NBA 2018-19: Crazy uptick in scoring

#2 Increased pace and fast-breaks

Teams are also running at a much quicker pace this season, attempting to increase the number of shot attempts, and thus manage to score more. Mainly, the possessions per game across the league have gone up drastically, by approximately 4 possessions per team.

This equates to, on average, 8 extra possessions a game where teams have the opportunity to take shots, which is the opportunity to get another 20 points or so every game.

The mentality makes sense - the faster you run plays, the more time you have in the game, which leads to more scoring. It also gives the defense less time to recover, leaving teams more open, and thus, easy to convert shots.

Teams are finally adopting this, by trying to score in transition more. Fastbreak frequency is up by a lot, throughout the league, teams are attempting to score more and more on fastbreak opportunities. Naturally, the number of fastbreak points is also up from last year, contributing to the spike in scoring we're seeing.

Shots taken in the early seconds of the shot clock are also much more than the previous years. Teams are attempting more and more shots in the first six seconds of their possession, especially 3-pointers off quick screens, leading to a very high rate of scoring. Three-point frequency is also up, with some teams recording over half their attempted shots as 3-pointers.