Our weekly look at four topics — players, issues, numbers, trends — that are impacting and, in some cases, changing the game.

First Quarter: Scoring in bunches and bunches and bunches

How much is too much?

Unless we’re talking Girl Scout cookies, Al Pacino movies or Stevie Wonder albums, everything has a saturation limit, or at least it should.

Is scoring in the NBA reaching that point?

For a league that was desperate to see scoring reach the 100s when games were slow marches to 90, the rules were opened up to increase scoring, limit overly physical play and display the athletes at their best.

That has had the desired effect — almost too well.

(Yahoo Sports illustration) More

Every team is averaging well over 100 points per game (league average 111.4), with the Charlotte Hornets bringing up the rear at a measly 102 per night — the same production as the Miami Heat back in 2010-11.

Yes, that’s the first year of the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh partnership.

The game we’re watching nightly is so drastically different from the contests we saw even five years ago.

Remember that Stephen Curry bomb on Feb. 27, 2016, against the Oklahoma City Thunder in one of the greatest regular-season games of the decade? The 40-ish footer from barely a step inside of half-court that caught everyone off-guard, especially Anthony Roberson?

Well, LeBron James has hit shots from that zip code twice in the last week. The first was the “not yet, kid” triple Sunday that quieted the frenzied New Orleans crowd after Zion Williamson brought the house down with a dynamite dunk on a nationally televised game.

The second was a calm, walk-up triple Tuesday from the Los Angeles Lakers logo a couple nights ago.

The skill levels of the incumbent players as well as the young stars entering the league have been aided by the rules being so loose.

According to basketball-reference.com creator Justin Kubatko, February was the second month in league history in which six players — Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Trae Young, Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard — averaged 30 points or more.

The first month that occurred?

January 2020, with Kawhi Leonard and Devin Booker joining Lillard, Westbrook, Young and Beal.

Notice the names that haven’t been mentioned? Luminaries like James, Curry, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Curry has been out most of the year, but he could wind up on that list next year, and with Durant recovering from an Achilles injury, he could return to elite status next season.

For all we know, we could be in the most golden of golden eras of scoring, with talent like Zion Williamson and Luka Doncic ready to do more damage as time goes on.

But if these explosions are so commonplace, does it diminish how special it feels, especially with defenses not having much of a chance to earn the benefit of the doubt?

Whether it’s the “gather and two steps” rule or no more hand-checking or mere evolution, it feels like we’re in a juiced-ball era that would make the slow-down coaches of the ’90s cringe.

This isn’t opining to go back there, not by a long shot.

But maybe, just maybe, we can play some games on All-Madden once in a while?

OK, old man no longer yelling at cloud.

Second Quarter: Caris LeVert getting it done

Speaking of scoring in bunches, Brooklyn’s Caris LeVert claimed best performance of the week with his 51-point showing (the 20th time a player has dropped 50 this year) against the Celtics on Tuesday night, with 37 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime in a comeback win.

He’s an intriguing piece for the future as the Nets will have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving presumably back in the fold next season. He can play both swing positions and his three-year, $52 million extension kicks in next season as the Nets expect to contend.

He’s had freakish injuries in college at Michigan and with the Nets — the scariest one last year when he injured his foot on an awkward fall in Minnesota that many feared could cost him his potential. He missed eight weeks this season following surgery on his right thumb, but made the turn following the All-Star break, averaging 21 before the 51-point explosion.

Story continues