Today’s Sports Stat: February 16, 2018
Milwaukee Bucks fans have seen their team done in by some of the greatest opposing players in NBA history… included in that group would be Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas. You could also add future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Jason Kidd and Russell Westbrook to that list.
But what about Nikola Jokic? Would that be a name that rings fear in hearts of the Bucks faithful? What, you might ask, does Jokic have in common with the other six “legends” noted above?
With 30 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists in Denver’s 134-123 win over the Bucks on February 15, Jokic had his third career triple-double against the Bucks. The only opposing players to have as many triple-doubles (regular season and playoffs) against the Bucks as Jokic are Jason Kidd, Russell Westbrook and Larry Bird.
Following are the 10 opposing players who have had two or more triple-doubles against the Bucks.
6-Jason Kidd
4-Russell Westbrook
3-Larry Bird, Nikola Jokic
2-Alvan Adams, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Detlef Schrempf, Isiah Thomas, John Williams
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NBA Playoff Triple-Doubles without the turnovers
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Rajon Rondo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Miami’s LeBron James missed out on a triple-double yesterday when he fell one assist short of accomplishing this feat; he had 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.
In the 2012 NBA playoffs, Boston’s Rajon Rondo is the only player to have a triple-double. He had 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists on May 4 in Game Two against the Hawks, and then had a second triple-double of the ’12 playoffs when he scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 17 assists in the May 12th contest against the 76ers. With his triple-doubles, however, Rondo had six turnovers in the contest against the Hawks, and had seven turnovers in his game against the 76ers. The Celtics won both games.
Over the past 25 years of the NBA playoffs (1988-2012) only 11 players have had a triple-double with one or no turnovers. Ironically, Rondo was the last player to accomplish this feat. On April 26, 2009, Rondo had 25 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and only one turnover in a playoff loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Following are the players since 1988 who have had a triple-double with one of no turnovers in a playoff game.
Player, Team, (Date) Points-Rebounds-Assists… Turnovers
Dennis Johnson, Boston (5/6/88) 19-10-12… n0 turnovers
Fat Lever, Denver (5/14/88) 11-11-12… n0 turnovers
Charles Barkley, Philadelphia (4-27-91) 22-13-10… one turnover
Magic Johnson, LA Lakers (5/5/91) 21-10-17… n0 turnovers
Charles Barkley, Phoenix (6-16-93) 32-12-10 … one turnover
Baron Davis, Charlotte (4/27/02) 33-14-10… no turnovers
Jason Kidd, NJ Nets (6/5/02) 23-10-10… one turnover
Jason Kidd, NJ Nets (4/28/05) 16-16-13… one turnover
Chris Paul, New Orleans (4/29/08) 24-11-15… n0 turnovers
LeBron James, Cleveland (5/2/08) 27-13-13… one turnover
Rajon Rondo, Boston (4/26/09) 25-11-11… one turnover
Note: Of the 11 instances listed above, seven of those players saw their team win that game.
If we move the criteria to a triple-double with two or fewer turnovers, the list would include 26 games. Here are the players who had the most triple-doubles with two or fewer turnovers in a playoff game from 1988-2012. The last player to accomplish this feat? LeBron James had 37 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and only two turnovers as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in a playoff win against the Chicago Bulls on April 25, 2010.
Playoff triple-doubles (1988-2012) with two or fewer turnovers, Player(s)
4: Jason Kidd
3: Kevin Garnett
2: Charles Barkley, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Rajon Rondo
1: Baron Davis, Steve Francis, Dennis Johnson, Fat Lever, Chris Paul, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, John Stockton, Chris Webber
Note: Teams were 17-9 in games where a player had a triple-double and two or fewer turnovers.
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