Saturday, November 30, 2013

Game 19: Celtics (7-11) @ Bucks (2-13) Open Thread

http://www.celticshub.com/2013/11/30/game-19-celtics-7-11-bucks-2-13-open-thread/

http://espn.go.com/photo/2012/1110/bos_g_green_b1_576.jpg

Celtics @ Bucks Stat Pack

*Before Jared Sullinger on Friday, the last Celtics big man to hit at least 4 shots from 3-point land in a game was Rasheed Wallace (shot 5-of-7 from deep on January 10, 2010 at Toronto).


*Coming into Saturday night, Jeff Green has scored 26 points in consecutive games for just the 3rd time in his career.
–Green has never scored 25 points in 3 straight games.

*The Bucks have lost 11 consecutive games, their longest streak since 1996.
–They lost 15 straight from March 4 to 30, 1996.
–The 11-game losing streak is by far the worst by any team in the NBA this season.

*The Bucks’ point differential is the 2nd-worst in the NBA (Jazz: the worst).
–The Bucks’ home point differential is the 2nd-worst in the NBA (Knicks: the worst).

*The Bucks are 0-4 on the 2nd night of back-to-backs this season.
–Celtics: 2-3 on the 2nd night of back-to-backs this season.

*Brandon Bass’s plus/minus of +23 on Friday was a season-high for him.

*Jeff Green’s plus/minus of +19 on Friday was also a season-high for him.
–The Celtics are 4-0 this season when he has a positive double-digit plus/minus.

*Avery Bradley’s plus/minus of +20 on Friday was also a season-high for him.
–It is his 5th-best plus/minus of his career (4th-best in regular-season career).

*Bradley hit a season-high 3 shots from 3-point land on Friday.
–It was only his 4th career game with at least that many 3-pointers.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Bucks
–The Bucks have taken the last 3 meetings from the Celtics.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Game 18: Cavaliers (4-11) @ Celtics (6-11) Open Thread

http://www.celticshub.com/2013/11/29/game-18-cavaliers-4-11-celtics-6-11-open-thread/

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/1015/nba_g_bradley_gb1_576x324.jpg

Celtics vs. Cavaliers Stat Pack

*The Celtics have not lost 5 games in a row at home since they lost 13 straight at TD Garden (December 2006 to February 2007).


*The Celtics face the 2 worst non-New York teams in the Eastern Conference over the next 3 games.

*The last time Kyrie Irving was in Boston (April 5, 2013), he had a terrible shooting performance.
–He scored just 11 points on 4-of-20 shooting from the field.
–That was by far Irving’s worst scoring output when attempting at least 20 shots in an NBA contest.

*The Cavaliers have not cracked 25 wins in a season since LeBron James left.

*The Cavaliers own the 3rd-worst point differential in the league this season (-8.6).
–The Cavaliers have a -12.4 point differential on the road this season, which is the 2nd-worst in the NBA.

*The Cavaliers do not have a regulation win since November 4.

*Oddly, the Celtics are 0-4 this season when Jared Sullinger has scored more than 15 points.

*After being outscored by 14 in the first quarter on Wednesday, the Celtics dipped to the 5th-worst first quarter differential this season at -3.0 points per first quarter.
–The only team to have a worse first-quarter differential on Wednesday: Nets (-16).

*When the Cavaliers grab more than 45 rebounds this season, they are 4-1.
–Otherwise, they are 0-10.

*Jerryd Bayless’ 9 free throws made and 11 free throws attempted are both the 2nd-most by a player in a game this season against the Celtics.

*The Celtics are now 1-10 when committing 15 or more turnovers this season.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Cavaliers
–The Cavaliers have taken 2 of the last 3 games against the Celtics.
–Neither team has scored more than 97 points in any of those 3 games.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Celtics vs. Grizzlies Stat Pack


*Before 2013-14, Marc Gasol had missed only 4 games the past 3 seasons (including the playoffs).
--He played in 261 of 265 games from 2010-11 to 2012-13.
--The Grizzlies had a 2-2 record in the games that he missed from 2010-11 to 2012-13.
--1 of those 4 missed games: 110-106, Grizzlies victory on March 23, 2013 (Marc Gasol – DNP, Abdominal Tear)

*The two players with the most points in a game against the Celtics this season: Gordon Hayward and Kemba Walker with 28 each.
--Both Celtics victories

*The Celtics are now 5-0 this season when they have at least 19 assists (0-9 with 17 or fewer assists).
--They are also 5-0 this season when having an assist-to-turnover radio above 1.5. When they are 1 or below in assist-to-turnover ratio, they are 0-7 this season.
--The Celtics’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 2 on Monday was tied for their 2nd-best of the season. It also bumped them above the 1-mark in assist-to-turnover ratio for the season.

*The Celtics’ 4 lowest turnover games this season have all come on the road.
--The Celtics are now 5-1 when committing 14 or fewer turnovers this season.

*Courtney Lee’s plus/minus of +18 Monday was a season-high for him.
--The Celtics are now 12-1 when he has had a plus/minus above +10 in green.
--The one loss came against the Grizzlies earlier this season (he was a +17).

*Before Monday, the last time Avery Bradley played 10 or fewer minutes in a game was March 19, 2012.
--Bradley had played at least 20 minutes in all of the other games this season.

*I cannot believe that 5 of the Celtics’ 6 wins this season have come against the Southeast Division.

*Jordan Crawford’s 4 shots made from 3-point distance on Monday are his most in a Celtics uniform.

*For just the 2nd time in his NBA career, Jordan Crawford has attempted at least 7 free throws in consecutive games.
--In addition, for just the 2nd time in his NBA career, Jordan Crawford has made at least 6 free throws in consecutive games.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Grizzlies
--The Grizzlies have taken the last 3 games against the Celtics.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Game 16: Celtics (5-10) @ Bobcats (7-7) Open Thread

http://www.celticshub.com/2013/11/25/game-16-celtics-5-10-bobcats-7-7-open-thread/

http://a2.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0731/nba_moves_11.jpg

Celtics @ Bobcats Stat Pack

*What a night it was on Saturday for Jordan Crawford.
--He tied his career-best plus/minus (+24).
--He also registered his 5th career double-double and got to the line for a season-best 8 free throws.

*The Celtics’ 31 free-throw attempts on Saturday were their most in a road game in over a year.

*The Celtics had a season-high 19 more shots from the line than their opponent on Saturday.
--It was also their biggest differential in over a year.

*On Saturday, for the first time since April 2011, the Celtics committed at least 9 more turnovers than their opponent and won the game.

*Al Jefferson has played in just 5 games this season, but his best one came in his first career victory against the Celtics.
--On November 13 at TD Garden, he put up season-highs in points, rebounds and free throws en route to his only double-double this season.

*The Celtics are still in the basement of the league in terms of Assist/Turnover ratio (0.99).
--The lowest in NBA history for a season: 0.948 by the San Diego Clippers in 1978-79.

*The Celtics’ early-season success against the Southeast Division:
--4 of the C’s 5 wins this season have come against that division.
--The Celtics have averaged just under 100 points per game against teams from that division in 2013-14, which is the most of any division.

*Jordan Crawford’s free-throw percentage ranks 10th in the NBA.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Bobcats
--The game earlier this season between Boston and Charlotte was the beginning of the Celtics’ 6-game losing streak.
--In the fourth quarter against Charlotte, the green only converted on 6 of their 18 shot attempts.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Game 15: Celtics (4-10) @ Hawks (8-5) Open Thread

http://www.celticshub.com/2013/11/23/game-15-celtics-4-10-hawks-8-5-open-thread/

http://espn.go.com/photo/2012/0420/nba_u_hawks-celtics-20_mb_576.jpg

Celtics @ Hawks Stat Pack

*The Celtics head into Saturday having lost 5 consecutive games by double digits for the first time in franchise history.
–The Celtics are not the only team with a streak of that sort this season though.
–Earlier this month, the Utah Jazz lost six straight contests by at least 10 points. Oddly enough, the Celtics were one of the teams to defeat the Jazz during that streak.

*If the Celtics lose on Saturday, they will have lost 7 consecutive games for the first time since April 2007.

*The Celtics’ early-season success against the Southeast Division:
–The Celtics have averaged more than 101 points per game against teams from that division in 2013-14, and they have a 3-1 record against them.

*Jordan Crawford has at least 1 steal in each of his last 9 games, which is a new career-high for him.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Hawks
–Each of the previous 7 times that the Hawks have hosted the Celtics, the teams have alternated victories.
–The last time the Celtics were in Atlanta to play a game: Rajon Rondo tore his right ACL, and the Hawks overcame a 27-point Celtics lead to win in double overtime.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Game 14: Pacers (10-1) @ Celtics (4-9) Open Thread

http://www.celticshub.com/2013/11/22/game-14-pacers-10-1-celtics-4-9-open-thread/

http://static.mobile.espn.go.com/i/mobile/test/WAPBird2111.jpg

Celtics vs. Pacers Stat Pack


*With a victory on Friday, the Pacers would begin a season 11-1 for the first time in franchise history.

*The Celtics have begun 4-9 or worse for the first time since 1996.
--They began 4-14 that season.

*Since 2007-08, the Celtics have had just 1 losing streak of 6 games or more.
--In 2006-07, the Celtics had 3 losing streaks of 6 games or more.

*Avery Bradley has a large disparity in how he performs in wins vs. losses:
--In the 4 victories: 15.8 points per game, 52% FG%, 33% 3P%, 90% FT%
--In the 9 defeats: 12.6 points per game, 40% FG%, 21% 3P%, 75% FT%

*The best plus/minus rotation player for the Pacers this season is none other than the league-leader in blocks, Roy Hibbert (+14.9 per game).

*George Hill scored a season-high 23 points on Wednesday.

*Lance Stevenson, who put up 9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block last game, became just the 5th starting guard to reach those plateaus this season.

*Via Elias: On Wednesday, “Paul George scored 35 points, including nine in overtime, to lead the Pacers to a victory at New York. George matched the NBA season high for points in one overtime period, tying Detroit's Will Bynum (in a loss at Memphis on Nov. 1) and Cleveland's Kyrie Irving (Nov. 16 at Washington). George was the first player to score as many as nine points in an overtime period for Indiana since Danny Granger did it against the Cavaliers on Dec. 30, 2011.”

*Via Elias: “The Raptors improved their record to 5-7 with their victory at Philadelphia, and in the process they leapfrogged the 76ers to grab possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. It's the first time that an NBA team has led its division with a losing record at least a dozen games into a season since Jan. 30, 2007, when the Raptors and Nets were tied for the Atlantic Division lead with identical 22-23 records.”

*For the first time in his career (56th game overall), Jared Sullinger had a double-double at halftime.
--In addition, his 17 rebounds Wednesday were a career-high.
--His next best rebounding performance on the road in his career: 10 at Cleveland on January 22.

*After going 4-for-4 from the line Wednesday, Kelly Olynyk is now a perfect 17-of-17 from the line this season.
--That is the most made free throws of anybody with a perfect free-throw percentage this season.
--Olynyk is also the only player in 2013-14 to play at least 13 games and have a perfect free-throw percentage.

*Jordan Crawford has at least 1 steal in his last 8 games, which ties his career-high for consecutive games with a steal.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Pacers
--The Celtics have won the last 4 meetings with the Pacers. Pacers have scored fewer than 90 points in each of those 4 games. That is the first time in franchise history that the Pacers have not reached the 90-point mark in that many consecutive games against the Celtics.
--The Celtics have won 9 of the last 10 times they have hosted the Pacers at TD Garden.