Attack chasing attack: behind the incredible shooting displays in the NBA - voila! sport

Summary clip of today's sports events, 16.1 (Sport1)

Jayson Tatum last night (Monday) joined a not at all short list of players who scored 50 points or more in a single NBA game this season.

The Boston star who rained 51 points on the head of Charlotte became the 11th player this season to do so, with one of them (Luka Doncic) doing it three times so far, and two (Joel Embiid and Devin Booker) doing it twice so far.

Let's start, with your permission, with the full list, and then we'll try to understand what it all means.

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• Donovan Mitchell - 71 points (22 of 34 from the field, 20 of 25 from the free throw line), 8 rebounds and 11 assists against Chicago

• Luka Doncic - 60 points (21 of 31 from the field, 16 of 22 from the free throw line), 21 rebounds and 10 assists against New York

• Joel Embiid - 59 points (19 of 28 from the field, 20 of 24 from the free throw), 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks against Utah

• Devin Booker - 58 points (21 of 35 from the field, 10 of 15 from the free throw line), 6 rebounds and 5 assists against New Orleans

• Anthony Davis - 55 points (22 of 30 from the field, 9 of 9 from the free throw line) and 17 rebounds against Washington

• Giannis Antetokounmpo - 55 points (20 of 33 from the field, 15 of 16 from the free throw line), 10 rebounds and 7 assists against Washington

• Klay Thompson - 54 points (21 of 39 from the field, 2 of 2 from the free throw line) and 8 rebounds against Atlanta

• Joel Embiid - 53 points (20 of 32 from the field, 11 of 11 from the free throw line) and 12 rebounds against Charlotte

• Pascal Siakam - 52 points (17 of 25 from the field, 16 of 18 from the free throw line), 9 rebounds and 7 assists against New York

• Luka Doncic - 51 points (18 of 29 from the field, 9 of 15 from the free throw line), 6 rebounds and 9 assists against San Antonio

• Devin Booker - 51 points (20 of 25 from the field, 5 of 6 from the free throw line), 4 rebounds and 6 assists against Chicago

• Darius Garland - 51 points (16 of 31 from the field, 9 of 13 from the free throw line) and 6 assists against Minnesota

• Jayson Tatum - 51 points (15 of 23 from the field, 14 of 14 from the free throw line), 9 rebounds and 5 assists against Charlotte

• Stephen Curry - 50 points (17 of 28 from the field, 9 of 9 from the free throw line), 9 rebounds and 6 assists against Phoenix

• Luka Doncic - 50 points (17 of 30 from the field, 10 of 12 from the free throw line), 8 rebounds and 10 assists against Houston

• Damian Lillard - 50 points (16 of 28 from the field, 13 of 15 from the free throw line) against Cleveland

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Despite these amazing individual performances, it is difficult to imagine anyone being able to break the legendary record of Wilt Chamberlain - 100 points against New York in March 1962. The closest to him was Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 points on the head of Toronto in January 2006, but even if all records The times will not be broken this season, there is no doubt that this is an unusual period - even in the best league in the world.

Don't believe us?

Well, Tatum delivered the 16th game of the season in which a player scores 50 or more points, and we're only halfway through January.

For comparison, last season as a whole there were 19 such games, in the 2020/21 season 14, in the 2019/20 season 23, in 2018/19 22, in 2017/8 13, and ten years ago it was done only three times.

The all-time record, by the way, was recorded in the 1961/62 season, with no less than 57 such games (recall that in that season Willett averaged 50.4 points per game), but in the modern era the 2022/23 season is seen as a breakthrough, and according to all estimates, it will break The records for games with 30 points or more (886 - it was set last year), and for games with 40 points or more (142, set in 1961/62).

So why is this happening?

For two main reasons: the talent that has flowed into the league in recent years is almost unprecedented, with unique and particularly dominant offensive players - and the combination of a faster pace of play, higher efficiency and more spacious play.

This season, teams are registering 99.4 possessions per 48 minutes - still lower than the 2019/20 record (100.3), but much higher than a decade ago, for that matter.

But that's not all.

Currently, the league's teams are putting up an offensive index of 113.7 points per 100 possessions - the highest average ever, and also when it comes to effective shooting percentages (an advanced index that also takes into account shots from outside the arc), no season has reached such high numbers (currently 54.1%) .

Even in less advanced indices, 2022/23 is an exception - let's say, the league teams are currently setting percentages of 47.2% from the field - the highest figure since the 1992/93 season and 78.1% from the penalty - the highest ever.

If so, it is not surprising that on average, all teams in the league so far score 114 points per game - the highest figure in the modern era, and the highest in the league since the 1969/70 season.

By the way, all this happens not necessarily in a record season outside the arc - currently, 12.3 three-pointers are made per game (all-time record - 12.7, set in 2020/2021), at 35.7% (all-time record - 36.7%, set in 2020/ 21).

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According to Steve Kerr, there is another reason for all these records - the defenses are simply weaker.

"The pass defenses are currently at an all-time low," he said a few weeks ago.

"Every time you turn on the TV, you see five players standing, and one throwing. We do it too. Every team does it. The game becomes very spacious and the players are so talented, which leads to great shooting nights."

"This is such a talented league, everyone is so talented," Nikola Jokic said.

"Luka, Mitchell, Yannis. The talent in this league is simply amazing, and it will only get better."

Ivica Zubach added: "It's a very attacking league, the attacks are constantly wide, so there is room for the players to work. I think there is more talent in the league right now, the level of talent is amazing."

Tyronn Lue analyzed his problem, as a coach: "It's difficult, because if you do a double-team on Doncic, let's say, or Steph, then you have players in the corner who shoot 38-40 percent on 3. You have to choose the poison Yours, it's quite different from when I started coaching in Cleveland. The game changes every year, and you have to acclimatize."

Will any of them score 80 or more points this season?

Donovan Mitchell

Luka Doncic

Joel Embiid

Stephen Curry

Devin Booker

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Clay Thompson

Damian Lillard

Jason Tatum

Kevin Durant

And maybe, then, Wilt Chamberlain's immortal points record will be broken soon?

According to Joe Varden of The Athletic, it's not that far-fetched: "Why wouldn't someone shoot 82? Why not 101? If someone makes 20 3-pointers, and 20 more free throws, and the game goes into overtime or two... yeah, I can To see Luca or Steph get there."

His colleague Mike Prada added and wrote: "Records are meant to be broken. I predict that in 2023 someone will overtake Kobe's 81-point game, and in the next decade someone will reach 101 points."

"This record will never be broken," Klay Thompson previously claimed.

"In 2016 I had a chance, I scored 60 points in 29 minutes, and I was still 40 points away!"

However, Kemba Walker actually believes it's possible, saying several years ago: "Players are getting close, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Steph or Clay score 100. It wouldn't surprise me to see Trae Young score 100, or Giannis.

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• Donovan Mitchell

• Luka Doncic

• Joel Embiid

• Jason Tatum