It’s baaack.

This may be hard to believe for Nets fans, but the high-scoring, offensive NBA basketball that had been missing and presumed dead for the better part of the past decade is making an unexpected comeback.

The NBA’s quagmire of a year ago produced an average of just 93.4 points per game, the lowest mark in nearly half a century. So far this year, teams are averaging about 95.9 points per contest. While 2.5 points may seem insignificant, it’s actually remarkable when you consider that offenses typically start slow and pick things up as the year progresses.

Normally the league sees gains in per-team scoring of about two points a game between the opening weeks of the season and the year-end average. Provided the current scoring trends hold up, that means that the league is set for a veritable boom, with averages rocketing up to about 98 points per game. The last time the league reached those heights was in 1995-96.

In other words, the season’s first two weeks portend a historic change. Scoring had been declining nonstop for about 20 years and there was no end in sight, which had everyone dreading that the Spurs and Pistons would meet in the Finals and play seven straight 52-49 snoozers. Somehow, the pendulum has swung back to the offense.

Faced with such a change in scoring after two decades of steady declines, one question immediately springs to mind: How did this happen? The obvious culprit is rules changes. During the off-season, the NBA made a big deal about reducing the amount of contact on the perimeter, and the refs have stayed true to that mission by calling hand checks that teams routinely deploy on the outside to slow opposing ballhandlers.

As a result, dribblers are finding it easier to get a step on their man, leading to more unimpeded drives to the basket. The horrendous outside shooting that normally characterizes the earlier weeks of the season hasn’t changed much – the 3-point percentage is well below last year’s year-end average. The difference has been the increase in trips to the free-throw line. The league is averaging 0.34 free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt this season, compared to 0.29 last year. That seemingly small difference means that teams take about four foul shots a game more than they did last season, which accounts for the entire difference in scoring.

Additionally, the pace is getting faster. I keep a stat called Pace Factor that measures how many possessions each team uses during the course of a game, and it has increased from 92.0 a year ago to 93.4 this season. Unlike scoring, Pace Factor usually stays steady over the course of the season. But the increase of 1.4 possessions per game should add nearly two points a game to the league scoring average.

The increase in pace is an unanticipated side benefit of the rules change. For instance, consider a guard getting the ball in the open court with just one or two players between him and the rim. If defenders can use the “arm bar” on a driving player, the guard may reason that he’ll be forced off balance if he drives, and instead decide to pull the ball out and set up a play. But with the rules change, more guards are gambling that they can get a step while in transition and take it all the way to the rim.

You can see the impact of the new rules by looking at the types of players who have benefited the most. The one who stands out is Miami’s Dwyane Wade, who has an erratic jumper but performs death-defying stunts on his forays to the rim. Wade is averaging 25.6 points a game so far, versus just 16.3 a game as a rookie last year.

While his numbers can be expected to regress to the mean, Wade’s performance so far has made it clear that he has a big advantage against defenders who can’t hand-check him. He’s not the only one – four of the league’s top six scorers thus far (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, and Wade) are slashing guards who like to get to the rim, and that’s no accident.

Because players like Wade are finding an easier path to the basket, field goal percentage is up slightly despite the poor outside shooting we’re seeing. That should only increase as teams get used to the new tactics that the rule changes will allow. As coaches realize their guards have an advantage in transition, they’ll be more willing to play a running style.

Likewise, as players realize that they can get to the rim in situations where they couldn’t a year ago, they’ll be more willing to force the issue when they have a quickness edge on their defender. And as teams realize that these kinds of players are operating at an advantage, they’ll endow them with ever greater chunks of playing time to do their thing.

Thus after four decades of defensive ascendancy, we could be seeing a long overdue swing back toward offense over the next several years. I enjoy a tough defensive team as much as the next guy and am filled with nothing but admiration for the ability of the Spurs and Pistons to suffocate their opponents. At the same time, holding guys up on the perimeter seemed like a pretty cheap way to accomplish this, and I’m glad to see the league finally woke up and outlawed it.

One hopes that the NBA continues to enforce the new rules with the same zeal they’ve shown thus far this year; having the best athletes in the world means nothing if they are forced to take long jumpers all night. So far the refs have held up their end of the bargain, and the results have been wonderful.

Welcome back, offense. We missed you.