From The Logo: Too many fouls, MJ vs. load management, Wembymania

Welcome to From The Logo, a collection of opinions, analysis, and locker room insights from theScore's lead NBA reporter, Joseph Casciaro.

Are free throws and scoring getting out of hand?

Yes and no.

A quartet of 50-point performances in the span of five nights had many "back in my day" types up in arms about the NBA's continued scoring boom and lack of defense. Don't fret about it. Yes, four 50-point games within a season's first week is unusual, and the average team's points per game (117.7) has soared since last season (113.8) after slightly decreasing for two straight years, but that's somewhat misleading.

League-wide scoring efficiency is down slightly over the last two years (from 115.3 in 2023-24 to 115.2 so far in 2025-26), and the percentage of shots that come from 3-point range has actually slightly decreased from 42.1% last season to 41.7% this year.

The biggest change fueling the crooked numbers is simply that teams are playing faster and generating more possessions per game. Entering play Friday, the league-average pace of 101 possessions per game was the NBA's fastest in 40 years. In addition, the 2.2 extra possessions per game, compared to 2024-25, would mark the biggest year-over-year increase in seven seasons.

Having said all that, the NBA could have a real issue on its hands if fouls continue to be called at the current clip. The rate of fouls committed per 100 possessions is higher than it's been in 15 years, while the number of free throws per field-goal attempt hasn't been this high in 17 years.

The league's officials started to allow defenses more freedom - and did a better job ignoring non-basketball movements by foul-baiters - during the second half of the 2023-24 season and throughout the 2024-25 campaign. That resulted in the lowest foul rate on record (since 1973) last season and the lowest free-throw rate since the NBA's inaugural campaign (1946-47). As Nuggets reporter Adam Mares recently noted, there were only 67 instances of a player shooting 15 free throws in a game last season, or roughly one per 18.4 games on the NBA schedule. There have already been 15 such instances this season, or roughly one per 4.8 contests.

Is the increased frequency of whistles related to the fact that more teams are prioritizing aggressive ball pressure on the defensive end? Are refs again being duped by foul-grifters who've adapted to the officiating changes of the last couple years? We'll continue to monitor the trend throughout the campaign.

Oh, and one last thought for the conspiracy theorists who believe the glamorous Lakers always get the benefit of the whistle. It's true that Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves own two of the three highest free-throw attempt games this season. But the only other team that's had two different players attempt 15 in a game is ... Utah. Has anyone ever said the Jazz are aided by officials? Exactly.

MJ vs. load management

As discussed on the latest episode of theScore's weekly NBA studio show, there's no right or wrong when it comes to Michael Jordan's issues with load management or the practice itself. It's simply a generational divide that will never be bridged.

I can't fault Jordan or any other old-timer for failing to understand how today's stars - whose salaries dwarf the contracts of their basketball forefathers - can miss so many games due to rest and precaution. But it's also unfair to criticize modern ballers for playing and maintaining their bodies in the only environment they've ever known. Between modern advancements in sports science, wearable devices that allow teams to track and monitor fatigue levels and increased injury risks, and those bloated contracts franchises see as long-term investments, today's stars have spent their entire basketball lives operating in a world where, if you're not quite right, you don't take the court.

In his rant against load management, even Jordan acknowledged that, "Physically, if I can't do it, then I can't do it," with respect to sitting out games when he truly couldn't play. I'm not so sure it's desire that's lacking in modern players. It's that the goalposts have moved when it comes to what constitutes being physically fit to play, and it wasn't the players who moved them. The multibillion-dollar industry they're part of did.

Inside the locker room

What I'm hearing from players and people around the Association.

Giannis' words of wisdom: It was fascinating to walk inside the (visiting) Milwaukee Bucks' locker room after an opening-week win in Toronto and find Giannis Antetokounmpo imparting his new teammates with some schedule-related wisdom. The Greek Freak was discussing how poor of a start the Bucks got off to last season (2-8) and how it negatively affected the remainder of their year. His message to his team was that you have to win the games you're supposed to. "You've got to get the ones you've gotta get," Antetokounmpo told guard Cole Anthony, adding that if you do that and find a way to be in games against tougher opponents in the fourth quarter, you'll have a good season.

For what it's worth, it sounded like the Bucks considered a road game against the Raptors, who entered that contest 1-0, as one of the games they should get. Given the way Toronto has looked since then, it appears they were right.

Steven Adams is strong: Everyone familiar with the NBA knows veteran center Steven Adams is strong, but the Rockets big man can still surprise some rookies who've only watched him from afar. With Raptors center Jakob Poeltl sidelined for a game between Toronto and Houston on Wednesday, the task of matching up against Adams sometimes fell to 6-foot-7 rookie Collin Murray-Boyles. The 20-year-old is only four inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than Adams, but as Murray-Boyles quickly found out, there are levels to this.

"Adams is the strongest ..." Murray-Boyles told me before trailing off and chuckling to himself in disbelief. "He's insanely strong. My wrists are sore from trying to box him out and tussle with him. It's impossible. His strength is - I didn't think it was like that. It's insane. No one can get over his screens. I was asking him midgame what his (strength) routine is."

For the record, Adams didn't divulge much about that routine other than consuming a lot of meat.

Player of the Week

Victor Wembanyama: 30.2 PPG, 64.5 TS%, 14.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 6.2 STL + BLK, 5-0 record

Our first edition of this award actually encompasses two weeks, but Wembanyama was a pretty easy choice here (with all due respect to Antetokounmpo, Reaves, and Tyrese Maxey). For anyone thinking Wemby's line only looks impressive because it's an early-season sample, consider that he's just the seventh player since 1973 - and the first since Tim Duncan 24 years ago - to average at least 30 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks over any five-game span.

We want to hear from you!

Going forward, I'd love to devote some time each week to a reader's question. Perhaps you want my opinion or insight on a burning NBA question you've had, or maybe there's something you desperately want me to ask your favorite player the next time they roll through Toronto, where I talk to players around the league before and after they play the Raptors.

Whatever it is, you can submit your questions via:

• Comment on this story in theScore app
• Email me at [email protected]
• Send me a message on X (@JosephCasciaro)