Today’s Sportstat: November 30, 2019
NBA rookies who average 15 or more points in a season
When NBA teams add rookies to their roster, they are hopeful these first-year players can make a contribution. A small number of rookies become starters in their first year, while others spend a great deal of time on the bench. Teams are pleasantly surprised when these rookies can contribute major minutes and points to the team.
Let’s set 15 points per game as a standard… last season the NBA saw four players average 15 or more points in their rookie season in the league: Lukas Doncic, Dallas (21.2 points per game), Trae Young, Atlanta (19.1), Collin Sexton, Cleveland (16.7) and Deandre Ayton, Phoenix (16.3).
This season, through games of November 29, there are five players who are averaging 15 or more points per game (PPG) in their first season in the league. Leading the way is Ja Morant of Memphis who is averaging 18.6 PPG for the Grizzlies. He is followed by Eric Paschall, Golden State (17.0), Kendrick Nunn, Miami (16.4), R.J. Barrett, New York Knicks (15.3) and Tyler Herro, Miami (15.1).
If the Knicks’ Barrett should end his first season with a PPG of 15 or more, it would be noteworthy… the Knicks have not had a rookie average 15 of more PPG since Patrick Ewing average 20.0 PPG for the Knicks in 1986, a run of more than 30 years since a rookie has tallied 15 or more PPG for the team.
Here is a look at the last time each NBA had a rookie average 15 or more points per game in a season (minimum of 40 games played to qualify). Note: The last rookie to average 15 or more PPG for a team prior to 2000 is listed in parenthesis.
1986: New York Knicks (Patrick Ewing)
1987: Indiana (Chuck Person)
1994: Orlando (Anfernee Hardaway)
1995: Detroit (Grant Hill)
1998: Brooklyn (Keith Van Horn); San Antonio (Tim Duncan)
1999: Boston (Paul Pierce); Toronto (Vince Carter)
2000: Houston
2004: Denver, Miami
2005: Charlotte
2006: New Orleans
2009: Memphis, Oklahoma City
2010: Golden State, Milwaukee, Sacramento
2011: Los Angeles Clippers, Washington
2013: Portland
2016: Minnesota
2018: Chicago, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia, Utah
2019: Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Phoenix
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Today’s Sportstat: November 28, 2019
Why Melvin Gordon’s next TD is noteworthy
Kenosha’s Melvin Gordon is in his fifth season in the NFL. The two-time Pro Bowler has fashioned a nice career after being drafted in the first round (15th overall pick) by the San Diego Chargers.
Gordon has amassed 43 total regular season TDs in his career, 32 on runs and 11 via pass receptions. His next TD will be noteworthy because it will tie him with another Kenosha NFLer, Alan Ameche.
Ameche, born June 1, 1933 in Kenosha, played in the NFL six years, all with the Baltimore Colts. His 44 career TD were split between 40 runs and four pass receptions.
Both Gordon and Ameche are among 11 NFL players who were born in Wisconsin that scored 25 or more career regular season touchdowns in the league. Topping the list is Elroy Hirsch… born in Wausau, Hirsch had 66 career TDs in the league.
Here’s a look at the 11 NFL players who were born in Wisconsin that have 25 or more career TDs in the league (the city where they were born in also listed).
66: Elroy Hirsch (Wausau)
52: Pete Banaszak (Crivitz)
51: Frank Clarke (Beloit)
49: Johnny Blood (New Richmond)
44: Alan Ameche (Kenosha)
43: Melvin Gordon (Kenosha)
38: Pat Harder (Milwaukee)
35: Ted Fritsch (Spencer)
28: George Sauer (Sheboygan)
28: Bill Schroeder (Eau Claire)
25: Rocky Bleier (Appleton)
Four different QBs born in Wisconsin have thrown 70 or more TD passes in the league. Dave Krieg, who was born in Iola, WI, has a significant lead in this category with 261 career regular season TD passes. He is followed by Jay Schroeder (born in Milwaukee) with 114, Arnie Herber (born in Green Bay) with 81, and Colin Kaepernick (born in Milwaukee) with 72.
One more stat: There have been five Wisconsin-born players who have been selected to five or more Pro Bowls. The five:
Jim Otto (center born in Wausau)… 12 Pro Bowls
Joe Thomas (tackle born in Brookfield)… 10 Pro Bowls
Mike Webster (center born in Tomahawk)… 9 Pro Bowls
J.J. Watt (defensive end born in Pewaukee)… 5 Pro Bowls
John Offerdahl (linebacker born in Wisconsin Rapids)… 5 Pro Bowls
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Today’s Sportstat: November 25, 2019
PACKERSTATS-Game #11-2019 season
Here are some of the numbers that helped define the Packers 37-8 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, November 24.
- The loss in a Sunday night game was the fifth defeat in their last seven games on Sunday night. The Packers are 6-10 since 2014 in Sunday night games.
- Green Bay has now lost five of their last seven games against the 49ers, including losing three of their last four road contests against the Niners.
- This was the 19th game since 2000 that the Pack scored less than 10 points in a game. That’s the fourth fewest in the league, The Packers are 3-16 in those games. New England has the fewest games with less than 10 points since 2000 with 12. NFL teams are 43-1026-2 (a .041 winning percentage) since 2000 in games when they score less than 10 points.
- The Packers allowed 35 or more points for the 18th time since the 2010 season. The team is 6-12 in those games. In fact, the six wins is tied for the most (with New Orleans) wins by a team since 2010 in games where they allow 35 or more points. NFL teams are 45-530-2 (.080) since 2010 in games where they allow 35 or more points.
- Green Bay allowed San Francisco to put 10 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter. They are 11-27 (.289) since 2000 in games where they allow the opposition to score 10 or more points in the first quarter. They are 5-20 (.200) in road games since 2000 when the opponents tally 10 or more points in the first quarter.
- San Francisco had a 23-0 lead at halftime. Green Bay is now 6-17 (.230) since 2000 in games when they do not score in the first half… that includes being 1-10 in those games on the road.
- Aaron Rodgers yards per attempt in the game was 3.15. That is the lowest of his career in a game. The Packers are 0-8 in games when Rodgers’ yards per attempt is under 5.0 for a game.
- It was the 23rd game in Rodgers’ career that he was sacked five or more times. Green Bay is 5-18 (.217) in those games.
- The Packers were 1-for-15 in third down conversion attempts, 6.7%. That is the second lowest third down conversion percentage in a game since 1991. The lowest was on October 17, 1999 when Green Bay was 0-for-8 in third down plays against the Broncos. Green Bay has not won a game since 1991 when their third down conversion percentage was under 14% in a contest.
- Rodgers had 104 yards passing in the game. That was the sixth lowest in his career in a game he started. Green Bay is 1-11 in games when Rodgers starts and has less than 170 yards passing in the game.
- The Pack had 198 total yards in the game. NFL teams are 21-181 (.104) since 2010 in games when they have less than 200 total yards. Green Bay is 0-6 since ’10 in these games.
- The Packers had only 81 yards passing in the contest. It was the eighth game with less than 100 yards passing since 2000. The Packers are 2-6 in those games.
- Green Bay’s yards per play in the game was 2.83. That was only the fifth time since 1990 that the Packers offense had a yards per play average under three yards. The lowest since 1990 was 2.5 against the New England Patriots on November 19, 2006.
- The Pack “controlled” the ball with 35:16 Time of Possession (TOP) to San Francisco’s 24:44. Usually that’s good news for the Packers. They are now 18-4-1 in games since 2010 when they have a TOP of 35 minutes or more. In fact, NFL teams since 2010 are 575-159-10 (.780) when they have 35 minutes or more TOP in a game.
- This was only the sixth time in NFL history that a team had 35 or more minutes TOP and less than 200 total yards in the same game. The last time was in 2006 when Carolina had 41:47 TOP in a game versus Atlanta when they tallied only 194 total yards. The Packers also accomplished this rare feat in 1991 in a game versus Minnesota when they had 36:19 TOP and 188 total yards. The Pack won that game 27-7.
Today’s Sportstat: November 21, 2019
Is Mike Trout making a case to be considered baseball’s greatest player?
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout became the 11th player in baseball history to win a third MVP Award. Trout was the 2019 American League MVP, an award he also won in 2014 and 2016.
In eight years in the majors, Trout has three MVP Awards, has finished second in the balloting for the award four times (2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018) and was fourth in the voting for the honor in 2017. That’s eight Top 5 finish in the A.L. MVP voting in the first eight years of his career, and seven Top 2 finishes in the first eight years of his career. Oh, did I mention, Trout just turned 28 in August of this past year.
These are some pretty staggering numbers. Trout’s third MVP award this past season came in his age 27 year; of the other 10 players who have won three or more MVP awards, only one player, Stan Musial, won his third MVP honor in his age 27 season.
Here is a look at what age each of the 11 players with three or more MVP Awards won their third MVP honor. (Barry Bonds leads this group with seven MVP Awards; the other 10 players listed each won three MVP Awards.)
Age 27: Stan Musial, Mike Trout
Age 28: Barry Bonds
Age 29: Albert Pujols
Age 30: Yogi Berra, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle
Age 31: Alex Rodriguez
Age 32: Joe DiMaggio
Age 33: Roy Campanella
Age 36: Mike Schmidt
Trout won his three MVPs over the course of six seasons. All of the players who have won three MVPs won their first three over the span of four to seven years. Barry Bonds won his first three MVP Awards over the course of four seasons, while Musial, Berra, Campanella, Rodriguez and Pujols each won their three MVPs over a five-year span. Trout and Joe DiMaggio each won their three MVP Awards over a six-season span, while Foxx, Mantle and Schmidt won their three MVPs over seven years.
Here’s three more stats about Trout’s MVP honors:
- His four second-place finishes in the MVP voting are tied for the most in MLB history. Musial, Pujols and Ted Williams also finished second in the MVP voting four times in their careers.
- Trout’s seven Top 2 finishes in the MVP Award are tied for second most in baseball history. Bonds tops the list with nine, while Trout is tied for second with Musial and Pujols.
- Trout’s eight Top 5 finishes in the MVP voting is tied for sixth most all-time. Bonds finished in the Top 5 of the MVP Award 11 times, most in MLB history. He is followed by Pujols with 10 Top 5 finishes, Mantle, Willie Mays and Ted Williams with nine, and Trout and Hank Aaron with eight Top 5 MVP appearances. Trout is the only player in history to finish in the Top 5 of MVP balloting in each of his first eight seasons in majors.
When you consider that Trout is only 28 years of age, the scary thought is that if he stays healthy, he may still have some more MVP seasons ahead of him. Of the 11 men who have won three or more MVPs, eight of them won an MVP in their 30s.
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Today’s Sportstat: November 18, 2019
Will eight wins after 10 games get your team into the Super Bowl this season?
If history is any indication, this year’s Super Bowl teams may have already been narrowed down to six teams. The six? In the AFC, either Baltimore or New England. In the NFC, a four-team race between Green Bay, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle.
Over the past five seasons, seven of the 10 teams that played in the Super Bowl had at least eight wins after their first 10 games played. Baltimore, Green Bay, New Orleans and Seattle are each 8-2 after playing 10 games this season, while the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers are both 9-1 after their first 10 games played.
Of course, that leaves three teams over the past five Super Bowl opponents that had less than eight wins after 10 games. One team was 7-3 while a pair of Super Bowl teams over the past five campaigns had a 6-4 record after 10 games. The 2014 Seattle Seahawks and the 2016 Atlanta Falcons were each 6-4 after 10 games in those seasons and reached the Super Bowl… both teams lost in that title contest. In 2018, the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots were 7-3 after 10 games and went on the win the title that year.
That certainly gives hope for such teams as Buffalo and Minnesota (they were 7-3 after 10 games) and Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, the Rams and Oakland, each 6-4 after 10 games.
Of the 18 teams that were at least 8-2 after 10 games over the past five seasons, all made the playoffs that year. On the flip side, teams that were 3-7 or worse after 10 games in a season did not made playoffs over the past five years. Note: One team, the 2014 Carolina Panthers, made the playoffs that year after starting the season 3-6-1 in their first 10 games. They ended the regular season with a 7-8-1 record that season.
For the record, 47 of the 62 teams (75.8%) that had six or more wins after 10 games in the last five seasons went on to play in the post-season that year.
Here’s a breakdown of how many teams made the playoffs over the past five seasons based on their record in the first 10 games.
Started the season… # of teams Made playoffs
0-10 3 0
1-9 3 0
2-8 12 0
3-7 15 0
3-6-1 3 1
4-6 31 3 (9.7%)
4-5-1 2 0
5-5 28 9 (32.1%)
5-4-1 1 0
6-4 22 12 (54.5%)
6-3-1 2 1
7-3 18 15 (83.3%
7-2-1 2 1
8-2 10 10 (100%)
9-1 6 6 (100%)
10-0 2 2 (100%)
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