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.

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.