Scoring is at a premium—which makes for premium games

Sporting News, The, May 17, 2004 by Charley Rosen

Hey, who put a lid on the baskets? Why are this year's playoff scores so microscopic? Is this offensive shortage an aberration or harbinger?

For starters, it should be noted that playoff basketball is the real deal, two months of fire-eating, high-wire competition--something totally different from the game played during the regular season. In the playoffs, cash, rings and reputations are on the line, so the intensity never diminishes.

In the days leading up to the postseason, coaching staffs spend long hours studying the game tapes of all their regular-season games against playoff opponents. Once a playoff series commences, each game played is subjected to even closer scrutiny. As a series proceeds, both teams become increasingly intimate with every nuance of the other's game plans: Which plays does the opponent tend to run after timeouts? Look out for the lob pass when so-and-so are playing together. If the strong forward doesn't get from Point A to Point B in two beats, then such-and-such play falls apart. (And what do they do when that happens?) What does a team habitually show in the second half that it doesn't in the first? By Game 2, each team even knows its opponent's play calls. Five-Up. Fist-Left. And so on.

Such familiarity means that, on offense, players find it more difficult to move along their prescribed routes without being bumped or welcomed by a double-team. One consequence is that teams often are forced into executing the third--or sometimes fourth--options on their favorite plays. That's why each offensive sequence takes more time, increases the physical nature of the game and inhibit overall scoring.

With points at more of a premium, the importance of turnovers and empty possessions becomes magnified. Thus, caution is every coach's byword--flashy passes usually are not worth the risk and prematurely launched shots should be avoided at all cost. Rebounding becomes crucial, and uncontested put-backs can demoralize a defense.

Because of the slower pace, teams that rely heavily on the running game to provide most of their scoring opportunities (such as the Nets and the Mavericks) are at a decided disadvantage. On the other hand, the Pistons' bump-and-grind offense is tailor-made for the playoffs. The biggest advantage goes to a halfcourt-oriented team, such as the Spurs, that also has sufficient quickness to take advantage of an occasional fast break to score "easy" points.

With the air taken out of the ball, the ongoing battles to gain prime positioning are more crucial, and the players are more prone to physically confront and foul each other. NBA referees contend that more whistles are blown in the playoffs than in the regular season, and they're probably correct. However, noncalls are invariably more significant. If there are approximately five fouls committed for every foul called during regular-season competition, the ratio is at least doubled during the playoffs. During the playoffs, the refs' rule is no blood, no foul--especially in the shadow of the basket.

Substitution patterns also change during the playoffs. During a typical regular-season game, there's a period somewhere between the last 2 minutes of the first quarter and the first 5 or 6 minutes of the second quarter when both teams generally have several subs on the floor, fin the second half, that span is usually shorter, but similarly overlaps the third and fourth quarters.) Because the talent level is somewhat reduced at this time, the games tend to become looser, and there are more open-court opportunities. Here's where one team can run itself into a quick 10-point lead--but such a lead (or deficit) isn't very significant because there still is plenty of time remaining in which to make the necessary adjustments.

And because every mistake is amplified and each possession is so crucial in the playoffs, even the second-stringers are advised to play cautiously.

Moreover, most coaches shorten the rotations of their subs, hoping to maximize the minutes in which their starters will be matched against the other guy's bench players--which, in turn, forces a premature return to action by the opponents' starters.

Because key players get significantly more minutes in the postseason, teams with deep benches (such as the Pistons) don't necessarily have the same advantage they enjoy during the regular season over teams with short benches (such as the Spurs). Of course, having more quality players available always is a crucial factor in the event of injuries, foul trouble and/or ejections. And with each series lengthened to accommodate the red-eyed travel monster, there's sufficient downtime to decrease the natural advantage that young legs normally enjoy over old heads.

Too many otherwise diligent denizens of Sports America complain that low-scoring games make playoff basketball boring. These folks are advised to limit their spectating to Arena Football, Rucker League basketball and helter-skelter matchups between the Kings and Mavericks.

Games featuring scores in the 70s or 80s present undiminished intensity. Every pass, every shot, every decision becomes critical. Fans must be attentive to the unfolding of every single play--what transpires on the weak side is just as important as what happens around the ball. The reward is a thrill-a-second rush that lasts from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer--something like watching a 1-0 playoff game in baseball.