Saturday Slam N JamAndrew Schlecht and Alex Speers discuss the NBA Headlines of the week including Paolo Banchero's injury, Nuggets and Bucks struggling and a Wemby 5x5. Then the guys discuss the Rookie of the Year odds and their favorite things from the week including their favorite players, quotes, and more. In part 2 Bryce Simon of the Game Theory and Pistons Pulse podcasts joins to discuss the Pistons and if there is anything from their early start that indicates good progress. Then in the final segment they play a fun and stressful edition of Andrew vs. the Beat, a game show hosted by Alex Speers where Andrew and Bryce go head to head in Pistons trivia.Host: Andrew SchlechtWith: Alex Speers and Bryce SimonExecutive Producer: Andrew Schlecht Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Full Episode
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin' Jam. I'm your host, Andrew Schlecht. With me, as always, is my good friend, Alex Spears. Today on the show, we are going to go through some headlines. We're going to talk Rookie of the Year. We are also going to go through our favorite things. And then at the tail end of the show, we're going to have our buddy Bryce Simon come on to discuss the Detroit Pistons.
And of course... do some ridiculous trivia. That is very fun. Very much looking forward to that. But before we get to any of the trivia, any of the chaos, Alex, tell me about the top stories in the NBA this week.
Well, Andrew, the top story this week was our first 50-point game of the season. In a game against Indiana, Paulo Banqueiro bullied the Pacers, getting to the line 22 times en route to a 50-13-9 line. Paulo's 37 points in the first half tied a franchise record for most points and a half previously set by Tracy McGrady. Through five games, Bancaro is averaging 29 points per game for the 3-2 Magic.
Unfortunately, later in the week, we would find out that Paulo had a torn right oblique that will keep him out for the next four to six weeks, a significant blow for the young Magic team. Paulo, who averaged 4.4 three-point attempts per game last season, took nine three-pointers in that 50-point game, another data point in what has been an historical start to the NBA season from three.
Currently, NBA teams are taking more than 40% of their shots from three, the highest attempt rate ever. Owen Phillips noted in his blog, The F5, the rise in three-point attempts is largely coming from an increase in pull-up attempts from behind the arc. Take Anthony Edwards, for example.
Kevin O'Connor pointed out that Ant is taking 58.9% of his shots from three, a rate that is higher than any James Harden season. And that includes Ant taking nearly nine pull-up threes per game. The Bulls, the freaking Bulls, who used to be allergic to threes during the DeRozan era, tied a franchise record this week for made three-pointers in a game with 25. When will this madness stop, Andrew?
I can remember watching Monte Ellis go out there and shoot 36% on eight mid-range attempts per game, and I liked it, Andrew. I liked that. I thought that was good. I liked it, Andrew. I would yell at my TV. I say, give it to the Mississippi bullet and let him try some stuff. Now I'm watching these losers step back a couple of feet and shoot the same percentage as Monte.
And I'm barfing my guts out, Andrew. And speaking of barf. The Nuggets had one of the more bad good weeks I've ever seen. They ended up going 2-1 on the week. Solid result. But two wins. Both required overtime and were against two teams, the Raptors and the Nets, who are expected to be in the lottery this season. And of note in the Raptors game, Scotty Barnes sustained an orbital fracture.
He's going to be sidelined for at least three weeks. Now, for the Nuggets, they continue to be carried by Nikola Jokic. He's averaging 31-12-9 on 57-55-78 shooting. Now, it's only four games. This will change. But as of right now, per Cleaning the Glass, Jokic's on-off number is plus 38.9. Now, for reference, his previous high for a season was plus 24.8.
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