(5/25/2022)
Written by John Raley
The 2022 NBA playoffs started with a seemingly unreal amount of hype and excitement surrounding them. So how did we get to where we are now with some people calling this one of the most boring playoffs not only in NBA history, but in the history of professional sports? Blowouts. That’s how. Over the last 30 playoff games this season the average margin of victory is 15.5 points. Yes, there have been some crazy blowouts this postseason but this number is still remarkably high. In these past 30 games 13 of them have been decided by 20 or more points.
No team has been immune to this trend of blowouts that has been occurring. These types of games are bound to happen when you have two offensive juggernauts facing off against each other like the Warriors and Grizzlies who both beat each other by 30+ points during their series. Games like these are often balanced out by series that pit two defensive stalwarts against one another like the Miami vs Boston series has. Both of these teams entered their series as feared defensive units that rotate well and play good team basketball, but they struggle at times to score in the half court. This seems like the perfect recipe for a low scoring, physical, old school matchup between two clubs of a high pedigree. The result we have seen has been anything but that. Three of the four games played in that series so far have been decided by 10+ points with two of those being 20+ point games.
So why exactly are we seeing so many blowouts this postseason? Simple. Offense is at a higher premium now than it ever has been. What I mean by that is the value that a player has is more heavily weighed by their offensive ability now more than it ever has been in the past. As a result we are seeing less individually dominant defenders and more guys who thrive in a defensive scheme built around them. Now there are certainly still guys like Marcus Smart, Draymond Green, and Rudy Gobert just to name a few whose individual defensive ability has a direct impact on the outcome of the game. Players like that will always exist because they are the best at what they do and specialists are always great tools on a championship caliber team. The way the game has evolved in the last twenty years has landed itself more to the offensive side and the way players play is a direct result of that. Defenders aren’t allowed to hand check anymore which frees up the ball handler. Foul calls on drives and shots have become more frequent leading to more free throws being shot, and teams are playing at a faster pace than ever while shooting more three pointers than ever. This is what I believe to be the cause of some of these massive blowouts. We are seeing teams stacked with phenomenal offensive talent that is just too much for defenses now that are not able to defend with some of the physicality needed to stop these superstars.
The NBA should bring all the referees together after the postseason ends and discuss the possibility of some rule changes to tighten the game up a little bit and give the defense some more freedom. Now I’m not saying players should be able to go out there and maul guys like the Bad Boy Pistons did back in the late 80s, but there should absolutely be some discussion about how much contact really constitutes a direct impact on the outcome of the shot. There should also be some discussion about continuation and flopping. I think at least getting talks started about these can help to close some of these blowouts to closer games while also promoting a game that leans itself more to the two way player rather than the offensive or defensive specialist.
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