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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.

Merry Christmas to all!

The NBA tips off its abbreviated 2011-2012 season today. Here are a few stats to get you in the mood for some basketball. First, a few trivia questions to test your knowledge of the NBA. See if you can come up with the answer before you sneak a peek at the answers later in the blog.

1. Are former NBA players more successful coaches than those coaches who never played in the league?

2. Can you name the seven NBA teams that have won over 250 games over the past five NBA seasons?

3. Which NBA team has scored the most points over the past five seasons?

4. Which NBA team has made the most three-point shots in the past five seasons?

Question #1. Of the seven NBA coaches who have won 1,000 or more games in their career, all seven were former players. They are: Don Nelson (1335), Lenny Wilkens (1332), Jerry Sloan (1221), Pat Riley (1210), Phil Jackson (1155), Larry Brown (1098), George Karl (1036). Here is the list of the Top 10 winningest NBA coaches who did not play in the league: Bill Fitch (944), Red Auerbach (938), Dick Motta (935), Jack Ramsey (864), Cotton Fitzsimmons (832), Gregg Popovich (797), John MacLeod (707), Mike Fratello (667), Chuck Daly (638) and Flip Saunders (636).

Question #2: Last year’s champions, the Dallas Mavericks, top the NBA with 280 wins over the past five seasons. They are followed by San Antonio (279), Los Angeles Lakers (278), Orlando (262), Boston (258), Phoenix (256) and Denver (252).

Question #3: The Phoenix Suns have filled the scorebook better than any other NBA team over the past five seasons with 44,687 points. They are followed by Golden State (44,146), Denver (43,808), the Lakers (42,806) and Utah (42,224).

Question #4: The three-point champ over the past five seasons is Orlando with 3571. Phoenix is second with 3463, followed by Golden State with 3329, the New York Knicks with 3296 and Houston with 3232.