2017-18 Kia Season Preview

Stat to know for every team heading into 2017-18

As part of our ‘One Team, One Stat’ series, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann breaks down one particular metric for every team across the league and provides several offensive, defensive, lineup and player notes regarding each NBA roster.

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks had the league’s worst offense after the All-Star break last season, scoring just 101 points per 100 possessions over their final 26 games. Their 16.4 turnovers per 100 possessions were the league’s worst mark after the break. Full article …

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics led the league with 25 wins after trailing in the fourth quarter, four more than any other team. The 25 wins were also the most after trailing in the fourth quarter in the last nine seasons. Full article …

Brooklyn Nets

Last season, the Brooklyn Nets were outscored by 4.1 points per game off turnovers, the worst differential of the last five years. Full article …

Charlotte Hornets

Last season, the Charlotte Hornets committed just 11.7 turnovers per 100 possessions. That was the lowest rate in the 40 seasons since the league started counting turnovers (1977-78). Full article …

Chicago Bulls

With an effective field goal percentage of 48.7 percent last season, the Chicago Bulls were the worst shooting team in the league. Full article …

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs made 353 corner 3-pointers last season, 76 more than any other team and more than any team in the 21 years for which we have shot location data (since 1996-97). Full article …

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks took less than 36 percent of their shots from inside the paint last season. That was the lowest rate in the 21 years (since 1996-97) for which we have shot location data. Full article …

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets were the most improved offensive team in the league last season, scoring 7.3 more points per 100 possessions (110.3) than they did in 2015-16 (102.7). Full article …

Detroit Pistons

Last season, the Detroit Pistons were outscored by 8.3 points per 100 possessions when Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond were on the floor together. That was a NetRtg (point differential per 100 possessions) worse than any team in the league last season. Full article …

Golden State Warriors

Last season’s Warriors recorded assists on 70.5 percent of their field goals.That was the highest rate of the last 13 years and the fifth highest rate in the last 60. Full article …

Houston Rockets

After the All-Star break last season, Chris Paul attempted 149 mid-range shots. The Houston Rockets attempted 147. It will be interesting to see one of the league’s best mid-range shooters join a team that has basically eliminated mid-range shots from its offense. Full article …

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers were the only team last season that ranked in the top five in 3-point percentage and in the bottom five in the percentage of their shots that were threes. Full article …

LA Clippers

Last season, no team in the league had a bigger drop-off from its starters to its bench than the LA Clippers. The Clippers ranked ninth in bench scoring at 38.2 points per game, but points scored don’t determine how good a bench is. The bench ranked 25th in regard to pace-adjusted point differential (net rating). Full article …

Los Angeles Lakers

Last season’s Los Angeles Lakers allowed 19.6 points per game in transition, the highest mark in the league. Full article …

Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies’ opponents attempted 34.1 free throws for every 100 shots from the field last season. That was the highest opponent free throw rate of the last five years. Full article …

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat were 10.8 points per 100 possessions better over their last 41 games than they were over their first 41 games. That was the biggest second-half improvement in the last 12 years. Full article …

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks took only 47 percent of their shots from outside the paint last season. That was the lowest rate in a league that took 54 percent of its shots from outside the paint on average. Full article …

Minnesota Timberwolves

Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins scored 46 percent of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ total points last season. That was the biggest percentage of a team’s points that any duo in the league scored. Full article …

New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans allowed 2.3 fewer points per 100 possessions last season than they did the season before. That made the Pelicans the league’s most improved defensive team in 2016-17. Full article …

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have been a worse-than-average defensive team in 15 of the last 16 seasons. The last time the Knicks allowed fewer points per 100 possessions than the league average in a full, 82-game season was in 2000-01, Jeff Van Gundy’s last full season as Knicks head coach. Full article …

Oklahoma City Thunder

In the 2017 playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder were outscored by 58 points in just 46 minutes with Russell Westbrook on the bench. The additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony obviously change the calculus in Oklahoma City. Full article …

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic were the only team that ranked in the bottom five in field goal percentage on shots in the paint (53.6%, 26th) and effective field goal percentage on shots from outside the paint (45.0%, 27th) last season. Full article …

Philadelphia 76ers

When Joel Embiid was on the floor last season, the Philadelphia 76ers outscored their opponents by 3.2 points per 100 possessions. Only one team in the Eastern Conference (Toronto) had a NetRtg (point differential per 100 possessions) better than plus-3.2 last season. Full article …

Phoenix Suns

Last season’s Phoenix Suns took just 25.5 percent of their shots from 3-point range, down from 30.2 percent the season before. That was the biggest drop-off in a league that took 7,000 more 3-pointers than it ever had. Full article …

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers were the most improved team after the All-Star break last season, 7.8 points per 100 possessions better than they were before the break. Full article …

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings have had both a below-average offense and a below-average defense for 11 straight seasons. Full article …

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have had the league’s best bench in three of the last four seasons.The league’s best bench is not necessarily the one that scores the most points. It’s the one that is the best at improving its team’s point differential. Full article …

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors assisted on just 47 percent of their field goals last season. That wasn’t just the lowest assist percentage last season. It was the lowest assist percentage of any team in the last 27 years. Full article …

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz averaged 1.22 points per possession in transition, the highest rate in the league last season. But only nine percent of Utah’s possessions, the second lowest rate in the league, were in transition. Full article …

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards’ starting lineup played 1,347 minutes together last season, 467 more minutes than any other lineup in the league. Full article …

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