It often gets brought up how easy it is to score in the NBA today and Trae Young thinks it’s harder to score in college or overseas than in the league. The Atlanta Hawks star recently sat down for an interview with Taylor Rooks where he spoke on the scoring explosions we have witnessed in the NBA.
“I feel like with numbers going up, that’s just evolution, it’s going to happen, especially with the way the defense is nowadays,” Young said. “If you really wanted more defense in basketball put defensive three seconds back in the game. That would change the outlook of offense and how easy it is to score.”
Young also pointed to the spacing and sheer talent level in the league as reasons why scoring is easier.
“There is so much space in the game in the NBA that, of course, it is way easier to score than college or overseas,” Young continued. “Just because there is so much space and so much talent on the floor that you can’t really help each other as much because of the defensive rules. It’s the way the NBA made the rules and that’s what people have to go with.”
Young does bring up some interesting points there. When you add up the defensive three-second rule, spacing, and talent level, scoring does become easier. Getting rid of that defensive three-second violation might well be key to slowing down offenses and Young is far from the only one to have brought it up.
Luka Doncic Spoke On Why It’s Easier To Score In The NBA Than In Europe
When you look back, this whole conversation about comparing the difficulty in scoring began when Luka Doncic said it was easier to score in the NBA some years ago. It wasn’t a popular take back then, but is now. Earlier this year, Doncic once again spoke on why it is easier to score in the NBA than in Europe.
“Everybody says my game looks easy. It’s not easy. Trust me,” said Doncic. “But when I said that [about the NBA] many people didn’t agree with me. I think now they are starting to agree more and more, but I always say it’s because of the rules. The three seconds in the paint in defense is huge, I don’t think people realize how huge that is. Because when I’m iso-ing, I watch the defender in the paint because he’s got to go out at some point. When he’s going out, I try to attack.”
It comes down to that three-second rule, which the NBA added before the 2001-02 season. I don’t see the league removing that rule, which in turn means the offensive explosions won’t be grinding to a halt.
The likes of Young probably wouldn’t want the NBA to remove it either, as that would make life a lot harder for him. The three-time All-Star has put up impressive averages of 26.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in 2023-24. For all his exploits, though, the Hawks are just 27-34 on the season.
What’s made matters worse for Atlanta now is that Young is on the sidelines. The 25-year-old suffered a radial collateral ligament tear in the fifth finger of his left hand during a loss to the Toronto Raptors right after the All-Star break. He has undergone surgery and is expected to miss a month of action at the least.
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