Jordan vs. Kobe: A Comparison of their NBA Finals Statistics

Interesting Stats from 2/26/10 NBA Games

• Jason Kidd turned back the clock with his performance against the Hawks.  Kidd had 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 17 assists to score his 103rd career triple double.  This was Kidd's second career game with at least 16-16-16 and he, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird are the only players to have a 16-16-16 statline in the last 29 years.
• Kidd also had two steals in that game to give him 2309 for his career.  That number puts him ahead of Scottie Pippen for fifth on the career list.  He's now just one steal away from tying Maurice Cheeks for 4th all time.
• Josh Smith also put up a great statline in that game as he had 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals.  He's only the second player in the last 20 years to reach those numbers in a single game.  It was last done by Kevin Garnett in a 1999 game against the Hawks.
• The Wizards blocked 13 shots in their loss to the Knicks which more than doubles their season average of 5 blocks per game.  It's the first time that the Washington Wizards blocked that many shots in a game but the Washington Bullets last did so in a 1996 game against the Seattle Supersonics.  I'm sure all the 2 year olds reading this blog are wondering who the Bullets and Supersonics are.
• Russell Westbrook had 18 points, 15 assists, and 8 rebounds as the Thunder beat the Timberwolves to end their two game skid.  Westbrook, who just turned 21 in November, is the fourth youngest player since 1986 to have at least 15 points and 15 assists in a game.  The only players who were younger are LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Stephon Marbury.
• You've got to give props to the Rockets for putting an emphasis on making free throws.  Both Luis Scola and Kevin Martin went to the line 14 times in their win over the Spurs, and both players made all 14 of their foul shots.  It's the first time (at least since 1986) that two players had a perfect FT% in a game in which they each had at least 14 attempts.
• Congratulations to Joe Johnson for getting his much-coveted 4th block of the season in the Hawks loss to Dallas.  The 6'8" uber-athletic Johnson now only needs one more block to match the season total of 5'9" Nate Robinson.

A Look at PER Compared to Salary for 2010 NBA All Stars

Interesting Stats from 2/9/10 NBA Games

• Zydrunas Ilgauskas struggled against the Nets by going 1-10 for just 2 points.  It is the tenth time this season that Big Z has scored 2 or fewer points in a game.  Before this season, Big Z had played in 705 games and scored 2 or fewer points a total of 10 times.
• Even though Shaq only scored 7 points vs. New Jersey, he was still active in other areas.  He also had 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.  It's just the third time since 2001 that Shaq had at least 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a game.
• The Houston Rockets were dreadful in all facets of the game vs. Miami as they finished with just 66 points which ties a franchise low.  They also became only the second team since 1986 to have fewer than 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in a single game.  The other was the Knicks on Dec. 23, 2007 but they managed to score 90 points in their game.
• Udonis Haslem came off the bench to pull down 14 rebounds against the Rockets, and all of them were defensive rebounds.  He is the only player this year to grab 14 defensive rebounds in a game despite not starting.
• Ty Lawson's had a fairly pedestrian night against the Mavericks with 13 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.  But he did this in just 21 minutes which makes him the first player this season to record a 10-5-5 statline in 21 or fewer minutes.
• Joe Smith has never been known as a pick-pocketter in his career but this is kind of embarrassing: Smith has played 321 minutes this season and only has 1 steal!  But Jonathan Bender has a chance to catch him as he's played 212 minutes and has yet to record a steal.

Q: How does the NBA spell efficiency? A: M-A-G-G-E-T-T-E

I've always loved how Corey Maggette can go off for 30 points on any given night and do it in just 12-15 shots. That kind of efficiency is usually only seen in post players who are fouled often and go to the line 6+ times per game. In fact, nearly all of his points come from either driving to the hoop and finishing or driving to the hoop, getting fouled, and sinking his free throws (84%). Thus, I decided to look at all the players who primarily play the 1, 2, or 3 and chart their points per shot (PPS) compared to their height.

Interesting Stats from 1/29/10 NBA Games

• LeBron James filled up the box score Friday night by compiling 22 points, 13 assists, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals.  LBJ became since Chris Mullin in 1995 to have at least 20 points, 13 assists, and 4 blocks in a game.
• Danny Granger went 6-23 from the field vs. the Cavs to give him a dubious distinction.  He is the first player this season to shoot under 27% in a game in which a player took at least 23 field goal attempts.
• As a team, the Pacers made just 5 free throws vs. Cleveland.  It was just the 7th time since 1986 that Indiana has made 5 or fewer free throws in a game.
• Paul Pierce was efficient from both the field (11-15) and from the line (12-13) in the Celtics' loss to Atlanta.  Pierce joined Dwyane Wade and Manu Ginobili as the only players to score at least 35 points in a game with 15 or fewer field goal attempts.
• Mike Bibby scored just 2 points in 9 minutes of action vs. Boston.  It's the fourth time in the last 8 games that Bibby has scored 2 or fewer points in a game.  That is something that he only did 4 times all of last season and he did not do it a single time from 2002-2006.
• The Pistons scored just 65 points in their home loss to Miami.  It was the second time this season that Detroit scored 65 or fewer in a home game.  Prior to this season, they had done that just once in the previous 22 seasons and they actually won that game (64-62 vs. Utah on March 13, 2005).
• Marcus Camby filled the box score vs. Minnesota with 10 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.  The 19-5-4 reb-ast-stl stat line is pretty rare as Camby is just the fifth player since 2000 to accomplish that in a single game.  The others were LeBron, KG, Elton Brand, and Antoine Walker.
• Congrats to Serge Ibaka of the Thunder for getting his much-coveted 4th assist of the season.  Ibaka has played 621 minutes this season and now has 4 assists which puts him miles ahead of Hasheem Thabeet who has played 446 minutes and has 3 assists.  However, both of those players pale in comparison to Jeff Pendergraph of the Trail Blazers who has now played in 280 minutes WITHOUT A SINGLE ASSIST!!!

Interesting Stats from 1/22/10 NBA Games

• Kevin Durant scored 30 points in the Thunder's loss to the Grizzlies which is his 17th straight game with at least 25 points. Only 8 other players in the league have 17 25-point games total this season.
• Dwight Howard, who was a 59.4% free throw shooter entering Friday, went 11-12 from the free throw line in Orlando's win over Sacramento. It was the 179th game in his career that he had at least 10 free throw attempts, but it was the first time among those 179 games that he made over 90% of his attempts.
• Boris Diaw went 0-5 from the field and did not attempt any free throws in 35 minutes of play for the Bobcats. This is the second time this season that Diaw has played at least 35 minutes in a game without scoring a point. The only other players to do that are Steve Blake (36 minutes) and Chris Duhon (39 minutes).
• Danny Granger went 14-14 from the free throw line in the Pacers' win over Detroit. Only Kevin Durant (18-18), Kobe Bryant (16-16), Michael Redd (15-15), and Dwyane Wade (15-15) attempted more free throws in a game this year without missing one.
• Ryan Gomes started and played 20 minutes for the Timberwolves but you would hardly know it. Not only did Gomes have 0 points, but he also did not have any rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, or even any turnovers.
• Congratulation to Tim Duncan who reached the 20,000 points plateau against the Rockets. Duncan did it by scoring 25 points and going 15-21 from the free throw line. The 21 attempts is the most ever by Duncan in a game and the 15 makes is 2 short of his career high.
  
• Another congratulations goes out to Hasheem Thabeet for picking up his 3rd assist of the year in the Grizzlies win over the Thunder. Thabeet still has a lot more minutes to play to catch the Thunder's Serge Ibaka who has 3 assists this season in 564 minutes. At Ibaka's current rate of one assist every 11.667 games, he would have to play every game through the 4257-4258 NBA season to catch John Stockton's all-time mark (that's not an exaggeration).
• Derrick Rose scored 32 points against the Suns and nearly all of it came from inside the arc. Rose made just one free throw and one three pointer while going 15-21 from the field. He becomes the only player this season to score at least 32 in a game without making more than one 3-pointer or more than one free throw.
  

Interesting Stats from 1/18/10 NBA Games

• David Lee has played in 328 career games and has dished out at least 5 assists in 18 of those games. Of those 18, half of them have come in the last 15 games after he did it vs. the Pistons on MLK day.
• In that same game and for just the second time in the last 23 years, the Detroit Pistons took at least 12 three-point attempts in a game without making a single one. The only other time was in a game in 1999 when they went 0-13.
• Jon Brockman played 30 minutes in the Kings' loss to the Bobcats and pulled down 14 rebounds. However, he did not score a point which makes him the only player this season to grab at least 14 boards without scoring a single point. By the way Dennis Rodman accomplished this 10 times in the 93-94 season.
• Three days after scoring 32 points on just 14 shots, Corey Maggette did the exact same thing against the Bulls. Maggette now has 3 of the 5 instances this year in which a player has scored at least 32 on 14 or fewer shots. Efficiency is spelled M-A-G-G-E-T-T-E.
• Monta Ellis attempted 39 field goals against the Bulls and finished with 36 points. Since 1986 only one player has attempted at least 39 shots in a game while scoring fewer than Ellis' 36. Michael Jordan scored 29 points on 39 shots vs. the Spurs in a 1997 double-OT game.
• After scoring just 11 points in the Lakers' win over Orlando, Kobe Bryant has scored 16 or fewer points 5 times this month. From 2005-2007 he did it just 4 times total.
• Joe Johnson is 6'8", a great athlete, and often guards PGs who are half a foot shorter than him. But for the life of him, he can't block a shot. He has just 2 on the year which is the same number that 5'11" Ty Lawson has even though he's played over 600 fewer minutes than Johnson.

Interesting Stats from 1/15/10 NBA Games

• Samuel Dalembert was 7-7 from the field and finished with 17 points ans 12 rebounds. The native Haitian has been playing with a heavy heart since the earthquake in his native land and since that disaster, Dalembert is 13-15 from the field with 29 points and 33 rebounds in 2 games.
• Allen Iverson played 34 minutes against the Kings but still finished without any rebounds, steals, or blocks. This was the third time this season Iverson has posted donuts in those 3 categories in the same game; in his previous 13 seasons in the league, Iverson did that just four times total.
• Antwan Jamison played 55 minutes in the Wizards double-overtime loss to the Bulls without making a single turnover. Since 1986 that is the third most minutes a player has played in a game without committing a turnover. Popeye Jones did it in 56 minutes in a game in 1996 and Dan Majerle also did it in 1996 when he played 58 minutes in a game.
• For just the third time since 1986, a team committed 6 or fewer turnovers in a double-overtime game. The Wizards did so against the Bulls in their double OT loss on Friday night.
• Serge Ibaka and Hasheem Thabeet have played a combined 858 minutes this season. After each player went assist-less last night; they still have only combined for 4 assists this year (2 for each player). Yinka Dare watch out.
• Kevin Durant had 8 turnovers against the Mavericks but contributed 0 assists. A lack of assists isn't always one player's fault (his teammates have to make the shots) but that is a weird stat. 8 turnovers and 0 assists in a game has only been accomplished 3 times this season (Durant, Al Jefferson, Tyson Chandler).
• Corey Maggette was amazingly efficient against the Bucks in scoring 32 points on just 14 field goal attempts. It was the second time this year he's gone for at least 32 on 14 or fewer shot attempts; the rest of the NBA has combined to do it just twice as well.
• Though his team got shellacked by 40 points by the Lakers, Sebastian Telfair came off the bench to dish out 11 assists in just 20 minutes. It's the first time this year a player had at least 10 assists in 20 or fewer minutes.