NBA Playoffs: 10 Game Seven stats that might determine who wins Saturday’s Celtics-76ers game
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will square off in Boston Saturday in Game Seven of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. This will be the seventh Game Seven the Celtics have played in the last eight years. This will be Philadelphia’s first Game Seven since the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks to advance to the NBA Finals. The 76ers did play a decisive Game Five in 2002 in a five-game first-round series against the Celtics. The Celtics won that contest.
Here’s a look at the last 21 Game Sevens (since 2005) and a handful of statistics that may determine who wins Saturday’s game.
1. Points: In the past 21 Game Sevens, the winning team has averaged 98.5 ppg while the losing team has averaged only 82.9 Teams that have scored 100 or more points have won eight and lost two. Teams that score 90 or more points are 15-7; teams that score 80 or more points are 20-11. The winning team has given up 90 or more points in only seven of the 21 Game Sevens.
2. Point Differential: None of the last 21 Game Seven have been decided by three or fewer points. Eight of the games were decided by four to nine points. Teams won by 10 or more points in seven of the games; teams won by 20 or more points in six of the Game Sevens.
3. Home Team: The home team won 14 of the last 21 Game Sevens, including seven of the last eight. The last away team to win a Game Seven: This year when the Clippers defeated Memphis in the first round of the playoffs.
4. Game Six: There doesn’t seem to be an advantage for the team that wins Game Six. The team that won Game Six only won eight of the last 21 Game Sevens.
5. Leads at the end of the quarter: The team that leads at the end of the first quarter won 18 of the 21 games. The team leading at halftime won 19 of 21. The team leading going into the fourth quarter won 17 of 20 (there was one tie at the end of the third quarter).
6. 20-Point Scorers: The team that won Game Seven had at least one player score 20 or more points in 20 of the 21 games. The losing team had a 20-point scorer in 14 of the 21 games. The Game Seven winning team had two 20-point scorers in 10 of the 21 games; the losing team had a pair of 20-point scorers in five games.
7. Turnovers: Committing fewer turnovers was not a significant stat in the last 21 Game Sevens. The winning team had fewer turnovers in only nine of the 21 games.
8. Shooting Percentage: The winning team had a higher field goal percentage in 16 of 20 games (in one game both teams had the same percentage). In 19 of the 21 games, the winning team made a higher percentage of three-point shots made than their opponents.
9. Rebounds: The Game Seven winning team had more rebounds than the losing team in 15 of 19 contests (in two games the teams had the same number of rebounds).
10. Game Seven Appearances: The Boston Celtics have played in six of the last 21 Game Sevens, tops in that category. The Celtics are 3-3 in those games. The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets have each played in four Game Sevens since 2005. The Lakers won three of those four games; the Rockets lost all four of their Game Sevens since ’05. Detroit, San Antonio and Atlanta have each played in three Game Sevens since 2005.
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Kobe Bryant vs. Kevin Durant: Six stats you might not know
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published multiple times weekly focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Kobe Bryant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Game 1 of the Oklahoma City Thunder–Los Angeles Lakers playoff series is in the books and the Thunder made a pretty loud statement with their 119-90 win.
While there are many subplots to this series, the one that has garnered significant attention is the match-up between Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. ESPN Stats & Information noted that this is the fifth time that the No. 1 and No. 2 regular season scorers are facing off in the playoffs. This Kobe-Durant battle may not have the sexiness of a Magic-Bird matchup, but it’s still worth watching.
Here’s a look at some stats you might not know about when Kobe and Durant have faced off against each other since Durant came into the league in 2007 (includes last night’s game).
1. The Lakers and Thunder (they were the Sonics in Durant’s first year in the league)… and Bryant and Durant… have played against each other 23 times since the start of the 2007 season. The Lakers have won 16 of the 23 games. The Thunder, however, have won four of the last five. They have faced off in the playoffs seven times with the Lakers holding a 4-3 edge. The home team has won all seven games in the playoffs between these two teams.
2. In the 23 games that Bryant and Durant have faced each other, Kobe has scored more points than Durant in 11 games, Durant has scored more points than Kobe in 11 games, and they have had the same number of points in one game. In the last 14 games, however, going back to March 26, 2010, Durant has outscored Kobe in 10 games of those 14 games.
3. Both Bryant and Durant average just under 21 shots per game when their teams play against each other. Bryant averages 20.9 shots per game, Durant 20.5 shots per game.
4. Each player’s points per game (ppg) in home games, away games, wins and losses in the 23 times they’ve faced each other:
* Bryant: Home, 27.1 ppg; Away, 24.6 ppg; Wins, 26.0 ppg; Losses, 25.3 ppg.
* Durant: Home, 25.0 ppg; Away, 25.3 ppg; Wins, 26.7 ppg; Losses, 24.4 ppg.
5. Bryant averages 27.0 ppg in regular season games against the Thunder. His playoff average versus the Thunder is 23.0. Durant averages 25.2 ppg in regular season games against the Lakers; his playoff average is 25.0.
6. Kobe’s high game against the Thunder in the Bryant-Durant era was 48 on January 14, 2008. His low game was 11 on March 26, 2010. Durant’s high game against the Lakers was 35 on April 22, 2012. His low was a 15-point performance on February 24, 2008.
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76ers, Pacers & Clippers finally win playoff series
Doug Collins, 76ers coach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published multiple times weekly focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers
The Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers exorcised some serious NBA playoff demons with their first-round series wins in this year’s playoffs. The 76ers had not won a playoff series since 2003 when they defeated the New Orleans Hornets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. For the Pacers, their last playoff series win was in 2005. The Clippers last won a playoff series in 2006 when they ousted the Denver Nuggets in the first round.
Here’s a look at which teams now have the longest droughts for winning a playoff series.
Last year they won a playoff series, team(s)
2000: New York Knicks, Portland
2001: Milwaukee, Toronto
2004: Minnesota, Sacramento
2005: Charlotte (the Bobcats have not won a playoff series since they entered the NBA in 2004-05)
2005: Washington
2007: Golden State, New Jersey Nets
2008: Detroit, New Orleans
2009: Denver, Houston
2010: Cleveland, Orlando, Phoenix, Utah
2011: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Memphis
Of the eight remaining teams in the playoffs, here’s a look at the last time they advanced to the conference finals, the last year they played in the NBA finals, and the last year they won an NBA title.
Team, last year in conference finals, last year in NBA finals, last NBA title
Boston: 2010… 2010… 2008
Indiana: 2004… 2000… Never
Los Angeles Clippers: Never… Never… Never
Los Angeles Lakers: 2010… 2010… 2010
Miami: 2011… 2011… 2006
Oklahoma City: 2011… 1996 (as Seattle)… 1979 (as Seattle)
Philadelphia: 2001… 2001… 1983
San Antonio: 2008… 2008… 2007
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Can Kevin Durant add an NBA title to his scoring title in 2012?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published multiple times weekly focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Kevin Durant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant won his third straight NBA scoring title becoming the eighth player in the league to win three or more scoring titles in their career; he joins Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin, Allen Iverson, George Mikan, Neil Johnston and Bob McAdoo. He is also the seventh player to win three straight scoring titles.
With the Thunder still alive in the playoffs, Durant is hoping to join another elite group: those scoring titleholders who won an NBA championship the same season. The last time the scoring leader’s team made it to the NBA Finals was in 2001 when Allen Iverson’s 76ers lost to the L.A. Lakers. The last time the scoring leader’s team won the NBA title was the previous year when Shaquille O’Neal’s Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers.
Only five different players have won a scoring title and championship in the same season (it has, however, happened on 11 different occasions). They are:
Player, Team, Scoring title/championship year
Joe Fulks, Philadelphia, 1947
George Mikan, Minneapolis, 1949
George Mikan, Minneapolis, 1950
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee, 1971
Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1991
Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1992
Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1993
Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1996
Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1997
Michael Jordan, Chicago, 1998
Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers, 2000
Here’s a few additional stats regarding players who won the NBA scoring title.
* Five scoring leaders saw their team lose in the NBA finals: Chamberlain (1964), Rick Barry (1967), Jerry West (1970), O’Neal (1995) and Iverson (2001).
* Fifty-five of the 65 scoring leaders played in the playoffs that same year.
* The ten seasons in which the scoring leader’s team did not play in the playoffs: Neil Johnston, Philadelphia (1953, 1954, 1955); Chamberlain, San Francisco (1963); Nate Archibald, Kansas City-Omaha (1973); Pete Maravich, New Orleans (1977); Adrian Dantley, Utah (1981); Bernard King, N.Y. Knicks (1985); David Robinson, San Antonio (1994); Tracy McGrady, Orlando (2004).
* The scoring titleholder’s team made it to the final four in 31 of the 65 playoffs.
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2012 NBA Playoffs: Does sweeping the first two series lead to a title?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published multiple times weekly focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder have both taken 3-0 leads in their opening round series and the San Antonio Spurs have a two games to none lead in their first-round series. All three series have the potential to be four-game sweeps.
Here’s the question: Does sweeping the first two playoff series lead to an NBA championship? In NBA history, 11 teams have swept the first two playoff series. Of those 11, six have gone on to win the title. The last team to sweep the first two playoff series were the Orland Magic in 2010. They, however, lost the next series to the Boston Celtics and failed to reach the NBA Finals. The 2001 Los Angeles Lakers were the last team to sweep the first two playoff series and then win the title that year.
Following is a look at the 11 teams that went through their first two playoff series undefeated and where they ended up in the playoffs that season.
2010 Orlando Magic: Swept both Charlotte and Atlanta in four games in the first two rounds. Lost to Boston four games to two in the conference finals.
2009 Cleveland Cavaliers: Swept Detroit and Atlanta in the first two rounds. Lost to Orlando 4-2 in the conference finals.
2005 Miami Heat: Swept both New Jersey and Washington in four games in the first two rounds. Lost to the Detroit Pistons in Game Seven of the conference finals.
2001 Los Angeles Lakers: Swept Portland in a three-game series and then swept Sacramento in four straight in the conference semifinals. Swept the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals. Defeated the 76ers in the Finals four games to one. They are the last team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs and win the NBA title.
1999 Indiana Pacers: Swept the Bucks in three games in the first round and swept Philadelphia in four straight in the next round. They lost four games to two to the New York Knicks in the conference finals.
1993 Chicago Bulls: They swept Atlanta in three games in the frist round, then swept Cleveland in four games the following round. Went on to win the NBA championship that year.
1989 Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers: The only time in NBA history that the two teams facing off in the finals swept both of their first two round series. The Pistons won the title after defeating the Celtics 3-0 in the opening round and then beating the Bucks 4-0 in the conference semifinals. The Lakers swept Portland in three in the first round and then disposed of Seattle in four straight in the next round. The Lakers are the only team to lose in NBA finals after sweeping their first two series.
1982 Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers swept the Suns 4-0 in their first series of the playoffs and then swept the Spurs in the conference finals. They went on to defeat the 76ers 4-2 in the finals for the title.
1950 Minneapolis Lakers: The Lakers swept the Chicago Stags in two games ( a best-of-three series) and swept the Fort Wayne Pistons 2-0 in the next round on their way to winning the league title four games to two over the Syracuse Nationals.
1949 Minneapolis Lakers: Swept the Chicago Stags 2-0 and the Rochester Royals 2-0 in the first two rounds before defeating the Washington Capitals four games to two to win the title.
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