Usually, the difference comes when discerning between offensive and defensive stats. I’ll provide a few examples.
The Nuggets had the 6th best offensive rating in the league and the 7th best true shooting percentage last season. They averaged the 5th most assists per game in the league and had the 7th best 3-point shooting percentage. Sounds pretty good, right?
Well, they also had the 5th worst defensive rating in the league and gave up the 5th worst effective field goal percentage. Their opponents had the 20th lowest turnover percentage and the Nuggets averaged the 21st most steals per game.