1/11/12: Celtics vs. Rockets Stat Pack

*The Houston Rockets play at the fastest pace in the league.
–1^st: Rockets (99.5 possessions per game)
–2^nd: Lakers (97.3)
–20^th: Celtics (93.4)

*The fast pace has been working for the Rockets in addition to having James Harden and Jeremy Lin switch off dominating the ball.
–Their offensive efficiency this season is 7^th best in the league (105.4 points per 100 possessions).
–The Celtics are 19^th overall (100.5).

*After beginning the season with an 11-12 record, the Rockets have gone 10-3 since.

*Coming into Friday, James Harden has at least 25 points in 14 consecutive games, both the longest streak in Rockets history and the longest streak of Harden’s career.
–Before this season, Harden had never had scored 25 points in 2 straight games.

*Scoring usually means success for the 2012-13 Rockets. When they score at least 100 points in regulation games this season, they are 17-4.
–One of those 17 wins was their 101-89 victory over the Celtics on December 14^th.
–The Celtics are 13-2 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 95 points.

*The Rockets have a 14-2 record against the Eastern Conference this season.
–Although they have not played a lot of games against their own conference, the Rockets still have had the 5^th toughest schedule thus far in 2012-13.
–The Celtics are 12-10 against the Eastern Conference and have had the 10^th toughest schedule.

*Carlos Delfino is tied for the 19^th best single player plus/minus this season at +182.
–It is very odd to see such an inconsistent bench player this high in plus/minus, but it is definitely impressive.

*The Celtics have not won 5 consecutive games since last season.
–Their last streak of at least 5 wins: March 25 to April 1, 2012 (5-game winning streak).
–Their last streak of more than 5 wins: November 22 to December 22, 2010 (14-game winning streak).

*The Celtics have had fewer turnovers than their opponent in their last 7 games.
–This 7-game streak is the longest current one in the league.
–It is also the longest regular season streak for the Celtics since November 2010 (also 7 games).
–The last time the Celtics had a regular season streak of this sort of more than 7 games: January 2003 (8 games).
–When the Celtics commit fewer turnovers than their opponents, they have a 14-8 record this season (otherwise: 4-9).

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Rockets
–Since 2007-08: after winning the first 4 of 5 meetings against the Rockets, the Celtics have lost their last 4 of 5 meetings against the Rockets.