured out how to get fouled." 

Harden drew undeniable focus as referees implemented the rule adjustment. After nine seasons averaging over 10 free throw attempts per game, officials awarded him 3.0 FTA/G through the first five games. He shot 35.9% from the field and 33.3% from three while figuring it out, until he broke through for 19 FTA in Friday's Nets win, crediting his aggression. 

It's not just Harden. Scoring is down around the association and few seem to mind the free-flowing product and array of competitive games. 

Even though Trae Young and a number of players got most impacted by the initiative, the 20.1 FTA/G handed out league-wide would mark the lowest ever in league history through Friday. The 17 free throws for every 100 field goal attempts marks the lowest ratio since the 1946-47 founding season the NBA is celebrating. The league's offensive rating dropped nearly six points per 100 possessions, a seismic decline after three consecutive record scoring efficiency seasons starting in 2018. 

"We want flow in the game and want the game of basketball to be played as the game of basketball, not individual one-offs in an attempt to get the most efficiency," Monty McCutchen, the league's head of referee development, said earlier this month.

Adrian Wojnarowski reported on ESPN Friday night that the competition committee stands thrilled with the results. The combination of Adam Silver, players like Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry, executives and coaches all agreed on the need for fewer stoppages and a more free-flowing game as much as they have on any issue in recent memory. It's here to stay, Woj affirmed, because it's how the NBA wants to see its game played now. 

The league is lifting defenders up from untenable positions and slowing the free-throw parade that dragged games. They're playing on through offense-initiated contact, though not necessarily trying to call more offensive fouls (personal fouls per 100 possessions are slightly down).

"The offensive players have had such an advantage over the last few years, finding ways to kind of trick the game," Ime Udoka said in training camp. "It'll take away some of the questionable calls that we got over the years and make it easier to guard."

It's no mistake this follows rave reviews of the FIBA officiating during the Summer Olympics, whose officials go as far as calling flagrant fouls on plays aimed to stop fast breaks. Some hope that could be the next NBA emphasis, eliminating transition take fouls. It'll need to contend with backlash from stars struggling to adjust to the reformed whistle this year first. 

Young, perhaps justifiably, griped about the overall lack of foul calls leading to injuries for smaller players like him when larger defenders can use their bodies more. That's the middle ground the officials will likely find when the emphasis period wanes. Fewer fouls overall may shift toward continuing to cut out extreme foul-hunting moves like the Celtics saw Evan Fournier attempt on opening night. 

Young agrees with eliminating those types of plays, and healthy freedom of movement still bodes well for the product than 1990s-style Jordan rules. The league recently emphasized such movement to begin 2018 the way it has foul-hunting this fall. They can coexist.

That requires blowing the whistle some. For all the gripes about Harden's actions, some plays where defenders reached excessively into his space will eventually return to drawing the ire of officials. It comes down to who they're focused on, and right now they're policing the offenders more aggressively than than whatever Chris Duarte did on this play. They'll do so at least until the worst offenders adjust. 

"You’ve got to fight through it and play through it,” Young said. “I mean, obviously they’re not going to change refs, as much as some of us would like. But I feel like we’ve got to adjust just like they’ve got to adjust. We’ve got to figure it out. I don’t know. I don’t want to get fined too much, but this is frustrating.”

Steve Nash accused referees of making Harden a poster boy for the new rule, while Harden avoided complaining and asked officials to call what they see. Steph Curry, another benefactor of the old loophole in Richardson's eyes, asked for consistency before the season began so he could know what he can do. He expected a grey area on up-fake calls, and an eventual fade from emphasis. It hasn't impacted him through a 30.4 PPG start, during which he attempted more FTA/G than any other season in his career. 

Harden is shooting 1.6 fewer FTA/G after his Friday explosion. Young saw his average decline by 4.3, Luka Doncic by 3.7 and Bradley Beal witnessed a 3.9 per-game drop in attempts to begin this season. Others like Curry, Paul and Kevin Durant continue to get to the line regardless.

"Any emphasis they put from one year to the next, the changes, it takes some time to adjust. I’m sure there will be some antics early. Like that traveling thing a couple years ago," Curry said. "Refs are trained to look at a certain thing, but there’s a lot of other things going on. They have to get adjusted too."

The Celtics didn't expect to be impacted greatly by the change and haven't been. They're attempting 21.4 free throws per game, up from 20.8 last season. Jayson Tatum doesn't stand out as a contact initiator, neither does Jaylen Brown and even Marcus Smart's worst flops in the past never quite fell under the areas this rule highlighted. 

Boston's ability to reach the line (8th in FTA/G) deserves some credit in a year where it's been difficult to do so. It's also an indication that you can still reach the charity stripe under this new form of officiating, but it'll force some players to change their style away from a brand that grew more unwatchable in recent seasons and helped drive offense to ridiculous heights in last year's largely crowd-less season. 

"There are still legitimate basketball players where you're attacking the basket and using your size and strength," Udoka said in preseason. "The fact of (Tatum) trying to get to the basket more, posting-up and getting to certain spots shouldn't have any hindrance at all. He's still going to go to the basket and he's not going out of his way to try to draw fouls, but he's being really being aggressive going to the basket. So that doesn't really have any impact on him. It's more so he uses his pump fake well, gets guys off balance and those are still going to be foul calls if you can get guys up in the air." 

Here's what else happened this week in the NBA

Atlanta: Seventh in defense and 10th in offense even as the Young foul call crackdown continues. Young dished 10 assists per game through a 3-2 start for the Hawks. He creates over three buckets per game for John Collins, two for De'Andre Hunter and just under two for Bogdan Bogdanovic. Only Paul averages more (10.8 APG) to begin this season. 

The referee obsession led to a downhill slide for Atlanta's defense, allowing 122 points to Washington. That's the most concerning part of the trend. 

Boston: They rank in the bottom-half of basketball in offense and defense. They rely heavily on Al Horford to do a little bit of everything. Jaylen Brown's dealing with COVID after-effects through streaky play. Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart began the year startlingly inefficient. Dennis Schröder, Grant Williams and Jabari Parker constitute the only visible depth and spacing so far. 

Worse, effort is already catching Udoka's disdain. Could it be -- this roster just may not be that good? The east gauntlet could put this group in a quick hole without a gritty response. 

Brooklyn: KD said they have enough without Kyrie Irving to get by, then quickly walked it back after a 13-point loss to Miami, as Irving doesn't appear any closer to a return. 

A slow Harden start and rickety play from Blake Griffin put that into question early. They rank 27th in offense and 15th in defense (-4.1 net rating). Even in a commanding win over Indiana on Friday, they posted a 102 offensive rating that would only rank 24th. Offense effectively shuts off after the team's top-five -- which currently includes Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge. It feels more 2010 Celtics than a super team right now. 

Officials missed an automatic ejection call on Durant with 4:40 remaining for launching the ball into the stands following a T.J. McConnell touch foul with Brooklyn up by four. 

“I don’t know what I was thinking," Durant said. "I thought I was at a gym by myself.”

Charlotte: Disastrous execution cost the Hornets a 4-0 start after leading by 12 points with six minutes remaining at home against the Celtics, who were on a back-to-back from Houston. Sloppy LaMelo Ball turnovers and decisions in crunch time revealed his biggest learning curve, including a mindless pass to Mason Plumlee with Boston in hack-a-Plumlee mode. Ball has, nonetheless, led a fourth-ranked offense on what looks like the best team in Bobcats history (since 2004). He's shooting 40.5% from three. Gordon Hayward? 48.4%. 

Miles Bridges appears to be a legitimate all-star and most-improved candidate, averaging 25.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 50.9% shooting. They're a narrowly positive net rating team with questions about their fitness to close games off of a sobering loss to the Heat and defense. This start is still another step for a young team that hasn't even courted Terry Rozier (ankle sprain) for 30 minutes. 

Chicago: Just when it was getting captivatingly good, the Knicks took it to them at home despite a 12-point Chicago comeback that fell one point short on Thursday, before Woj reported Patrick Williams will miss the regular season with a dislocated wrist. The Bulls' won't spin into a free fall over Williams' ailment, but the second-year forward might've been their steadiest defensive hand. That Demar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine all posted sub-100 defensive ratings, while averaging 10 more minutes per game than Williams, provides sizable hope. 

Ball and Vucevic pair to outscore opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possessions so far in 137 minutes together. Vucevic alone rates +15.6, while DeRozan boasts a team-best 94.4 defensive rating. He overcomes his awkward fit in the offense with 7.0 free throw attempts and 4.6 assists per game.

They're better than expected, creating a bunch of turnovers, keeping their own rate low and valuing methodical possessions. Alex Caruso ranks third in the NBA with 3.0 steals per game. They love Troy Brown Jr., Alize Johnson, Ayo Dosunmu and former Celtic Javonte Green as bench energizers in quick spurts. This is a fun, and perhaps really good team after all. The early numbers are so loud, though, we have to await the regression, especially after an irreplaceable loss in Williams. It might've begun Thursday with Ball's -1.8 and DeRozan's -8.1 runs. 

Cleveland: The early returns check out. They stifled Atlanta, Denver and the Clippers on the way to a 3-2 start. The Lakers stopped the party with a 113-101 home win Friday, but Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen check out as a disruptive and unique trio in the modern NBA. The three seven-footers posted a negative net rating (-4.2) through 104 minutes, but their 100 defensive rating would rank in the top five as a team. Mixing in starting guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland brings the starting lineup to a +8.4, with a spectacular 94.5 defensive rating. 

They're a suffocating group so far, with Sexton's volume shooting now a better fit as part of a defensively-oriented lineup. Think last year's Knicks. Ricky Rubio and Garland lead the facilitating efforts. They don't hit any threes, stop opposing shooters, block a bunch of shots, limit their fouling and generate free throws while shooting over 50% on twos. Old school. They're a play-in tournament threat. 

Dallas: Doncic topped consecutive preseason MVP discussions and it's hard to tell if it stemmed more from his greatness or the team's sheer lack of anything around him. They rank 29th in offense and on Friday, Doncic received 30% shooting from his teammates in a blowout loss to Denver. He didn't help matters at 5-of-18 with four assists, but with Kristaps Porzingis (back) out again, where does he look? Reggie Bullock? (1-of-7) Dorian Finney-Smith? (0-of-7) Tim Hardaway Jr.? (1-of-7) 

Doncic led this group to competitive runs before and needs to be better than 41.7% FG, 25.7% 3PT, 4.4 free throw attempts and 4.6 turnovers through five games though. A 104 team defensive rating ranks competitively at 12th, not far behind Cleveland. He's struggling defensively, but no star in the league is carrying more weight. 

"I love his emotion," Gregg Popovich said this week. "Sometimes he gets frustrated, and then he's angry about something. Sometimes he's laughing his a** off and enjoying in the pass that he just threw or the three he hit in your face ... he's just fun." 

Denver: The No. 3 defense in the league through five games. Monte Morris filling in for Jamal Murray with the starters have posted a 94.6 defensive rating. Aaron Gordon held Doncic to 1-for-6 shooting, with three points in their 5:13 of play lined up against each other. He's held opponents to 43.9% shooting, compared to 45% last season. Could Boston have acquired him for Smart last deadline? 

Detroit: Cade Cunningham will make his NBA debut today against the Magic in Detroit with the Pistons (0-4) searching for their first win. They rank last in offense, with a 45.5 eFG%, which also ranks last. Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes, Kelly Olynyk and Josh Jackson are ice cold from three and even the team's shooting star rookie from a year ago, Saddiq Bey, is 8-for-26 (30.8%) from deep. Cunningham ticking their fortunes upward by any degree will turn some heads, but an evidently serious ankle injury will probably render him limited in minutes. 

Golden State: They've been as captivating to watch as ever, with Steph Curry averaging 30.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 38.5% on 13 threes per game. Ja Morant and Curry currently share the scoring title after the young Grizzlies topped the Dubs in overtime behind his 30 to Curry's 36. 

Still, the Warriors are trying to figure out how he got held scoreless in three consecutive fourth quarters while shooting 0-for-11. He got a clean look from deep for the win to end regulation and back-rimmed it. 

"With the way teams guard, I've got to be able to be a threat," Curry said. "We can get a lot of good shots and we were obviously turning those into wins. Tonight it didn't, so obviously that's going to be something I look at in terms of how I can help down the stretch, but I'm not worried about that." 

Houston: They rank 27th in offense as the Kevin Porter Jr. point guard experiment began with 26 points and 26 turnovers. Jalen Green broke the Rockets three-point record with eight against the Celtics on Sunday. Otherwise, he started 4-for-28 from deep. Alperen Şengün is shooting 43.3% from the center position. There'll be fun moments here for this talented young group, but they're almost entirely reliant on inexperienced players and that never bodes well. 

Eric Gordon, healthy and 11-for-21 from three so far, should be among the most popular trade deadline targets. Unfortunately for Boston, he narrowly exceeds the Celtics' $17-million trade exception. 

Indiana: Banged up and among the early east bottom-feeders. They're 1-5 with a new injury afflicting Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring), along with Caris LeVert's back and T.J. Warren's foot that have kept them out of action entirely. 

Duarte, Payton Pritchard's former teammate selected No. 13 from Oregon, is an early rookie of the year contender, averaging 18.7 PPG. 

Clippers: The scoring depth behind Paul George's heavy-lifting started as scary as expected. Reggie Jackson shot 30% on 10 attempts per game. Eric Bledsoe is 15.4% from deep and the team's third-leading scorer. Marcus Morris' long-running knee pain emerged amid a slow start. Justise Winslow plays real minutes, and so does Amir Coffey. They're fortunate Luke Kennard is off to a scorching start from three. They rank 28th in offense and eighth in defense to grind out a narrow positive rating and keep playoff contention within reason in a less-deep west. 

Lakers: The opening night starters have posted a -14.2 per 100 possessions. Russell Westbrook committed 34 turnovers in six games (5.7 TO/G). Anthony Davis tumbled into scary knee pain before overtime in an eventual win over the Spurs, with Westbrook launching an alley-oop to Davis moments later. They lost handily the next night to the Thunder. 

Lakers fans have seen it all this young season, a 26th-ranked defense and a competitive offense. They're injured, but that's to be expected with an aging roster. Carmelo Anthony's 50% three-point shooting alongside steady strokes from rookie Austin Reaves, Malik Monk, Rajon Rondo and Kent Bazemore all keeping this team afloat. Westbrook's ability to find everyone remain sharp, averaging at least 0.6 assists per game to eight LA teammates, even if that sometimes includes the other team. 

Memphis: Defense drags down this top-five offense. Forget most-improved, Morant seems inspired to chase an MVP in year four. He's shooting 40% from three on over six attempts per game, while averaging close to eight assists and two steals each night. He does everything while setting up Desmond Bane (the former Celtics draft pick traded to dump Vincent Poirier and Enes Kanter is 43% from three on 312 career attempts) and De'Anthony Melton as worthy running mates. They'll need more from Jaren Jackson Jr., who's shooting 31.3%.

Miami: They're making repeated statements against good teams like Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Charlotte. They're the best defense in the NBA, allowing 93.6 points per 100 possessions, and top the east in net rating by six points per 100 possessions ahead of Chicago. 

Their bench units have posted even better defensive numbers, while Tyler Herro continued his preseason revenge tour with 22 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He's shooting a career-high 46.6 FG% on over 17 attempts. Kyle Lowry is off to a cold start from the field, instead honing in on 7.0 assists each night. Bam Adebayo ranks among the most prolific fast-break scorers in the league. They can turn to P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris to muck things up. 

They're a scary veteran team that got better and is still sure of itself after an NBA Finals run 13 months ago. I only question the center depth behind Bam. Can Dewayne Dedmon sustain in that role? 

Milwaukee: More championship hangover than title bump so far. They rank sixth in offense, 24th in defense as Giannis Antetokounmpo begins year nine averaging 27.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. Jrue Holiday (ankle) and Brook Lopez (back) are sore, and Donte DiVincenzo hasn't returned yet. Grayson Allen and Khris Middleton have shot poorly, they're mixing in George Hill, Jordan Nwora and Semi Ojeleye (0-for-5 in his debut after an early injury). This feels like a team seeing what they have, but slacking could cost seeding in an ultra-competitive east. They don't seem to have a depth big behind Giannis and Lopez. 

Minnesota: The first team to beat the Bucks wire-to-wire since the beginning of the 2018-19 season. They're leading with defense, with a fourth-ranked 99.0 rating. They're shuffling between Josh Okogie, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt as their fifth man with the starters. Vanderbilt provided the best offensive punch early on. Okogie's the favored defensive stopper. Beasley, at his best, projects to be the best of both worlds, but started the season 37% from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting 52% from three and shredding opponents. Anthony Edwards is the best quote in sports right now. I'm intrigued. 

"(I) talk my sh*t before the game," he said recently of getting the Wolves ready for games. "Put Lil Baby on, rap the lyrics. That get everybody hype. We up. It's time to go."

New Orleans: Brandon Ingram is quietly playing great. Devonte' Graham is hitting his threes. Jonas Valanciunas stuffs the stat sheet. That led to 1-4, with no Zion Williamson return in sight. They're ranked 24th in offense, 19th in defense and it's unclear what they're building. 

Herb Jones makes their games worth a glimpse. He's a versatile rookie defender out of Alabama with shades of a young Smart on that end of the floor. 

New York: The second most enjoyable team I've watched all season behind Golden State. Julius Randle carried the offensive weight like last year never ended. Kemba Walker shot 7-for-12 in an impressive win over the Bulls. Mitchell Robinson is back healthy flushing everything around the rim toward an 86.4 FG% and R.J. Barrett slowly continues to make strides. The combination of tangible hype Madison Square Garden's atmosphere is generating around the league, their flexibility in the future and their competitiveness now makes this a captivating situation for fans even with finishing concerns emerging early. 

Oklahoma City: Could say plenty of negative things, but one of the few tangible takeaways from their 1-4 start is Josh Giddey's unprecedented averages through the first five games of a career: 10.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.4 SPG and 1.0 3PT. Does it mean they got Jordan? No, but his command, poise and effectiveness on a horrible team at 19-years-old is impressive. 

Orlando: Jalen Suggs started slow. Franz Wagner continues to impress, averaging 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists to go with 1.0 steal per game and 41.7% three-point shooting. Cole Anthony dazzles, and a 116.3 defensive rating (30th) guarantees they'll be picking another quality young prospect high in the draft this spring. 

Philadelphia: Let's try a Ben Simmons-less report, even if he is launching shots at the facility, per Doc Rivers. They have three wins over bad teams, with Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris picking up more facilitating duties next to Tyrese Maxey. The defense ranks in the bottom-half, as their offense continues to space inside and out as well as any in the sport between Embiid's rim pressure and Seth Curry's 65.2% three-point shooting. They shouldn't waste this season with the pieces they have in place by letting a max salary slot sit empty. Whoops. It always goes back to Simmons.

Phoenix: The Nuggets, Trail Blazers and Kings lit up their defense and the Lakers played them tight, sending the defending west champs to 1-3 through four games. Devin Booker, Jae Crowder and Paul all shot poorly, Cam Payne got hurt and only Orlando is playing worse defense. The offense ranks 20th and the starting unit rates -22.5. It's the most baffling stumble off the line in the league. 

Portland: Seventh in offense and sixth in defense. Chauncey Billups is leading the second-highest net rating team in the west behind the Jazz. Their starting unit with Norman Powell through his first full Blazers camp have dominated together. C.J. McCollum averaged 26.8 PPG while Damian Lillard struggled from the field (declining free throw attempts), with Portland dominating the Suns and Grizzlies while dropping a close opener to Sacramento and a 30-point loss at the Clippers. It's been a mixed bag, but early good minutes from Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Larry Nance Jr. point toward this being a deeper team than expected. 

Sacramento: Three close wins and two big defeats. Harrison Barnes is leading the way with 25 PPG, while De'Aaron Fox struggles to shoot and turns the ball over more than four times per game. Buddy Hield launches a ton of shots. A 22nd-ranked defense is a step up from the worst last season, but it's hard to get too excited about a 3-2 start knowing this team and wondering what's different. 

San Antonio: They take a ton of twos, rarely attempt threes relative to the rest of the league, don't get to the line and defend just below the league average rate. With Demar DeRozan in Chicago, this could be the first year the floor falls out from under this team and allows R.C Buford to pick high in the lottery. Pop keeps this group competitive through each game though. 

Toronto: They're so much more exciting than I thought they'd be. In fact, the length and versatility they boast could keep them competitive throughout the year if this down season for offenses continues. If not, they're legitimately among the worst scoring units, without much shooting to speak for. 

Watching this become Scottie Barnes' team in such a short span is thrilling and some have even used the G-word to describe his transition runs. 

Utah: Strong bet to repeat as the regular-season champion, with the top-ranked offense and second-ranked defense. Their dominant win over the Nuggets was impressive, but it feels like this group could go 82-0 and fans would hold the flowers until playoff time. 

Washington: Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell all scored 21 or more points to cap back-to-back wins in consecutive nights over the Celtics and Hawks. They're tied atop the east at 4-1, appearing deeper and more versatile defensively than they did with a Beal and Westbrook-built team last season. 

New head coach Wes Unseld Jr. slowed the pace down and took the pressure off Beal on both ends early on. I'm not screaming NBA Finals, but a 34.5 preseason over-under for this team already seems low. Daniel Gafford avoiding major injury on a scary knee collision in Boston landed the team a first major break.