PTFO: How fake are NBA stats from previous decades?

I can see blocks being messed with, but steals? There's a loss of possession with steals. What's the scenario in which a steal is faked?

I've seen evidence of rebounds being messed with. Player A taps rebound to Player B, but Player B gets the rebound. Scenario is reversed and Player B still gets credited for the tap rebound.

Assists are faked, too. You see players make several moves before scoring and the passer still gets an assist. Stockton famously had that happen to him a lot in Utah.

 

I feel like everyone is doing the assist thing. To me you made the play worth the points and the guy doing the scoring did so because of that play. Anymore it's just you had the ball in the previous 7 seconds prior to scoring. Fred having 10+ assist games surprises the snot outta me sometimes. Like you came around Alpe's pick, hit him with a pocket pass while he's still above the free throw line.... then he's taking two dribbles, a fake and an up and under to score? That's not an assist really. Alpe did all that on his own drive. Or the blocks??? I get the shooter is going up and you poked the ball away but it feels a stretch to call it a block.

 

Setting a pick that results in scoring should be credited as an assist. Boxing out for teammate should be credited as a rebound.

 

There is a screen assist stat:

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/h...Type=Regular Season&dir=1&sort=SCREEN_ASSISTS

If we're cleaning up assists, we should also credit assists that lead to shooting fouls - it's functionally identical and physically identical for the assisting player.

I was going to say it should be adjusted for FT% , but then we don't differentiate btw 2 and 3 point assists so maybe it shouldn't

 

this is the JJJr thing all over again, and it was found that the discrepancy for him at home vs the road was in fact pretty legit

but yeah, of course there’s some home cooking with the stats…if I was a score keeper, I’d be finessing the assists too

 

I hate how people knocking the ball out of someone's hand is now a block.......Hakeem's record will be passed by someone like Gary Payton and that ain't right.

Create a new category for that.....it is not a blocked shot.....

Or, go back and review all the times Hakeem tied someone up and add to his total.

DD

 

Haven't watched the video, but I know that assists and rebounds were very open to interpretation for a long time. Stockton always had more assists at home; Rodman always had more rebounds at home; etc.