2/20/12: Celtics @ Lakers Stat Pack

*The Lakers are the only non-playoff team in the NBA that currently has a positive point differential this season (+0.7).
–The Celtics are back to a negative point differential in 2012-13 (-0.1).

*Via Elias: The Celtics have not beaten the Lakers twice in one calendar month since January 1975.

*The Celtics are now 0-6 in road games against Western Conference opponents this season.
–The Celtics are 8-16 (.333) overall this season on the road.
–2011-12 C’s road record: 15-18 (.455).
–2010-11 C’s road record: 23-18 (.561).
–2009-10 C’s road record: 26-15 (.634).
–2008-09 C’s road record: 27-14 (.659).
–2007-08 C’s road record: 31-10 (.756).
–2006-07 C’s road record: 12-29 (.293).

*Wednesday was a first for Paul Pierce’s career. It was the first time he made 2 or fewer shots, attempted 14 or more shots and fouled out in the same game.
–And it was only the 4^th time in his 1,208-game career (including the playoffs) that he made 2 or fewer field goals and attempted 14 or more field goals in the same game.

*The Celtics have now prevented their opponent from scoring 100 points in regulation in 12 of their last 13 games (Boston has an 8-5 record in that span).
–The Lakers have given up at least 100 points in 3 of their last 5 games. They have lost all 3, including the 116-95 loss to the Celtics. The Lakers won the other 2 games.
–Overall, the Lakers are 7-22 this season when giving up at least 100 points (18-7 otherwise).

*Pierce has recorded at least 5 rebounds in 16 consecutive games, the 5^th-longest streak of his career (including the playoffs). It is also tied for his 3^rd-longest regular season streak.
–Longest regular season streak: 18 straight games in 2004-05 and 2002.
–Longest overall streak (including playoffs): 23 straight games in 2005 and 2003.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Lakers
–The Lakers and Nuggets both have a .545 winning percentage (6-5 record each) against the Celtics since 2007-08, tied for the best regular season winning percentage vs. Boston in that span.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Steals–
15. Kobe Bryant 1,796
16. Magic Johnson 1,724
16. Kevin Garnett 1,724            (Garnett needs 1 to pass Magic for 16^th place)

–All-Time NBA Free Throws Made–
10. Allen Iverson 6,375
11. Charles Barkley 6,349
12. Paul Pierce 6,334                        (Pierce needs 16 to move into 11^th place)

2/19/12: Celtics @ Nuggets Stat Pack

*The Celtics have won their last four games when playing on at least 3 days rest.

*In their first 6 games since Rajon Rondo’s ACL injury, the Celtics shot nearly 50% from the field.
–However, the team’s field goal percentage has plummeted to worse than 40% over their last three games.

*Coming into Tuesday, the Nuggets have lost 3 consecutive games.
–The triple-overtime loss to the Celtics was the beginning of that losing streak.

*Both the Nuggets and Celtics have won their last 7 games at home.
–Unfortunately for Boston, this game is in Denver.
–The Nuggets have the 3^rd-best home winning percentage among NBA teams this season.
–The Celtics are embarking on their season-long 5-game road trip.

*The Celtics’ 3 oldest players (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry) have played every game this season.
–The list of Celtics who have appeared in every game in 2012-13 (in order of oldest to youngest): Garnett, Pierce, Terry, Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and Jeff Green.

*Terry’s plus/minus of +94 in his last 10 games is tied for the 13^th-best among all players in that span.
–The 3-man combination of Garnett, Green and Terry has the 16^th-best plus/minus (+79) over the last 10 games.

*Kevin Garnett is currently averaging 15.1 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game
–Via ESPN Stats & Info: No player in Celtics history has averaged 16 PPG and 7 RPG for a season at the age of 36 or older.
–Garnett has averaged 17.7 PPG over his last 10 games. If he averages 17.7 PPG for the rest of the season, then he will hit the 16 PPG mark.

*Going into Sunday, Garnett had never been held scoreless and never played fewer than 7 minutes in an All-Star Game. Well, both of those things happened on Sunday: 0 points in 6:26 minutes played.
–His lowest All-Star scoring total going into Sunday: 2 points (2005-06).
–His lowest All-Star minute total: 7 minutes and 32 seconds (2 years ago).

*That was Garnett’s 12^th time being voted to start the All-Star game in his career.
–He has 15 All-Star selections overall, which is just under 25% of the 62 NBA All-Star Games all-time.
–In addition, those 15 selections are tied with Kobe Bryant for the most among active players.

*Brandon Bass scored a game-high 14 points last Wednesday against the Bulls.
–That was the 1^st time in the Kevin Garnett era (539 regular season & playoffs games) that the Celtics’ game-high scorer had 14 or fewer points.

*The Celtics have prevented their opponent from scoring 100 points in regulation in 11 of their last 12 games.
–They are 23-10 when holding teams below 100 points this season (5-14 otherwise).

*Ty Lawson joined some impressive company the last time he saw the Celtics.
–On February 10, he went for 29 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in the triple-overtime contest at TD Garden.
–Before Lawson, the last four players to reach those plateaus in a game against the Celtics were Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Garnett.

*Pierce has recorded at least 5 rebounds in 15 consecutive games, the 5^th-longest streak of his career (including the playoffs). It is his 4^th-longest regular season streak.
–Longest regular season streak: 18 straight games in 2004-05 and 2002.
–Longest overall streak (including playoffs): 23 straight games in 2005 and 2003.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Nuggets
–The Nuggets have a .500 winning percentage (5-5) against the Celtics since 2007-08, tied for the best overall winning percentage (including regular season and playoffs) vs. Boston in that span.
–On Tuesday, the Celtics hope to sweep the season series from the Nuggets for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
–The last time the Celtics faced the Nuggets, Denver outscored Boston by 32 in points in the paint (62 to 30).

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Regular Season Games Played–
10. Moses Malone 1,329
11. Buck Williams 1,307
11. Kevin Garnett 1,307            (Garnett moves into sole possession of 11^th place by playing Tuesday)

–All-Time NBA Steals–
15. Kobe Bryant 1,796
16. Magic Johnson 1,724
17. Kevin Garnett 1,722            (Garnett needs 2 to tie Magic for 16^th place)

NBA All-Star 2013: Kevin Durant Extends NBA-Record ASG Streak

Although Chris Paul was the 2013 All-Star Game MVP, Kevin Durant showcased his talent once again on the big stage. Durant came into the 62^nd NBA All-Star Game as the only player ever to score at least 30 points in consecutive All-Star Games. Then, he extended his NBA-record streak to three contests with a game-high 30 points in the Western Conference’s 143-138 victory.

Three days after the Miami Heat took down the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Durant exacted as much revenge as he could by getting the win over the Heat’s ‘Big Three,’ Erik Spoelstra and the rest of the Eastern Conference All-Stars. Durant will not be able to face the defending NBA champions again during this regular season, so it was good for him to finally get some sort of a victory over the Heat for the first time since Game 1 of the 2012 Finals.

With the second-best record in the NBA, Oklahoma City has performed well without James Harden. While Kevin Martin has shouldered some of the load, Durant and Russell Westbrook have had to take on more responsibilities on the offensive end of the floor.

Durant especially has provided his team with more offense in two glaring ways. First, through 53 games in 2012-13, he is averaging an NBA-best 29.2 points per game, 1.2 better than his average in 66 games last season. Second is his impressive propensity to get to the free throw line. Durant is taking 9.3 free throws per game, the second-most of any player this season. In addition, his 90.7% from the line leads the league and would be the best of his career.

Moving forward, the Thunder will need to have Durant saved up for a long playoff run. He is Oklahoma City’s best plus/minus player, and the team’s offense is 11 points better per 100 possessions this season with Durant on the floor compared to him off it. The Thunder’s offensive efficiency is tremendous with him and needs to continue to be if Oklahoma City wants to make it back to the 2013 Finals.

Podcast: Bobby and Adam on the Injuries in the Eastern Conference

Bobby and Adam discuss the most important injuries in the Eastern Conference. In addition, they debate how to deal with the future of the NBA Draft and they answer Nicola Bogani’s question about the possibility of the Celtics trading Rajon Rondo.

2013 Feb 17: Injuries in the East

(Podcast Recorded on Sunday, February 17th, 2013)

2/13/12: Celtics vs. Bulls Stat Pack

*Congratulations to the Celtics, who have scored 4,912 points and given up 4,912 points this season.
–Boston is the only team that has a differential of exactly zero in the NBA right now.

*The Bulls are 25-1 when they have a better field goal percentage than their opponent this season.
–The Celtics are 22-6 when they have a better field goal percentage in 2012-13.

*Via Chris Forsberg: In the last 8 games, the Celtics lineup of Leandro Barbosa, Jason Terry, Jeff Green, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had played the 2^nd-most minutes together outside of the starting 5.
–It had a plus/minus of +29.8 per 48 minutes over those 8 games.
–The 3-man combo of Barbosa, Terry and Green had a plus/minus of +28 in 147 minutes with them together, the best three-man combo of the team’s top 10 most utilized (no other 3-man combo in that group has better than +4).

*Barbosa’s injury will hurt the Celtics.
–They are 8-1 this season when he plays more than 16 minutes (19-23 otherwise).
–They are 9-2 this season when he scores at least 8 points (18-22 otherwise).
–They are 8-2 this season when he dishes out at least 3 assists (19-22 otherwise).
–They are 10-5 this season when he hits at least 1 three-pointer (17-19 otherwise).

*Via ESPN Stats & Info: The Bulls are the only 2012-13 NBA team to currently have a better road record (15-9) than home record (15-12).
–The only team with a better away winning percentage this season is the Spurs (65.5%: 19-10).

*The Celtics have won their last 6 contests at home.

*Both Jason Terry and Jeff Green have scored double-digit points in 8 of their last 9 games.
–Terry’s plus/minus of +80 over his last 10 games is tied for the 19^th best in the NBA.
–He also leads the Celtics in plus/minus this season at +88 (2^nd best: Kevin Garnett +72).

-Via ESPN Stats & Info: “The Celtics are 5-for-28 this season (0-3 on Monday) on FGA in final 24 seconds of game/OT with chance to tie or take the lead.”

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Bulls
–Since leaving the Celtics to coach the Bulls, Tom Thibodeau is 7-4 against Boston.
–Since 2010-11, the Celtics are 3-0 against the Bulls when the Celtics score at least 100 points.
–Since 2010-11, the Celtics are 4-0 in meetings in which they shot at least 45% from the field (0-7 when worse than 45%).
–Celtics FG% against the Bulls since 2010-11 (from best to worst): 53% (Celtics W), 51% (W), 51% (W), 49% (W), 43% (L), 43% (L), 42% (L), 41% (L), 40% (L), 38% (L) and 38% (L).

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Regular Season Games Played–
10. Moses Malone 1,329
11. Buck Williams 1,307
12. Kevin Garnett 1,306            (Garnett ties Williams for 11^th place by playing Wednesday)

–All-Time NBA Steals–
15. Kobe Bryant 1,796
16. Magic Johnson 1,724
17. Kevin Garnett 1,721            (Garnett needs 3 to tie Magic for 16^th place)

2/11/12: Celtics @ Bobcats Stat Pack

*Via ESPN Stats & Info: Entering Sunday, the Celtics had 1 game-tying/go-ahead 3-pointer in the final 24 seconds of the 4th quarter/OT this season (1-10). They had 2 against the Nuggets.

*After beginning the season 7-5, the Charlotte Bobcats have been 4-34 since.
–They are also losers of 7 straight and 15 of their last 17 games.

*Kevin Garnett had his new season-high in rebounding with 18 last game.
–Sunday was the first game that Garnett has had at least 20 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks since 2005.

*Kevin Garnett’s 47 minutes Sunday were his most in a Celtics uniform.

*Paul Pierce’s 54 minutes played Sunday tied his career-high.

*The Celtics are now 8-0 all-time in the regular season when Pierce records a triple-double.

*The Celtics moved to 5-0 this season when they hit at least 9 three-pointers.

*Jason Terry had season-highs with 26 points and 5 three-pointers made on Sunday.
–Terry’s plus/minus of +80 over his last 10 games is the 19^th best in the NBA.

*Jeff Green has scored double-digit points 7 times in his last 8 games.
–During that span, he is averaging 14.4 points per game.

*Via Elias: The Celtics already have tied a team record with 14 OT periods this season.

*Via Elias: Doc Rivers has won his last 6 home games that have gone at least 2 overtimes, breaking the NBA record of 5.

*The last 5 players to record at least 29 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists against the Celtics: Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett …and Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Bobcats
–Boston is 14-4 vs. Charlotte since 2007-08.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Steals–
15. Kobe Bryant 1,795
16. Magic Johnson 1,724
17. Kevin Garnett 1,721            (Garnett needs 3 to tie Magic for 16^th place)

–All-Time NBA Regular Season Games Played–
10. Moses Malone 1,329
11. Buck Williams 1,307
12. Kevin Garnett 1,305            (Garnett needs 2 to tie Williams for 11^th place)

2/10/12: Celtics vs. Nuggets Stat Pack

*On Thursday, the Celtics beat the Lakers by at least 20 points in a regular season game for the first time since 1995.

*On Thursday, the Celtics snapped a 3-game losing streak to the Lakers.
–They also snapped 4-game losing streak to the Lakers at home in the regular season.

*The Celtics and Nuggets are the 2 hottest teams in the league with the 2 longest current winning streaks.

*At the final buzzer, the Celtics will have played every team in the league this season.

*Boston and Denver are both very good home teams, but subpar on the road.

*After defeating the Cavaliers in Cleveland in a contest that began at 7:30 P.M. ET on Saturday, the Nuggets traveled to Boston for the 6:00 P.M. tipoff.
–Nuggets: 4-6 on 2^nd night of a back-to-back rest this season.

*Although Denver began the season 12-12, they have gone 20-6 since.

*One of the reasons for the Nuggets’ resurgence is that they are 1 of only 4 teams to have fewer than 5 different starting lineups this season. Their main starting lineup (Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Kosta Koufos) has been used in 47 of their 51 games this season.
–The Nuggets are 32-15 (.681) with that starting lineup.
–In comparison, the Celtics have used 13 starting lineups in 2012-13.

*The Celtics are 4-0 this season when using the starting lineup of Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett.
–They have used it their last 4 games.

*Pierce has recorded at least 5 rebounds in 12 consecutive games, his longest such streak since November/December 2005 (16 straight games).
–The only Celtic with a longer streak this season of at least 5 rebounds: Jared Sullinger (13 games).

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Nuggets
–With the Celtics victory over the Lakers on Thursday, the Nuggets now have the best winning percentage (.556: 5-4 record) of any team against the Celtics since 2007-08.

*Milestone Watch:

–Celtics History: All-Time Blocked Shots–
7. Reggie Lewis 417
T-8. Cedric Maxwell 378
T-8. Kevin Garnett 378            (Garnett needs 1 to move into sole possession of 8^th place)