NBA Playoffs Roundtable: Dwight Howard and Los Angeles Lakers Edition

http://kingjamesgospel.com/2013/04/29/nba-playoffs-roundtable-dwight-howard-and-los-angeles-lakers-edition/

Celtics vs. Knicks Stat Pack

*Coming into Sunday, J.R. Smith had scored double-digit points in his last 22 combined regular season and postseason games, the longest streak of his career.

*The Celtics’ assist-to-turnover ratio is 0.90, by far the worst of any team in the 2013 NBA playoffs.
–New York’s 11.3 steals per game lead all teams this postseason.
–Boston has now turned the basketball over 17 times per game in this first-round series while New York has less than 12 per contest in the previous three games.

*Via Elias: The Celtics have scored just 225 points in the first 3 games vs. Knicks this series, their fewest in a 3-game span in a single postseason in franchise history.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Knicks
–Including the regular season and playoffs, the Celtics have lost 6 consecutive games to the Knicks, tied for the 3^rd-longest streak in franchise history.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounds–
7. Hakeem Olajuwon 1150
8. Scottie Pippen 1117
9. Magic Johnson 1116
T-9. Kevin Garnett 1116            (Garnett needs 1 to tie Pippen for 8^th place)

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounding Percentage–
2. Marcus Camby 28.73
3. Carlos Boozer 28.23
4. Kevin Garnett 26.48
5. Dave Cowens 26.43

–Celtics History: All-Time Regular Season and Playoff Wins–
1. Red Auerbach 885
2. Tommy Heinsohn 474
3. Doc Rivers 473                        (Rivers needs 1 to tie Heinsohn for 2^nd place)

Celtics vs. Knicks Stat Pack

*The Celtics have been by far the worse offensive team in the 2013 NBA playoffs.
–Their 84.0 points per 100 possessions in the first two games of the series is more than 13 points worse per 100 possessions than the Washington Wizards’ 30^th-ranked efficiency during the regular season.

*Including the playoffs, the Celtics are 3-7 in April.

*The Celtics have outscored the Knicks by a combined 10 points in the first half this series, but a few historically bad quarters doomed the men in green at Madison Square Garden.
–According to Elias, Boston is the first team in the shot-clock era to score 25 or fewer second-half points in consecutive regular season or postseason games.

*The Knicks are the first team to win consecutive games with fewer than 88 points scored in the last 6 postseasons.

*Just as he did during the regular season, Jeff Green has been a stronger player in the first 2 quarters of the game than he has in the final 2.
–He has continued this trend against the Knicks: in 40 second-half minutes played, Green has scored only 8 points on 1-of-11 shooting (0-3 on 3-pointers).
–Green’s combined first halves this series (40 minutes): 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting (3-of-3 on 3-pointers).

*Out of almost 250 teams to go down 2-0 in a best-of-7 series, just 15 have come back to win the series.
–Last year, the Thunder became just the 15^th team in NBA history to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series in the playoffs.
–The Celtics have not done so since the 1969 Finals.

*Jason Terry, who was the only positive plus/minus player for the Celtics in Game 2, is now finding his stroke.
–He made 3 straight 3-pointers for the first time since March 29.
–He has had an odd postseason thus far from 3-point (5 straight misses, then 3 straight makes and then 3 straight misses).

*How about all the charges Paul Pierce has taken thus far?
–The Truth took 6 charges during the 2012-13 regular season.
–Pierce has taken 4 charges thus far this series.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Knicks
–The Celtics have lost 5 consecutive games to the Knicks (including the regular season and playoffs), which is Boston’s longest losing streak to New York since 1998 (21 straight games).
–The 5-game losing streak is also tied for the Celtics’ 4^th-longest losing streak to the Knicks in franchise history.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounds–
7. Hakeem Olajuwon 1150
8. Scottie Pippen 1117
9. Magic Johnson 1116
10. Dirk Nowitzki 1114
11. Kevin Garnett 1104            (Garnett needs 10 to tie Nowitzki for 10^th place)
12. Patrick Ewing 1098

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounding Percentage–
4. Dave Cowens 26.43
5. Ben Wallace 26.36
6. Kevin Garnett 26.35
7. Dennis Rodman 26.20

–Celtics History: All-Time Regular Season and Playoff Wins–
1. Red Auerbach 885
2. Tommy Heinsohn 474
3. Doc Rivers 473                        (Rivers needs 1 to tie Heinsohn for 2^nd place)

Division I vs. Division II: Comparing the Largest and Smallest

http://winthropintelligence.com/2013/04/26/division-i-vs-division-ii-comparing-the-largest-and-smallest/

Celtics @ Knicks Stat Pack

*Out of almost 250 teams to go down 2-0 in a best-of-7 series, just 15 have come back to win the series.
–Last year, the Thunder became just the 15^th team in NBA history to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series in the playoffs.
–The Celtics have not done so since the 1969 Finals.

*Saturday was the first time in 88 career playoff games that Jason Terry was left scoreless.
–Previous low: 2 points (April 29, 2010 at Spurs).

*The Celtics had just 8 points with their 8 turnovers in Saturday’s 4^th quarter.
–The Knicks had zero turnovers in Saturday’s 4^th quarter loss.
–The fewest points that were ever scored in a playoff quarter: 5 by the Portland Trail Blazers at Utah in the 4^th quarter on May 18, 1999 (via http://www.nba.com/history/records/playoffs_game_points.html).

*After scoring 53 points in the first half, the Celtics then scored just 25 in the second half. It was Boston’s lowest total in a half in any of its 592 playoff games. (all of this 2^nd half/4^th quarter information via ESPN Stats & Info).
–Boston also tied a franchise playoff record with its 8 points in the 4^th quarter, which was its 2,368^th quarter in those 592 playoff games.
–The only other time that the Celtics scored 8 points in a quarter in a playoff game came in the first of those 2,368 quarters (1^st quarter of a 79-72 loss to the Chicago Stags on March 28, 1948).

*It is being magnified that the Celtics defended the Knicks’ 3-pointer well, but the Knicks also defended the Celtics’ midrange jump shot well.
–The Celtics shot 7-of-19 (.368) on midrange shots in Game 1, which ranks 10^th out of the 16 NBA teams thus far in the playoffs.
–During the regular season, the Celtics owned a .438 field-goal percentage on midrange shots, the best in the NBA.

*“When J.R. Smith shot 50 percent or better from the field this season, the Knicks went 22-3” (all of this Smith information via ESPN Stats & Info).
–They won the last 13 regular-season games in which he made at least half his shots.
–Not surprisingly, when Smith was cold, the Knicks did not win as much. They went 12-11 when he shot below 35 percent from the field.
–Smith was the first player to win the Sixth Man averaging at least 18 points and 5 rebounds in 20 years. The last was Clifford Robinson in 1992-93.

*It was tough for the Celtics to lose when doing pretty well in the rebounding battle.
–Coming into this game, they were 18-6 during the regular season when either tying or winning the rebounding battle.
–Of those 24 games, the Celtics were 5-6 on the road (13-0 at home).

*Only once in the regular season did the Celtics turn the ball over more than 20 times in regulation.
–Then on Saturday, the Celtics committed 21 turnovers.
–The Celtics are now 2-9 when committing at least 18 turnovers in 2012-13 (including the regular season and playoffs).

*The Celtics went 19-of-19 from the free-throw line on Saturday.
–The last team to do go perfect from the line with more than 15 free-throw attempts in the playoffs: 2009 (Lakers).
–The last time a team lost a playoff game when being perfect from the free-throw line with at least 19 free-throw attempts was 1992 (Game 6 of NBA Finals).
–The Celtics’ .776 free-throw percentage during the regular season was the 6^th-best one in the league.

*Milestone Watch:

–Celtics History: All-Time Regular Season and Playoff Wins–
1. Red Auerbach 885
2. Tommy Heinsohn 474
3. Doc Rivers 473                        (Rivers needs 1 to tie Heinsohn for 2^nd place)

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounds–
11. Patrick Ewing 1098
12. Kevin Garnett 1093            (Garnett needs 5 to tie Ewing for 11^th place)
13. Charles Barkley 1072

NBA Playoffs Roundtable: David Lee, Rockets v OKC and Miami’s Performance

http://kingjamesgospel.com/2013/04/22/nba-playoffs-roundtable-2013/

Celtics @ Knicks Stat Pack

*Since the All-Star break, the Knicks are 12-2 (.857) at home with a +11.4 point differential per game.
–They are 1 of only 5 NBA teams that had a winning percentage of at least .850 at home since the All-Star break (Nuggets, Heat, Lakers and Grizzlies).
–They are 1 of only 3 NBA teams that had a point differential of at least 11 points per game at home since the All-Star break (Thunder and Nuggets).

*Since Avery Bradley played his first game of the season (January 2), the Celtics have the league’s best defense against the 3-pointer (32.4 percent).
–In addition, the Celtics have the 3^rd-best defense overall (43.3 percent) in that span.

*In games since Rajon Rondo tore his ACL (January 25), the Celtics own the league’s 5^th-best 3-point percentage (38.2).
–The Knicks are 11^th at 36.9 percent in that span.

*The Celtics this season own a 43.8 field-goal percentage on midrange shots, the best in the NBA.
–2^nd-best: Spurs (42.3%).
–The Celtics’ 2,195 midrange shots attempted were the 5^th-highest among all teams in 2012-13.

*Coming into Saturday, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have started a combined 255 playoff games while the players in the projected Knicks starting lineup (Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Copeland and Tyson Chandler) have played in just 122 postseason contests overall.

*Pierce and Garnett each started the first 54 games this season, but then sat out a combined 17 games over the last couple of months.
–When Garnett is on the bench, Boston is 9 points worse per 100 defensive possessions compared to when he plays.
–In addition, the Celtics are more than 5 points worse per 100 offensive possessions when Pierce is sitting.

*Since 1973-74, the Knicks’ regular-season turnover percentage of 11.7 is the 17^th-best by any team for a single season (via http://bkref.com/tiny/CfeUx).

*The Knicks have allowed opponents to shoot 62 percent from 5 feet and closer this season, which is 5th-worth in NBA.

*The Knicks are 5.2 points worse per 100 possessions without Pablo Prigioni (sprained ankle) on the floor in 2012-13.
–Specifically, the Knicks are 4.6 points worse per 100 defensive possessions without Prigioni on the court this season.

*Carmelo Anthony became just the 2nd winner of the scoring title in franchise history as he made a career-best 2.3 shots from 3-point distance per game this season.
–The Celtics have held Anthony to just 35 percent shooting in 4 games this season, his worst against any Eastern Conference opponent.

*Tyson Chandler missed the last 6 games of the season as well as 16 of the team’s final 20 contests.
–Tyson Chandler’s career playoff offensive rebounding percentage of 13.22 is the 3^rd-best in NBA playoff history (1^st: Moses Malone 15.05 … 2^nd: Dennis Rodman 15.01).

*Kenyon Martin, who is no spring chicken, will also need to find his rhythm after playing just 18 minutes in New York’s last 8 games of 2012-13.

*Jordan Crawford scored at least 15 points in each of his final 3 games of the regular season.
–That was the first stretch of back-to-back 15-point games for Crawford as a Celtic.
–The Celtics are a much stronger offensive scoring team when Crawford is on the floor. They are more than 4 points better per 100 offensive possessions with him out there.

*The Knicks have made 10.9 shots from 3-point distance per game and have attempted 28.9 per game, both the most in a single season in NBA history.
–891 made 3-pointers and 2,371 attempted 3-pointers are also single-season records.
–The 2012-13 Rockets are 2^nd in all 4 of those categories. I guess we will call this the season of the 3-pointer.

*The 3-pointer is also important for the Celtics.
–They are 9-1 this season when making double-digit 3-pointers this season (4-0 when making more than 10).
–They are 8-2 this season in games in which they shoot at least 50 percent on 3-pointers.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Knicks
–The Celtics have won at least one playoff series each of the previous five postseasons while the Knicks have not won a playoff series since 2000. The 1999-2000 season was also the last time that New York won at least 50 games.


*Milestone Watch:

–Celtics History: All-Time Regular Season and Playoff Wins–
1. Red Auerbach 885
2. Tommy Heinsohn 474
3. Doc Rivers 473                        (Rivers needs 1 to tie Heinsohn for 2^nd place)

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounds–
11. Patrick Ewing 1098
12. Kevin Garnett 1084            (Garnett needs 14 to tie Ewing for 11^th place)
13. Charles Barkley 1072

–All-Time Playoff Free Throw Percentage–
2. Calvin Murphy .932
3. Brandon Bass .921
4. Bill Sharman .911

–All-Time Playoff Defensive Rebounding Percentage–
5. Ben Wallace 26.36
6. Kevin Garnett 26.23
7. Dennis Rodman 26.20

Column: Do Not Count Out the Celtics

For the first time since the Boston Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett in 2007, they enter a first-round postseason series as a heavy underdog.

However, the Celtics still have a decent chance at winning this series against the New York Knicks. The Celtics own their lowest seed in almost a decade, but the veteran-led team will not be scared when stepping onto the Madison Square Garden hardwood as the 2013 NBA playoffs begin on Saturday.

Celtics @ Raptors Stat Pack

*This is the first time since 1954-55 (when the Baltimore Bullets disbanded after 14 games) that not every NBA team will finish with the same number of games played.
–This will only be the 2^nd NBA season in which there will be teams finishing with exactly 81 games played.
–That other season was 1966-67: the Celtics, who finished 60-21 (2^nd-best record in the league), were 1 of 10 teams to play 81 games in that season 46 years ago.

*The Celtics have one of the league’s best defenses since Rondo tore his ACL on January 25.
–In that span, they have held teams to 43 percent shooting, which is the 3^rd-best mark in the NBA.
–In that span, they have a league-best 32 percent defense against the 3-point shot, best in the NBA.

*Not only have the Celtics defended well, but they also have shot the basketball well heading into the playoffs.
–Their 59-percent performance from the field on Saturday at Orlando was Boston’s best shooting percentage in a road game this season.
–It also pushed the Celtics’ shooting to 2^nd-best in the NBA over the last 10 games.

*Saturday was a new season-high in plus/minus (+27) for Kevin Garnett.
–He impressively did it in less than 20 minutes.
–Garnett is 1 of 6 players this season with at least a +27 in less than 20 minutes.

*The Raptors are 2-35 this season when allowing their opponent to score at least 100 points.

*The Raptors are playing for an above .500 record at home.
–They enter this contest 20-20 at the Air Canada Centre this season.
–The Raptors can tie their season-long winning streak with a win Wednesday.

*During Toronto’s current 4-game winning streak, DeMar DeRozan has led the team with 26 points per game on an impressive 60 percent shooting.
–He has also made 6 of his last 9 shots from 3-point distance.
–DeRozan has played in every game this season, accumulating the 5^th-most minutes and making the 8^th-most free throws of any player in 2012-13.

*Brandon Bass has now scored double-digit in all 7 games in April, his longest streak of scoring double-digit points this season.
–Bass is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 60 percent from the field in that span.

*Going into Friday’s game, Courtney Lee had scored fewer than 10 points in his last 5 games, just 2 games off his worst streak this season.
–On Friday, Lee impressively scored 18 points, tied for his 2^nd-most in a game this season.
–Then, on Saturday against his former team, Lee scored 20 points and made three 3-pointers, which both tied for his most as a Celtic. In addition, he scored more than 15 points in consecutive nights for the first time as a Celtic.

*In 26 games as a Celtic, Friday and Saturday combined to be the first time that Jordan Crawford scored double-digit points and shot that well from the field in consecutive games.
–The Celtics are a much stronger offensive scoring team when Crawford is on the floor. They are almost 5 points per 100 possessions with him out there.

*The Celtics’ victory on Saturday was their largest margin of victory this season.
–It also became the Celtics’ new season-high with 120 points scored.
–The Celtics have now won 8 consecutive games over the Magic.
–It was tied for the Celtics’ 2^nd-largest victory over the Magic in franchise history.
–The Celtics’ 59.3% shooting was their 2^nd-best performance in a game this season.

*The New York Knicks have made 11 shots from 3-point distance per game and have attempted 29 of those per game, both the most in a single season in NBA history.
–882 made 3-pointers and 2,347 attempted 3-pointers are also single-season records.
–The 2012-13 Rockets are 2^nd in all 4 of those categories. I guess we will call this the season of the 3-pointer.

*The Knicks have attempted the most 3-pointers from above the break (1747 from where the arc turns into a straight line), more than 100 more than the team that took the 2^nd-most this season – the Houston Rockets (1632).
–The Knicks’ shooting percentage on those 3-pointers is 38%, 2^nd-best in the league.

*The 3-pointer is also important for the Celtics.
–They are 9-1 this season when making double-digit 3-pointers this season (4-0 when making more than 10).
–They are 8-2 this season in games in which they shoot at least 50 percent on 3-pointers.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Raptors
–With a 3-0 record against the Raptors this season, the Celtics are in search of their only 4-game sweep of an opponent in 2012-13.
–The Celtics have not been the victim of a 4-game sweep by any team this season.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
13. Alex English 25,613
14. Reggie Miller 25,279
15. Kevin Garnett 25,274            (Garnett needs 6 to move into 14^th place)

–Celtics History: All-Time Regular Season and Playoffs Wins–
1. Red Auerbach 885
2. Tommy Heinsohn 474
3. Doc Rivers 473                        (Rivers needs 1 to tie Heinsohn for 2^nd place)

Celtics @ Magic Stat Pack

*Paul Pierce currently has 23,998 points, just 2 away from becoming the 20^th player in NBA history with 24,000.

*Brandon Bass is showing signs of life down the stretch.

--He has now scored 10+ points in all 6 games in April, his longest streak of scoring double-digit points this season.

--Bass is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 57 percent from the field in that span.

*Going into Friday’s game, Courtney Lee had scored fewer than 10 points in his last 5 games, just 2 games off his worst streak this season.

--On Friday, Lee impressively scored 18 points, tied for his 2^nd-most in a game this season.

*On Friday, Jeff Green stepped into the #1 scoring role and impressed with some stellar dunks.

--He had 25 points and 8 rebounds in the same game for the first time since 2009.

*Via @ESPNStatsInfo: The last 3 Orlando Magic 20-year-olds with a 20-point and 15-rebound game: Dwight Howard, Shaquille O'Neal and Tobias Harris (on Wednesday).

*Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Nikola Vucevic is the first player in Magic history with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists in single game.

*Milestone Watch:

--All-Time NBA Points Scored--

13. Alex English 25,613

14. Reggie Miller 25,279

15. Kevin Garnett 25,260            (Garnett needs 20 to move into 14^th place)

Celtics @ Heat Stat Pack

*As of publishing of this stat pack, the Celtics are a 12-point underdog for this game.
–It is the Celtics’ largest line as an underdog in almost 6 years (April 15, 2007 at Orlando: 12.5 points).

*Without Paul Pierce on the floor, the Celtics are approximately 6 points worse per 100 possessions on the offensive end this season.

*In addition, they are almost 8 points worse per 100 defensive possessions when Garnett is not playing this season.

*Brandon Bass is showing signs of life down the stretch.
–He has scored 10+ points in all 5 games in April, his longest streak of scoring double-digit points this season.
–Bass is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 55 percent from the field with 1.6 blocks per game in those 5 games.
–In comparison, in his 137 career games in green, Bass has averaged 10 points per game on 48-percent shooting with 0.8 blocks per game.

*The Celtics are 2.7 points better per 100 offensive possessions when Jordon Crawford is on the floor.
–Their effective field goal percentage also increases by .025 when Crawford is on the court.
–The team’s total rebounding percentage increases by 1.7 percent with Crawford playing.

*Courtney Lee has scored fewer than 10 points in 5 consecutive games.
–He has had only 3 such streaks longer this one this season.
–Longest one this season: 7 games in November.

*Jason Terry’s field-goal percentage in April: .385 (5 games, 0 starts).
–His lowest in a month this season (minimum 2 games played): .374 in December (14 games, 11 starts).

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Heat
–The last time the Heat or a LeBron-led team won a regular season series against the Celtics was 2006-07.
–With a Heat victory, Miami will win the 2012-13 regular season series, 3-1.

Columnist Analysis 1: The Rajon Rondo conundrum (March 10, 2013)

(Link: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/03/10/the-rajon-rondo-conundrum/F5VdqLC6S4HFdvCce9RLDO/story.html)

In this column, Bob Ryan explains the quandary surrounding the Boston Celtics since superstar point guard Rajon Rondo tore his ACL in late January. Ryan explains that since the Celtics have a bevy of talented players, the team has been able to succeed without Rondo. This column is a feature because it focuses on one specific issue, the Celtics’ loss of Rondo. Ryan explains both sides of how the Celtics have been affected without their point guard, but then discusses the importance of the injury. He states that Rondo must change his ways because of how the Celtics have been able to perform without a true point guard who “pounds the ball for 20 or more seconds on the 24-second clock before perhaps taking it to the hoop in the hopes of an 11th-hour drive-and-dish assist, perhaps in a hopeless situation.”

Columnist Analysis 2: Lakers’ standard is what Heat are chasing (March 24, 2013)

(Link: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/03/23/revisiting-lakers/FhZNYwTHoUVA0yW6HCKU5J/story.html)

While the Miami Heat was in the midst of the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, Ryan recounts the Los Angeles Lakers’ 33 consecutive victories in 1971-72. He delves deep into the specifics of the streak, why it happened and how it ended. This column is a feature because Ryan is comparing the two streaks while detailing the important events of that impressive season by Lakers.

Ryan is attempting to illustrate how different the Lakers and the NBA were in comparison to the Heat and the league today. He does not have an outright positive or negative opinion about either of the specific teams in this column. The only direct comparison between the players of the 1971-72 Lakers and 2012-13 Heat comes at the end: “Who’d win a Lakers-Heat series? Well, I don’t know who would guard LeBron, but I do think Wilt would have reverted to his Phase I self after sizing up the Miami post people. I’ll let it go at that.” He includes this snippet at the end to add more intrigue to what could have been if the teams with the two best streaks could have faced off. By just incorporating that paragraph, Ryan is implicitly showing that there are not too many Wilt Chamberlain types in the NBA today. There is currently a dearth of size in the league.

Columnist Analysis 3: Where has scoring in NCAA basketball gone? (March 31, 2013)

(Link: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/03/30/college-coaches-are-strangling-offense-out-game/L3KSraJXJC3jwKBaPVHOpJ/story.html#)

The title says it all for this Ryan column. He cannot stand how men’s college basketball’s scoring has fallen off. His reasoning for this huge drop-off is the over-coaching done at almost every school in the nation. This column is a feature because it deals with the issue of the lack of scoring in this sport.

Ryan is extremely frustrated by this phenomenon in college basketball and has a negative outlook regarding the future of the sport. He starts with a strong, emotional rant towards the subject: “It’s appalling. It’s depressing. It is certainly painful to watch. Did someone legislate offense out of basketball when we weren’t looking? Offensively speaking, things were better not just 10, not just 20, not just 30 (actually, that was a deviant year), not just 40, not just 50, but, yes, 60 years ago. How can that be?” His anger continues for a page and then he gets to his main point with a quote from Bill Walton: ““The game,” [Walton] thunders, “is over-coached and under-taught. It is over-thought and under-played.” Walton is totally in agreement that the athletes are better than ever. He just wishes the coaches would let them play.” Just by using the word “thunders,” Ryan is expressing the rage that he and Walton feel when watching college basketball.

Columnist Analysis 4: Bob Ryan

Bob Ryan’s target audience is the general sports fan, especially one from Boston. As a retired Boston Globe columnist who still writes weekly as a Globe Correspondent, Ryan provides strong, pointed and direct opinions on the most important stories in the sports world. The New Jersey native is extremely truthful when it comes to his writing, and he leaves all of his thoughts on the page.

His typical columns are features in which he tackles a significant issue from the past week in sports. As evidenced by Ryan’s guest appearances on “Pardon the Interruption,” he has tremendous versatility with his sports knowledge. Although I chose three of his basketball columns, he can write about all major sports stories. In the last year, he has had columns on wins above replacement, Stan Musial, Bill Belichick, the Olympics, badminton and figure skating.

Celtics vs. Nets Stat Pack

*The Nets vs. Celtics from 2007-08 to 2011-12: 2 wins (17 losses)
–The Nets vs. Celtics in 2012-13: 2 wins (1 loss)

*The Celtics are officially an “average” team through 77 games.
–They are the only team in the league with a current RPI of .500 (via http://espn.go.com/nba/stats/rpi)
–The Celtics also have the point differential closest to zero. Opponents are outscoring the Celtics, 7424 to 7414 (approximately -0.1 per game).

*Via @benmaller: For first time since joining the NBA in 1976, the Nets franchise will finish with a winning record on road.

*Before Tuesday’s Nets home game against the 76ers, the Nets displayed the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers championship banner on the court to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the opening of Ebbets Field.

*The Nets are 16-28 (.364) vs. teams with at least a .500 record this season. They are 29-4 (.879) vs. teams below .500.
–By comparison, the Celtics are 21-23 (.477) vs. teams with at least a .500 record this season. They are 19-14 (.576) vs. teams below .500.

*Reggie Evans is averaging more than 18 rebounds per game over his last 10 games, by far the most in the NBA over that span.
–Evans’ Hollinger rebound rate of 26.5 is also by far the best in the NBA (2^nd-best: Anderson Varejao and Kevin Love at 23.2)

*Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Reggie Evans now has nine 20-rebound games this season, which is more than twice as many as any other player.
–Via New York Times: Evans has 4 double-doubles in his last 7 games after having only 4 in his previous 69 games.
–Via New York Times: On Tuesday, Evans scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the first quarter, the first time a Nets player has recorded a double-double in the first quarter.

*Coming into Wednesday night:
–The Celtics are 10-10 on 0-days rest this season.
–The Celtics are 19-19 on 1-day rest.
–With a win on Wednesday, the Celtics would be 6-6 on 2-days rest.
–The Celtics own an impressive 6-2 record on 3-days rest.

*The Celtics’ 56% FG% Sunday was their 3^rd-best in a game this season.

*Brandon Bass set a new season-high with 9 field goals made on Sunday.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Nets
–The Nets won at TD Garden on November 28, becoming just their 2^nd victory there since Garnett joined the Celtics.
–The Celtics are looking to make it 2 wins in a row over the Nets in order to avoid losing a season series to the Nets for the first time in 7 seasons.
–In each of the 3 meetings in 2012-13, the Celtics have scored more points in the paint than the Nets.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Minutes–
5. Wilt Chamberlain 47,859
6. John Stockton 47,764
7. Kevin Garnett 47,755            (Garnett needs 10 to move into 6^th place)

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
13. Alex English 25,613
14. Reggie Miller 25,279
15. Kevin Garnett 25,249            (Garnett needs 31 to move into 14^th place)

Celtics vs. Wizards Stat Pack

*Defensive Efficiency this season:
–Celtics: 100.0 per 100 possessions (7^th-best)
–Washington: 99.9 per 100 possessions (5^th-best)

*The Celtics’ 40.4 percent shooting on Friday was their 4^th-worst performance at home this season.

*The only player to score more than 25 points and grab more than 16 rebounds against the Celtics this season: Tristan Thompson.
–The last player to do this against the Celtics: Carmelo Anthony in the 2011 playoffs.

*Add in that 9-of-9 performance from the free-throw line to Thompson’s stat line of 29 points and 17 rebounds — He is first player since Alonzo Morning in 1993 with 29 points, 17 rebounds and that many free throws with a 100% free-throw percentage.

*How about Jeff Green as a starter now? In 12 games this season, he is averaging 26 points per game while shooting 57 percent from the field and 55% from 3-point!
–In addition, he is attempting 6 free throws per game as opposed to less than 3 when he was coming off the bench.

*Shavlik Randolph put up a career-high 16 points in addition to grabbing 4 offensive rebounds on Friday. The last Celtic reserve to do that was Brandon Bass in December 2011.

*In the 43 games that John Wall has played this season, the Wizards own a 24-19 record.
–When Wall records a double-double, they are 8-3 in 2012-13.

*Wall has stepped up recently with 3 performances of more than 30 points.
–One of those impressive games came Saturday night in a 104-85 win over the Pacers.
–Wall dominated George Hill for a game-high 37 points while Hill scored only 11.

*The last time Wall faced the Celtics was more than a year ago when Wall struggled and shot 5-of-17, scoring just 12 points.
–Avery Bradley had a fantastic contest, putting up a game-high 23 points as a part of an 88-76 Celtics win.
–The highest scorer for the Wizards that night, Jordon Crawford, is now in green.

*Avery Bradley has played 37 straight games for Boston, but sat out practice on Saturday. Fortunately, Bradley said that he was fine and plays his 38 straight game Sunday.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Wizards
–The Celtics have won 6 straight games against the Wizards.
–If the men in green are victorious on Sunday, they will have swept the season series from Washington in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Minutes–
5. Wilt Chamberlain 47,859
6. John Stockton 47,764
7. Kevin Garnett 47,731            (Garnett needs 34 to move into 6^th place)

Celtics vs. Cavaliers Stat Pack

*The Cavaliers are still without 2 of their 3 highest scorers in this game. Kyrie Irving should be playing, but Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao remain out.

*This Cavaliers team has had a relatively tough schedule recently, but they have dropped their last 10 games. This losing streak is the longest current one in the league and is Cleveland’s longest one since losing an NBA-record 26 consecutive contests in 2010-11.

*In Jeff Green’s 11 starts this season, he is averaging 22.5 points per game while shooting 56 percent from the field and 54 percent from 3-point.
–Although it is a small sample size, that overall field goal percentage would be 7^th-best in the NBA this season and the best among non-big men.
–In addition, the best 3-point shooter this season, Jose Calderon, is at 46 percent.

*The Celtics without Pierce this season…
–The Celtics are now about 5.5 points worse per 100 offensive possessions without Pierce on the floor this season.

*The Celtics without Kevin Garnett this season…
–The Celtics are now about 7.7 points worse per 100 defensive possessions without Garnett on the floor this season.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Cavaliers
–The Celtics will hope to win again to take the regular season series from the Cavaliers for the 3^rd straight year.

Celtics vs. Pistons Stat Pack

*After being outrebounded in their previous 8 contests (Celtics’ longest streak since 2002), the Celtics outrebounded the Timberwolves on Monday.
–With Monday’s loss, the Celtics are now 14-5 this season when winning the rebounding battle.

*For the 11^th time in Paul Pierce’s career, he has had a double-double in 3 straight games.
–Only once in Pierce’s career has he gone 4 consecutive games with a double-double (November 2002).

*The Celtics without Pierce this season…
–The Celtics are about 5.0 points worse per 100 offensive possessions without Pierce on the floor this season.
–Of all Celtics who have played at least 200 minutes this season, Pierce is the most impactful offensive player on the team.

*The Celtics without Kevin Garnett this season…
–The Celtics are about 7.9 points worse per 100 defensive possessions without Garnett on the floor this season.
–Of all Celtics who have played at least 50 minutes this season, Garnett is the most impactful defensive player on the team.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Pistons
–The last time the Pistons swept a season series from the Celtics was 2006-07.
–The Pistons have a 4-game win streak against the Celtics, the longest streak since the Pistons won 9 straight games over the Celtics from 2005 to 2007.
–During that 4-game losing streak, the Celtics have scored fewer than 90 points in each of those games.
–The last time the Celtics beat the Pistons: December 30, 2011.
–The Celtics have won 6 of their last 8 games at TD Garden over the Pistons.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Minutes–
5. Wilt Chamberlain 47,859
6. John Stockton 47,764
7. Kevin Garnett 47,731            (Garnett needs 34 to move into 6^th place)

Celtics @ Timberwolves Stat Pack

*The Celtics have been outrebounded in 8 consecutive games, the franchise’s longest streak of being outrebounded since 2002 (11 games: February 1 to 23, 2002).
–They are one of 8 NBA teams to have a streak like this of 8 or more games this season.
–One of those 8 teams is the Timberwolves (9 games – tied with 2 other teams for longest streak by a team this season).

*Coming into this contest, the Celtics have just 2 losses on Mondays this season, the fewest losses they have on a single day of the week in 2012-13.

*On Sunday, the Celtics gave up 14 made 3-pointers to an opponent for the 2^nd time this season.
–The other time: January 7 also at Madison Square Garden.
–The Celtics are 1-5 when giving up at least 12 made 3-pointers this season (lone victory: January 7).

*Jeff Green has now scored 27 points in each of his last 2 games.
–For just the 2^nd time in his career, Jeff Green has scored at least 27 points in consecutive games.

*Pierce is currently on his 2^nd streak this season of at least 3 double-doubles. It is the first time he has done that since 2002-03.

*The Timberwolves have the least halftime comeback wins in the NBA this season (3).

*According to NBA.com, the Timberwolves are still not mathematically eliminated from the 2013 playoffs.
–However, they will most likely miss the playoffs for the 9^th consecutive season.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Timberwolves
–The only team the Celtics have a perfect record against in the Kevin Garnett Era is the Timberwolves. The Celtics are 10-0 against them since 2007-08.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Minutes–
5. Wilt Chamberlain 47,859
6. John Stockton 47,764
7. Kevin Garnett 47,731            (Garnett needs 34 to move into 6^th place)

–All-Time NBA Minutes–
24. Patrick Ewing 40,594
25. Charles Oakley 40,280
26. Paul Pierce 40,223            (Pierce needs 58 to move into 25^th place)