Photo: Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire

If your primary understanding of the NBA landscape comes from talking heads on TV and browsing social media, you could be forgiven for believing that the league has become homogenous in terms of offensive approach.

It’s undeniably true that the three-point revolution is here and ongoing, but as with all things, growth isn’t linear. 

The Miami Heat is one example of a team eschewing the norms to create its buzzsaw offense, a topic SIS’ Jack Klein recently dove into, but it’s not the only one.

Nearly a quarter of the way through the 2025-26 season, there are a handful of teams showing that high-volume shooting isn’t necessarily needed to carve out a high-level offense or a winning system.

Of the top-10 teams in wins, six are bottom-10 in three point attempts: The Rockets, Pistons, Raptors, Lakers, Nuggets, and Heat.

Of the top-10 teams in offensive rating (ORting) in the same span, four are bottom-10 in three point attempts: the Rockets, Lakers, Magic, and Nuggets.

As you may have surmised by cross-comparing those lists, three teams are top-10 in both wins and offensive rating despite being bottom-10 in three-point attempts: the Rockets, Lakers, and Nuggets. The Raptors, who are 11th in ORting, are a close fourth.

So how have these teams managed to buck the modern conventions and find success despite their apparently non-modern shot profile?

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All four teams represent some of the most post-heavy offenses the league has to offer. 

The Nuggets create the most field goal attempts off of post-ups in the league at 5.9 per game (as tracked by our Data Scouts, who watch every play of every game) and are wickedly efficient on those shots, ranking 5th in true shooting percentage (TS%) at 65%.

Not far behind are the Rockets, who are 2nd in field goal attempts off post-ups at 5.6, and 7th in TS% at 62%. 

These attacks are fueled primarily by Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic, who represent the two most dominant post presences in the league this season.

The Lakers come in tied at 7th with 3.3 FGA out of the post per game, and are tied with the Nuggets for 5th in efficiency, while the Raptors are 10th in attempts but only 25th in efficiency.

Midrange Maestros

Any team losing what is commonly referred to as “the math battle” (for those who need a remedial lesson, 3>2) will need to find ways to dominate in other areas, which is why it’s not surprising that these four teams are all lethal when it comes to scoring from the mid-range.

Some teams do it by volume, others by efficiency. 

The Rockets and Raptors are 3rd and 5th in the league in total FGA that come in the midrange. The Raptors convert these shots at the 5th-best efficiency in the league, while the Rockets are considerably less efficient, posting the 22nd-best TS% on these shots.

The Lakers and Nuggets are just outside the top 10 when it comes to volume, with the Lakers taking the 14th-most midrange shots and the Nuggets the 11th-most. However, they are elite at converting these looks, with the 1st and 3rd-highest true shooting marks (the Thunder are 2nd).

Fourth-Quarter Fiends

Perhaps unsurprisingly, these teams are all also some of the most effective the league has to offer when it comes to closing out games. With little room for error in their scoring profile, they’ve leaned on elite fourth-quarter efficiency to secure their places at the top of the standings.

The Rockets boast the league’s highest fourth-quarter TS% at 64%, while the Nuggets are hot on their heels at 62%. The Raptors and Lakers come in tied for 6th at 60%, just 0.1% behind the fifth-ranked Bucks.

The Rockets’ late-game dominance is also evidenced by the fact that they lead the league in clutch-time offensive rating, advantage creation, and have the 2nd-lowest turnover rate. 

Their late-game execution, spearheaded by Kevin Durant who ranks 8th in clutch advantage creation per game*, is undoubtedly one of their keys to success as they’ve dealt with injuries and spacing issues.

*Advantage creation is defined by SIS as an action from a player which results in a situation where the team can generate a high-value shot.

Of the 62 players to take at least 50 fourth-quarter field goal attempts this season, Jokic stands as the most elite finisher in the league, scoring at a 71.9% TS%. Reaves is 3rd (71.5%) and Sengun 4th (70.5%), while the most efficient Raptor is Scottie Barnes, who comes in 10th at 66.9%.

Finding ways to win

Of course, each team has its own unique way of carving out wins in addition to these similarities.

The Rockets, who emphasized size this offseason, make a point to bludgeon teams on the glass.

Houston Rockets Ranks – 2025-26 Season

The Lakers are the most efficient rim finishing team, and the best when it comes to drawing free throws in the clutch.

They’re also the most efficient team in terms of self-created shots in the league. They rely on their star guards in Reaves and Doncic to create offense for themselves while generating the second-fewest field goal attempts off closeouts of any team.

While the Nuggets are only 7th in advantage creation, they’re 2nd in the league when it comes to protecting their advantages – only the Celtics and Knicks have a lower advantage reduction rate, per SIS data.

Finally, the Raptors know their strengths and weaknesses, and use their length and activity to get out on the break and make up for their half-court game.

The Raptors are 1st when it comes to FGA in transition and 1st in terms of fast break points, per the NBA’s tracking data. They’re 3rd in assists and 5th in assist-to-turnover ratio, prioritizing ball movement and security to find cracks in the defense.

Possessions reign supreme

When you look at these profiles together, a theme begins to emerge. In addition to dominating the post and/or midrange, possessions are a crucial battleground for teams that don’t prioritize three-point volume.

Whether creating extra possessions via the offensive glass, prioritizing a lack of turnovers, or ensuring that any advantages created are taken advantage of, the focus is clear: no possession can be taken for granted.