I am one of those people who loved defense, and one of the stats that have gone down and puzzles me is blocks per game.. Back in early to mid 1990's and late 80's. there would be 1-2 players averaging more then 4 bpg, another 3-4 averaging more then 3 and several over 2. I dont understand with big athletic guys like Gobert, Deandre, Dwight and Anthony Davis, players are having a hard time averaging 2.5 bpg.. Why have the blocks gone down.. For that matter even steals per game have gone down but not as significantly as blocks.. Centers are definitely not shrinking and players are still attacking the hoop at the same pace.. I know centers are more prone to take a charge then try to block the shot. Do you think players like Rudy, Deandre or AD would average 4+ blocks if they played in the 80's and 90's with their current skill set
One of my first thoughts is that a lot of blocks are probably being called fouls nowadays. Incidentally, are you a fan of Samiam, the California punk band?
bigs are being taken away from the rim because they have to defend the PnR out on the perimeter or try to close out on a big that can spread the floor
High PnR and spacing. The modern offense draws the centers and rim protectors out of the paint by design. Stretch 4 with a mobile high PnR center pulls everyone out and opens up the lane. The greats like Gobert manage most of there blocks by amazing recovery and rotations.
It's not a particularly significant decline. The highest three-year periods in the 90s teams averaged 8.6 steals and 5.3 blocks. The highest three-year periods since 2010 teams averaged 7.7 steals and 5.0 blocks. Whatever is there is likely attributable to much less post play and more three-pointers.
More jumpshots and offensive players getting the benefit of the doubt on fouls when driving to the basket
in addition to what @Reeko and @BigMaloe have posted, bigs are also being groomed to go straight up when challenging shots at the rim instead of going for a block a lot more with today's league.
I see Capela out there guarding Steph Curry on switches. I hear you guys cry and cry about Dwight not extending his defense to the perimeter. Offenses evolved to take the big man away from the paint or make you pay. That's why.
More perimeter shots being taken means less blocks How often do you see a 3 point shooter or even a mid range jumper being blocked?
I showed some stats in the Ibaka Trade threads wrt to his BPG going down. Whiteside went from 3.68 last year to 2.09. And now we provide system reasons and changing NBA. But when Ibaka has a similar drop, it is proof that he's older than advertised and on the decline....like in his 30s.
In all fairness harden made butler his b**** in the rematch that year, if I remember correctly. But my god that was a sick block. I love that mans mentality and game.
