Does slow and steady really win the race in the NBA, or does speed kill?
Pace, or how many possessions a team uses per 48 minutes, is something we often discuss when referring to specific teams or even specific eras of NBA history. It goes to the core of a team's identity, defines it against its peers.
Fast teams are fun. They run, they score, they entertain.
Slow teams defend. They ugly the game up, are probably big-man oriented and, if we think about it for a second, are either old or lacking in athleticism.
Beyond those generalizations, though, we don't really know much about pace and how it relates to winning. Is playing fast better than playing slow as a general rule? Which pace is more conducive to making the playoffs? To winning a title?
As is so often the case with questions worth asking, the answer is: It depends.
The Method
We start with the 1979-80 season, and not just because the NBA wasn't worth following until Magic and Bird were in it. (Kidding! Sort of.)
We begin there because that was the year the three-point s ...
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Article written by Grant Hughes
Does Pace Matter in the NBA?
September 26th, 2014 by Grant Hughes Leave a reply »
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