How one game explains the NBA's offensive explosion

Is there no more defense in the NBA? Were defenses much better in the past, or were offenses simply less sophisticated? On February 24, 2023, the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers scored 351 points (176-175), the second most points scored in an NBA game. This detailed film breakdown & scouting report examines how the Kings and Clippers scored so many points, and why offenses are so efficient today compared to the past.

Twitter: @elgee35

Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:
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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

Music by csus (instrumental)

#ThinkingBasketball

[tahja]

I think most of the "no defense" agenda comes from spacing. If someone gets burnt off the dribble, there's no one in the lane to stop their man from scoring like there used to be. Players back then would get burnt off the dribble too, but have teammates in the paint to help.

[kono]

this video goes to show how insanely co-ordinated you have to be to stop a single possession at NBA level in the modern game, and the fact that these players can still score against it is crazy

[behindthearcyt]

can’t believe one of the best games of all time happened on random saturday night in february also hope this game causes the kings to get more love because they deserve it

[pinobluevogel]

Excellent breakdown. This is such an iconic game. It highlights both the Kings and Clippers strengths and weaknesses. Apart from a few players being new on the clips, you can really see they lack defenders that can keep up with fast guards. Both Fox and Monk are two of the fastest guards in the league and outside of some good team defense, they really were a problem for most of the game. The Kings on the other hand, always have some defensive issues and usually they make up for it by simply outscoring their opponents. However, the Clippers could keep up with them and even surpass them in the 3rd, where Kawhi almost won them the game by himself. (as he tends to do)
This almost felt like a playoff game and its nice to see teams battle it out for such an insane endresult.

[WidgetWagyu]

It really bugs me when people say “defense isn’t being played” yes the rules favor offense so it’s harder to play d and some stars legit just give no effort and that end that’s true. However it’s also true that offense now a days is just soo good that even smothering and making all the rotations on time, you can get beat by a behind the back step back deep 3. Also the pace of this game was crazy both team just running and gunning you couldn’t really get set into your defense. Great shotmaking and a amazing thriller.

[justindeguzman]

De'Aaron Fox stays one of the most underrated players in the NBA, dude is elevating himself to superstar status each and every game. Without him, the Kings would easily have won less than 20 games at most. His clutch performances and hard carry in the 4th quarter have single handedly won the Kings at least 10 games and possibly more if they didn’t get screwed by the refs in several games.

Unbelievable at the fact that the NBA media was focusing on the Clippers and Westbrook rather than acknowledging the success Fox, Sabonis, and the Kings have had this season. The turnaround they have had in just one season is pretty historic.

[Jenny-pxtu]

This is why Golden State was so good last year, not be cause of individual defense but because of TEAM defense ( #2 in the league) where the most important thing is not necessarily stopping someone one on one, although Wiggins, GP2 and Draymond could do that, it was really well organized TEAM defense that funnels people into other defenders or funnels them to their less dominant hand

[EduardoOliveira-lqtg]

Good Lord, how much information.

Seems like hell to read all this plays correctly, and I'm talking about the offense. The cuts, the screens, the space, who to pass, when to pass.... it's nuts. Shows how good the players are today. Technical and tactical.

So, Imagine how worse is to the defense to read all that. Man, it's nonsense.

Oh yeah, there's no better NBA content than yours Ben. You're the MVP.

[cauezimmermann]

I simply love this well-detailed tactical explanation you give, Ben. Great vid as per usual!

Amazing to see how much more skilled and technical players have become over the years.

[Theskyisred]

9:58 that was one of two insane passes Kawhi made in this game sometimes I forget how good he actually is

[OriginalPMoney]

One of my favorite games to watch this year was Kings vs Sixers. As a Philly fan I was terrified watching Fox hit every floater and shot in the 4th quarter. He's really took that next step this year

[StarvinLG]

As a Cavs fan, it's crazy to think we were playing 2 completely non-shooting big men with Lebron at that time, at the peak of his slashing prowess. Z could step into the midrange if he needed to, but looking at it now the plan should've just been get everyone out of the way.

[pinheadlarry]

The amount of shots hit with a hand in their face was insane in this game. How in the hell is it "bad defense" when players are splashing shots with a hand in their face???

[wadieroxify]

It's 4 in the morning...this is definitely the best use of my time

[Schraiber]

Absolutely loved this. I hate when everyone says defense has just gotten super soft. Obviously there are rules changes that benefit the offense, but stuff like zone defense is actually helpful for defenses. But offenses have just gotten so much better. Spacing the floor and *actually running plays* are the two keys. On JJ Reddick's podcast a while ago, KD said it's way easier to score now than when he first came into the league because teams actually run stuff to get their best guys open shots instead of just isolating all the time.

I think you absolutely have to get rid of defensive 3 seconds for defenses to have any hope and that's not nearly enough

[jonahprate]

So glad im a kings fan so i got to watch this one live. Nba dropping the ball not having a game like this on national tv and having some random okc game on abc that night

[rayneozier]

14:23 that pass and relocation to receive the pass was beautiful. Great offense beats great defense every time. To stop great offense you need *perfect* defense. And that’s obviously much easier said than done.

[fireshadowblade]

The fact that ESPN tried so hard not to talk about the Kings and discussed the Clippers while the rest of the internet admitted that this shows the Kings could have a deep playoff run says a lot

[Getdown]

Space, shooting, and lack of interior presence, and not allowing contact have been the perfect storm to make the scoring absolutely explode.

[vladtheimpaler]

The more I think about this and watch games, I don’t think it’s bad defense.
I really just think this is the result of the advent of more 3 point shooting. Defenses in the 90s were playing off the perimeter and just doing war in the paint. Defenders are actually playing harder now than in past eras but it’s just more difficult to guard 5 3 point shooters for 24 seconds than 1 player trying to get a shot off in the lane.
To me, the only solution (if you think this is a problem) would be to move the 3 point line farther out and get rid of corner threes. It will re emphasize getting inside and devalue outside shots.