NBA Playoffs: Series tied 2-2… what happens in Game 5 (and the series)?
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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published daily that focuses on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Last night the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 109-103 and tied their Western Conference Finals series at 2-2. So here’s the big question, what’s gonna happen in Game 5 of that series on Monday night?
To get an idea of what might transpire, let’s take a look at the last 25 NBA playoff games where the series was tied at 2-2. We discover that:
* The home team won Game 5 in 20 of those 25 contests.
* The series ended with the Game 5 winner also winning Game 6 in 14 series.
* The series went to a Game Seven 11 times. The home team won Game 7 in nine of those 11 games.
* The team that won Game 5 also won Game 7 seven times.
Here’s a look at those five series where the team winning the series was not the home team in Game 5
NBA Finals, 2010, L.A. Lakers over the Boston Celtics: In the 2-3-2 finals format, the home team Celtics won Game 5. The series then shifted to Los Angeles for Game 6 and Game 7 where the Lakers won both contests.
Eastern Conference Semifinals, 2010, Boston Celtics over the Cleveland Cavaliers: Tied at two games apiece, the visiting Celtics clobbered the Cavs 120-88 in Game 5 in Cleveland. The Celtics then wrapped the series in Game 6 with a 94-85 victory.
Eastern Conference First Round, 2010, Atlanta Hawks over the Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks stole Game 5 in Atlanta with a 91-87 win and headed home for Game 6 hoping to close out the series. The Bucks lost Game 6 to the visiting Hawks 83-69. The Hawks won the series with a 21-point win at home in Game 7.
Eastern Conference Semifinals, 2009, Orlando Magic over the Boston Celtics: The home team Celtics won Game 5 then lost Game 6 in Orlando and lost the series when they could not close out the Magic at home. The Magic won 101-82 in Game 7 in Boston.
Western Conference Semifinals, 2008, San Antonio over the New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets defeated the Spurs at home in Game 5, but the Spurs won the series by winning Game 6 at home, 99-80 and then winning 91-82 in New Orleans.
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NBA Conference Finals Playoffs: Celtics can’t hold halftime lead in Game 2
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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published daily that focuses on stats that go beyond the numbers.
It appeared that the Boston Celtics had the Miami Heat right where they wanted them in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series… a 15-point lead in the second quarter, and a seven-point lead at halftime.
But the Heat overcame the largest deficit in their playoff history and took the Celtics into overtime to secure a victory in Game Two and take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Finals series.
Since 2003, there have been 106 conference finals games played. In 76 of those games the team that won either led at halftime or was tied for the lead at half, a .717 winning percentage. In the last three postseasons (2010-2012), there have been 26 conference finals games (through games of May 30, 2012). The winning team has led at half or were tied for the lead in 20 of those 26 games, a .769 winning percentage.
Miami overcoming a seven-point deficit in yesterday’s game ranks as one of the best 11 halftime comebacks in the last 10 years in conference finals play. Topping the list are the Orlando Magic which overcame a 15-point halftime deficit in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Following are the teams that overcame the largest halftime deficits to win a Conference Final playoff game since 2003.
Halftime Deficit, Team, Playoff Year, Game, Opponent
15: Orlando, 2009, Game 1 vs. Cleveland
12: Detroit, 2007, Game 2 vs. Cleveland
12: Dallas, 2006, Game 6 vs. Phoenix
11: Dallas, 2003, Game 5 vs. San Antonio
9: Dallas, 2003, Game 1 vs. San Antonio
8: Orlando, 2009, Game 4 vs. Cleveland
8: L.A. Lakers, 2008, Game 1 vs. San Antonio
8: San Antonio, 2003, Game 3 vs. Dallas
7: Miami, 2011, Game 5 vs. Chicago
7: Phoenix, 2005, Game 4 vs. San Antonio
7: Miami, 2012, Game 2 vs. Boston
Note: Thirty teams have lost conference finals games since 2003 after leading at halftime. Of the teams that lost those halftime leads in the conference finals, the San Antonio Spurs lost six games when they were leading at halftime. Following are the teams that lost the most conference finals games since 2003 when they had the lead at halftime.
Games Lost When They Had Halftime Lead in Conference Finals (since 2003), Teams
6: San Antonio
5: Phoenix
4: Cleveland
3: Oklahoma City, Dallas
2: Chicago, Detroit, Indiana
1: Boston, L.A. Lakers, Denver
Did you know? In the 2010 conference finals (Boston vs. Orlando and the Lakers vs. Phoenix) the team that led at halftime won all six games in both series.
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Manu Ginobili’s ‘nasty’ game spurs San Antonio in Game One
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published daily focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Manu Ginobili (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Spurred (pun intended) by an impassioned plea from their coach for more “nastiness” in their effort, the San Antonio Spurs outscored the Oklahoma City Thunder 39-27 in the fourth quarter and went on to win Game One of their Western Conference Final series, 101-98.
During that same pre-fourth-quarter huddle when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said “I want some nasty” from his team, the 63-year-old and current NBA Coach of the Year also asked his players “Are we having fun yet?” It seems super sub Manu Ginobili decided to heed Popovich’s advice; he scored 11 points in the fourth quarter on his way to a 26-point performance off the Spurs bench.
This was the 10th playoff game in Ginobili’s career where he came off the bench to score 25 or more points in a postseason contest. Not surprisingly, the Spurs are 9-1 when Ginobili comes off the bench in a playoff game to score 25 or more points.
Following are the players (from 1986-2012) who scored 25 or more points in the most playoff games when they did not start.
Games w/25+ points, Player (Team’s record in those games)
10….. Manu Ginobili (9-1)
8….. Eddie Johnson (3-5)
5….. Thurl Bailey (2-3); Vinnie Johnson (2-3); Kevin McHale (1-4); Ricky Pierce (3-2); Nick Van Exel (3-2)
4….. Leandro Barbosa (3-1); Jason Terry (2-2)
3….. Mark Aguirre (2-1); Sam Cassell (2-1); Dan Majerle (3-0); Jerry Stackhouse (2-1)
This was the second game of these playoffs where a reserve came off the bench to score 25 or more points. OKC’s James Harden came off the bench to score 29 in the Thunder’s Game Four win over the Dallas Mavericks. This was Ginobili’s first 25-point performance off the bench in a playoff games since May 25, 2008.
Ginobili’s 26 points as a sub in a playoff game are far from the most scored by a reserve since 1986. Five different subs have scored 35 or more points in a playoff game since the 1986 playoffs. In fact, Nick Van Exel has three of the seven top performances off the bench in a playoff game since ’86; all three of his games happened in a seven-game series against Sacramento in 2003.
Points, Player, Team (Date)
40: Nick Van Exel, Dallas (May 10, 2003)
39: Thurl Bailey, Utah (May 4, 1988)
36: Nick Van Exel, Dallas (May 8, 2003)
35: Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee (May 2, 1989)
35: Juan Dixon, Washington (May 2, 20005)
35: Eddie Johnson, Phoenix (May 9, 1989)
35: Nick Van Exel, Dallas (May 15, 2003)
Research Source: www.basketball-reference.com
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Can a team win an NBA title without a 20-point scorer?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published daily that focuses on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Which team would you guess has won the most NBA championships: A team that had no player average 20 points or more during the regular season, or a team that had two players average 20 or more points per game (ppg) in the regular season?
Before we answer that question, let’s look at the six remaining teams in this year’s playoffs. The Thunder are in the Western Conference Final and will face the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder feature the high-scoring twosome of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant led the league with 28 points per game while Westbrook was at 23.6 ppg. The Spurs, on the other hand, did not have a player with a 20 ppg for the season; Tony Parker led them in scoring with a 18.3 ppg.
Of the four teams fighting for the two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference Final, Miami is the only team with two players who averaged 20+ ppg in the regular season, LeBron James (27.1) and Dwyane Wade (22.1). The other three teams did not have a single player with a 20 ppg for the season. Paul Pierce led Boston with 19.4 ppg; Danny Granger led Indiana with 18.7 ppg; and Lou Williams led eighth-seeded Philadelphia with 14.9 ppg.
In the past 65 years of NBA playoffs, a team with no player who averaged 20 or more points during the regular season won 13 titles. Teams that had two players who averaged 20 or more points per game in the regular season won 18 titles.
Here’s a look at the 13 teams that won titles with no player who averaged 20 ppg in the regular season.
Year, Team, Player who led team in scoring (ppg)
2008 Boston, Paul Pierce (19.6)
2004 Detroit, Richard Hamilton (17.6)
1990 Detroit, Isiah Thomas (18.4)
1989 Detroit, Adrian Dantley (18.4)
1979 Seattle, Gus Williams (19.2)
1978 Washington, Elvin Hayes (19.7)
1976 Boston, Dave Cowens (19.0)
1964 Boston, John Havlicek (19.9)
1963 Boston, Sam Jones (19.7)
1955 Syracuse, Dolph Schayes (18.5)
1954 Minneapolis, George Mikan (18.1)
1951 Rochester, Arnie Risen (16.3)
1948 Baltimore, Kleggie Hermsen (12.0)
Here’s a few more interesting stats:
* Miami was the last team to play in the NBA Finals with two players who averaged 20+ ppg in the regular season: That was last season with Wade (26.7) and James (25.5).
* The 2006 Miami Heat were the last team to win an NBA title with two players who averaged 20+ ppg in the regular season. Wade averaged 27.2 ppg and Shaquille O’Neal averaged 20.0 that season.
* The last time two teams that had two players average 20+ ppg in the regular season faced off in the NBA Finals was in 1995 when Houston with Hakeem Olajuwon (27.8) and Clyde Drexler (21.4) defeated the Orlando Magic with Shaq (29.3) and Penny Hardaway (20.9).
* The last time the NBA Finals featured two teams that did not have a 20+ ppg scorer was in 1978 when Washington defeated Seattle for the title. Leading scorers for the teams were Washington’s Hayes (19.7) and Seattle’s Gus Williams (18.1).
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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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