What's the explanation for all the huge NBA individual scoring performances this season? Why have they increased in frequency over the past few weeks?
On Monday, hours after Donovan Mitchell scored 71 in an overtime win against the Chicago Bulls -- the most by any player in a game since Kobe Bryant's 81-point performance in 2006 -- Klay Thompson tallied 54 in a double-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks.
Those games highlighted a recent high-scoring trend. Near the midpoint of the 2022-23 season, the NBA already has 14 50-point games -- tied for seventh-most we've seen in an entire regular season. Seven of those came in December alone, also tied for seventh-most ever in a month. Let's break down why players are going off so frequently.
Throughout the NBA season, I answer your questions about the latest, most interesting topics in basketball. You can tweet me directly at @kpelton, tweet your questions using the hashtag #peltonmailbag or email them to peltonmailbag@gmail.com.
In addition to the main question, this week's mailbag also tackles how many minutes it takes before lineup stats should be considered reliable measures of their performance and shots made with a foot on the 3-point line.
"Some of these stat lines have been wild. What's causing this uptick in scoring?"
-- JM