The Bulls and Grizzlies have drastically changed their playing styles to open the season.

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In the 29 seasons for which we have play-by-play data, only two teams have won more than three games that they trailed by at least 20 points. The 2024-25 Chicago Bulls have already done it twice, coming back from 20 down to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on October 28 and doing it again against the Orlando Magic two nights later.

Two things can increase quarter-to-quarter variance within a game. One is pace, because the more possessions there are, the more opportunities you have to score points.

The other is the 3-point rate. Shooting more 3-pointers increases the likelihood of a scoring drought or a scoring glut.

Not coincidentally, the Bulls play a lot faster and shoot a lot more 3-pointers than they did last season.

With the teams having only played an average of eight games through Wednesday, it’s a little early to put too much stock in which one is better on each end of the floor. At this time last season, the Toronto Raptors were ranked the eighth defensively (they finished 26th), while the Pelicans ranked 22nd (they finished sixth).

But we can get a good idea of ​​which teams are playing different. Here’s a look at nine teams that made changes when looking at pace, ball movement, 3-point rate, offensive rebounding percentage and pick-and-roll coverage…

All statistics are as of Wednesday, November 6.

1. Chicago Bulls: A brand new offense

The departure of DeMar DeRozan (w his 547 average attempts going to Sacramento) was supposed to change the way the Bulls play. But their offense was completely overhauled in Billy Donovan’s fifth season as coach.

• The Bulls saw the league’s biggest jump in pace by a huge margin, standings first (106.2 possessions per 48 minutes) after ranking 28 (96.9) last season. According to Second Spectrum tracking, they averaged just 13.2 seconds per offensive possession (shortest in the league), down from 14.7 (15th-shortest) last season.

• They also saw the biggest jump in ball movement, averaging 399 passes per 24 minutes of possession (second), up from 339 (sixth) last season.

• They also saw the biggest jump in 3-point rate, making 47.3% of their shots (the fourth highest) across the arc, up from 35.8% (29) last season.

• Finally, they saw the third-largest drop in offensive rebounding percentage. This of course affects their pace as fewer offensive boards = shorter possessions.

The offensive changes didn’t work particularly well. Bulls rank 28 on offense, down from 19th last season. Their actual field goal percentage is too far below league average, but they don’t get to the line much and (as mentioned) don’t give themselves many second chances. As nice as it is that they’ve come back from two 20-point deficits, it’s not nice that they’ve trailed seven of eight games by 15 or more.

They were down 30 in the fourth quarter in Dallas on Wednesday, and the Bulls’ new (and not-so-improved) offense now faces the team that had the league’s No. 1 defense last season, hosting the Wolves on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

2. Charlotte Hornets: More 3s and rebounds, less ball movement

First-time coach Charles Lee is getting his team to play a little more like the one he helped win a championship last season in Boston.

• The Hornets have seen the biggest in the league drop in ball movement, averaging just 299 passes per 24 minutes of possession (28th), down from 329 (10th) last season.

• They saw the third-biggest jump in 3-point rate, taking 48.3 percent of their shots from deep. That’s the league third highest rate and up from 39.1% (the 15th) last season.

• They also saw the second-biggest jump in offensive rebounding percentage, going from 27 (25.3%) at fifth (33.5%).

It helps that LaMelo Ball has been healthy this season, and the 3-5 Hornets have scored 3.1 more points per 100 possessions than last season. That’s the league’s third-highest jump. However, they are still below league average on that end of the floor.

In terms of ball movement, there will be contrasting styles when the Hornets host the Pacers (leading in assists per 24 minutes of possession) on Friday (7:00 p.m. ET, licensed for the NBA).

3. Los Angeles Lakers: More ball movement, more turnover

Another first-time head coach (JJ Redick) made some changes in LA. The Lakers haven’t changed much in terms of pace or 3-point rate, but…

• The Lakers averaged 336 assists per 24 minutes of possession, the ninth-highest rate in the league and up from 293 (29th) last season.

• After ranking 29th in offensive rebounding percentage (24.4%) last season, they are 18th (28.3%) this season. This has helped them average just 0.5 fewer shot opportunities than their opponents, much better than the league-leading discrepancy of -3.5 opportunities per game last season.

• Defensively, the Lakers have turned over 36 percent of their ball screens, the league’s highest rate by a healthy margin and up from 22 percent (20th) last season. (Anthony Davis went from 12% to 29%).

After he left 1-4 on their trip, the Lakers come back home (where they are 3-0) to face the Sixers on Friday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

4. Memphis Grizzlies: Trade 3s for paint offense

While the league as a whole saw another jump in 3-point rate, the Grizzlies — with their star back in uniform — went in the opposite direction.

• The Grizzlies saw the league’s biggest drop in 3-point percentage, taking just 36.4 percent of their shots from beyond the arc (the fourth smallest), down from 42.8% (fifth highest) last season.

• But with Ja Morant back, they saw the league’s biggest increase in the percentage of shots that came in the paint and the biggest increase in their field goal percentage in the paint.

Grizzlies shooting in the paint, the last two seasons

% FGA = Percentage of total FGA

• Morant ranks fifth in drives per game (16.8) and has ridiculous highlights, but Jaren Jackson Jr. lead the team with 11.7 points in the paint per game after shooting much better there (66.1%) than he did last season (50.5%). Rookie Zach Edey, meanwhile, takes over sixth with 17.2 points in the paint per 36 minutes.

Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies had the most improved offense in the league by a healthy margin, ranking sixth on that end of the floor and scoring nine more points per 100 possessions than last season. They also did it by missing one or both of their top 3-point shooters.

Desmond Bane has missed the past 4 1/2 games, while Luke Kennard was available for the first time Wednesday. Their 3-point rate could increase as the season continues.

Winners of three of their last four, Memphis hosts Washington on Friday (8:00 p.m. ET, licensed for the NBA) before going on a three-game road trip.

5. Five more teams to note…

• With the addition of Russell Westbrook, Nuggets we saw the second biggest jump in pace in the league. They did the media 105.6 possessions per 48 minutes with him on the floor and only 99.7 with him on the floor.

• Despite the departure of Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves they saw the league’s second-highest jump in 3-point percentage. They also saw a big drop in their offensive rebounding percentage.

• The suns they saw the fourth-largest increase in 3-point percentage and the league’s largest decrease in offensive rebounding percentage.

• The spurs we saw the league’s biggest drop in pace while also seeing the biggest change in pick-and-roll coverage. According to Second Spectrum tracking, they have less coverage than last season, though it’s mostly Zach Collins (on the screen level more) and not Victor Wembanyama (still mostly in coverage).

• The rape they saw the league’s largest jump in offensive rebounding percentage and the fifth-largest jump in ball movement, while seeing the fourth-largest drop in 3-point percentage.

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John Schuhmann is a senior statistical analyst for NBA.com. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow X.

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