1/30/12: Celtics vs. Kings Stat Pack

*Although Chris Wilcox has only played 24 games this season, his true shooting percentage (TS%) of 73.6% still qualifies to lead the NBA in that category. The player in 2^nd place in 2012-13 is Tyson Chandler (69.9%).
–Wilcox is the only Celtic this season to be in the Top 100. His career TS%: 56.5%.
–Wilcox played 2 minutes, 31 seconds on Sunday against the Heat, but did not attempt a shot. That was his first appearance in a game since December 18, 2012.
–The next best Celtics in TS% this season:
(110^th) Jason Terry 54.6% (career TS%: 55.3%)
(115^th) Courtney Lee 54.4% (career TS%: 53.7%)
(116^th) Kevin Garnett 54.3% (career TS%: 54.9%)
(128^th) Paul Pierce 53.7% (career TS%: 56.7%)
(138^th) Jared Sullinger 53.4%

*Over his last 10 games, Jeff Green has a plus/minus of +59.
–It is tied for the 18^th best plus/minus in the NBA over the last 10 games.
–Green played a season-high 41 minutes, 50 seconds on Sunday. Before Sunday, the Celtics had lost all 8 of the games in which Green had played his most minutes.

*When Kevin Garnett scores at least 18 points this season, the Celtics are 9-2.

*The Sacramento Kings are 11-9 this season against the Eastern Conference, the best record of any non-playoff team against the opposing conference.
–The Kings are the only non-playoff team above .500 this season against the opposing conference.

*The Kings are 6-1 this season in games decided for 3 or fewer points.
–Shockingly, they own the best winning percentage (.857) this season in those types of games.

*When the Kings score at least 105 points this season, they are 10-2.
–They are 7-27 otherwise.
–The 118 points that the Kings put on the Celtics on December 30^th was their 3^rd highest points total this season.
–It was also the 3^rd highest point total scored against the Celtics this season.

*Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Over the last four seasons, the Celtics have been +2.9 points per 48 minutes with Rondo on the floor, but +4.4 points with him off the floor.

*Via @ESPNStatsInfo: “Rondo entered Sunday ranked 49^th in PER among players (and 16th among guards) who have played at least 3,000 minutes in the last four seasons. He ranked tied for 54^th overall this season among those with at least 500 minutes played.”

*Via @ESPNStatsInfo: “It’s a small sample, but Garnett was shooting 68 percent from the field on shots inside five feet with Rondo on the floor (56-for-83), but 59 percent (23-for-39) on such shots with Rondo out.”

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Kings
–The last time the Kings swept a season series of at least 2 games against the Celtics was 2006-07.
–Before the Celtics lost their last 2 games to the Kings, they were 8-0 in the Kevin Garnett era against them.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Minutes–
7. Reggie Miller 47,619
8. Gary Peyton 47,117
9. Kevin Garnett 47,116            (Garnett needs 2 to move into 8^th place)

–Most NBA Double-Doubles Since 1990–
1. Tim Duncan 751
T-2. Shaquille O’Neal 727
T-2. Kevin Garnett 727            (Garnett needs 1 to pass O’Neal for 2^nd place)

–All-Time NBA Three-Pointers Made–
5. Chauncey Billups 1,787
6. Peja Stojakovic 1,760
7. Paul Pierce 1,756                        (Pierce needs 5 to move into 6^th place)

–Celtics History: All-Time Blocked Shots–
7. Reggie Lewis 417
8. Cedric Maxwell 378
9. Kevin Garnett 375                        (Garnett needs 4 to move into 8^th place)

1/27/12: Celtics vs. Heat Stat Pack

*For the first time in Rajon Rondo’s career, he has gone for a triple-double in consecutive games.
–The last player to have a triple-double in consecutive games: Andre Iguodala (2011).
–The last player to have a triple-double in 3 straight games: LeBron James (2009).

*Via ESPN Stats & Info: “LeBron James and Dwyane Wade: combined for 184 points their last 3 games; opposing starters have combined for 182 over this stretch.”

*The Celtics’ 3-point shooting percentage has fallen to 27^th in the NBA (33.5%) and their offensive efficiency has fallen to 23^rd in the league (99.8 points/100 possessions).

*On Friday, Kyle Korver tied the NBA record for the most 3-pointers in half with 8 three’s in the second half.
–He tied Tim Thomas, Michael Redd, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and J.R. Smith (twice).

*The Celtics have played 2 double-OT games this season after playing just 1 regular season double-OT game in previous 5 seasons.

*Courtney Lee had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on Friday and became only the 2^nd Celtics reserve in the Kevin Garnett era to reach those plateaus in a single game.
–Glen Davis: 17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists in 2010.

*The Celtics have lost 6 straight games for the first time since April 2007.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Heat
–The Celtics are a perfect 4-0 against the Heat at TD Garden in the regular season in the LeBron era.
–Including the playoffs, the Celtics are 7-2 against the Heat at TD Garden in the LeBron era.

*Milestone Watch:

–Kevin Garnett is 9 field goals made away from 10,000 for his career–

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
20. Charles Barkley 23,757
21. Paul Pierce 23,398            (Pierce needs 360 to move into 20^th place)
22. Ray Allen 23,384                        (Allen needs 15 to move into 21^st place)

–Celtics History: All-Time Assists–
4. Bill Russell 4,100
5. Paul Pierce 4,099                        (Pierce needs 2 to move into 4^th place)
6. Rajon Rondo 3,943                        (Rondo needs 157 to move into 5^th place)

–Most NBA Double-Doubles Since 1990–
1. Tim Duncan 751
2. Shaquille O’Neal 727
3. Kevin Garnett 726                        (Garnett needs 2 to move into 2^nd place)

–All-Time NBA Three-Pointers Made–
5. Chauncey Billups 1,787
6. Peja Stojakovic 1,760
7. Paul Pierce 1,755                        (Pierce needs 6 to move into 6^th place)

1/25/12: Celtics @ Hawks Stat Pack

*If the Celtics lose on Friday, it will be their first six-game losing streak since April 2007.

*The Celtics are 5-5 on the second night of back-to-backs this season.
–It is better than their 1-5 record on 2 days rest.

*Although the Celtics lost on Thursday, they outscored the Knicks, 50-32, in the paint.

*The Celtics shot 40.8% on Thursday, making it 3 consecutive games that they shot worse than 41% from the field.
–This tied their longest streak of shooting worse than 41% from the field in the Kevin Garnett era (including the playoffs).

*Last night was Rajon Rondo’s 27^th career triple-double, including the playoffs.
–The Celtics are now 23-4 in those games, but 2-3 in their last 5 such games (21-1 in first 22 such games).

*After shooting 51% from the field & 41% from 3PT in October/November 2012, Jason Terry has a 37% field goal percentage & 32% three-point percentage since.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Hawks
–After winning their first 3 games at Philips Arena in the Kevin Garnett era, the Celtics have lost 4 of their last 7 there.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
20. Charles Barkley 23,757
21. Paul Pierce 23,386
22. Ray Allen 23,373                        (Allen needs 14 to move into 21^st place)

–Celtics History: All-Time Assists–
4. Bill Russell 4,100
5. Paul Pierce 4,095                        (Pierce needs 6 to move into 4^th place)
6. Rajon Rondo 3,932                        (Rondo needs 164 to move into 5^th place)

–All-Time NBA Three-Pointers Made–
5. Chauncey Billups 1,787
6. Peja Stojakovic 1,760
7. Paul Pierce 1,755                        (Pierce needs 6 to move into 6^th place)

1/24/12: Celtics vs. Knicks Stat Pack

*Through 41 games this season, the Celtics have lost 4 consecutive games for the 2^nd time this season.
–In 2011-12, the Celtics had 2 losing streaks of at least 4 games (both 5-game losing streaks).
–From 2007-08 to 2010-11 (328 combined regular season games), the Celtics had only ONE losing streak of at least 4 games).

*Kevin Garnett may finish with his worst season plus/minus in a while.
–2012-13: +14 (41 games played)
–2011-12: +269 (60)
–2010-11: +551 (71)
–2009-10: +310 (69)
–2008-09: +473 (57)
–2007-08: +737 (71)
–2006-07: +9 (76) – his lowest plus/minus since 2000-01
–2005-06: +40 (76)
–2004-05: +144 (82)
–2003-04: +614 (82)
–2002-03: +422 (82)
–2001-02: +358 (81)
–2000-01: +204 (81)

*The Celtics’ four-game losing streak is tied with the Lakers for the longest current losing streak in the NBA.

*The New York Knicks have lost 6 of their last 10 games, which is the worst record over that span among the top 10 winning percentage teams in the league.

*Raymond Felton’s absence from this game will also help the Celtics.
–The Knicks have posted a 20-8 record in his 28 games started this season, but a pinkie injury has forced him to miss the last 11 contests.
–The Knicks have lost six of those games, including January 7th at Madison Square Garden against the Celtics, and are shooting worse from the field and three-point without Felton playing.

*The Celtics and Knicks have had a similar strength of schedule this season and the Celtics find themselves 6 games behind the Knicks.
–Celtics: 16^th toughest schedule (.497)
–Knicks: tied for 18^th toughest schedule (.495)

*Via @HPbasketball: “According to Synergy, when Bradley was guarding Irving, only as primary defender no his actual shot attempt, Irving scored 6 points.”

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Knicks
–The Celtics are a perfect 12-0 against the Knicks at TD Garden since 2007-08 (including the playoffs).
–The Celtics’ last home loss to the Knicks: November 24, 2006. Knicks’ starting lineup that night: Quentin Richardson, Steve Francis, Eddy Curry, Channing Frye and Stephon Marbury. Celtics’ starting lineup that night: Paul Pierce, Sebastian Telfair, Wally Szczerbiak, Ryan Gomes and Kendrick Perkins.
–The Celtics are 21-4 overall against the Knicks since 2007-08 (including playoffs).

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Regular Season Games Played–
12. Elvin Hayes 1,303
T-13. Mark Jackson 1,296
T-13. Kevin Garnett 1,296            (Garnett moves into 13^th place by playing Thursday)

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
20. Charles Barkley 23,757
21. Ray Allen 23,373
22. Paul Pierce 23,364            (Pierce needs 10 to move into 21^st place)

–Celtics History: All-Time Assists–
4. Bill Russell 4,100
5. Paul Pierce 4,093                        (Pierce needs 8 to move into 4^th place)
6. Rajon Rondo 3,921                        (Rondo needs 173 to move into 5^th place)

1/22/12: Celtics @ Cavaliers Stat Pack

*The Celtics have the Eastern Conference’s longest current losing streak (3 games).
–It is also tied for the NBA’s 2^nd-longest current losing streak.

*The Celtics are exactly 20-20 to start a season for the first time since 2003-04.
–Only once in Celtics franchise history have they finished with the same number of wins and losses (36-36 in 1954-55).

*The Cavaliers have had a better field goal percentage than their opponent in only 8 games this season. They are 6-2 in those games (4-30 otherwise).
–The Celtics are 17-4 in games that they have the better field goal percentage (3-16 otherwise).

*Without Anderson Varejao on the court, the Cavaliers have a much worse rebounding percentage (46.9%) than when he is on the court (52.8%) this season.
–If you take out Varejao’s rebounding, the Cavaliers have the worse rebounding percentage in the NBA.
–Coming into Tuesday, the Cavaliers have been outrebounded in their last 7 games, tied for the 3^rd-longest streak for any team this season.
–The Celtics are 10-3 this season when either outrebounding their opponent or having the same number of rebounds.

*On most nights, the Celtics need Paul Pierce to provide decent scoring for them to win.
–During the Celtics’ current losing streak, Pierce has a .349 FG%, .091 3P% and 11.7 PPG.
–During the Celtics’ 6-game winning streak, Pierce had a .455 FG%, .368 3P% and 18.5 PPG.
–The Celtics are 10-4 when he scores at least 23 points this season (otherwise: 10-16).

*On Friday, Rajon Rondo tied his career-high with 9 turnovers (January 6, 2009 at Charlotte).

*The Celtics have attempted fewer free throws than their opponent in their last 11 games, which is now the longest streak for any team this season.
–This Celtics’ 11-game streak is the franchise’s longest since 1999 (14 games).
–The longest streak in the last 25 seasons is by Detroit Pistons: 21 games.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Cavaliers
–In the post-LeBron era, Boston is 5-2 in those meetings.
–Cleveland has not scored more than 95 points in any of those 7 games.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Regular Season Games Played–
12. Elvin Hayes 1,303
13. Mark Jackson 1,296
14. Kevin Garnett 1,295            (Garnett ties for 13^th place by playing Tuesday)

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
20. Charles Barkley 23,757
21. Ray Allen 23,355
22. Paul Pierce 23,352            (Pierce needs 4 to move into 21^st place)

1/20/12: Celtics @ Pistons Stat Pack

*The Celtics have attempted fewer free throws than their opponent in their last 10 games, which is tied for the longest streak for any team this season (Raptors: 10 games from December 3 to 19, 2012).
–This Celtics’ 10-game streak is the franchise’s longest since 1999 (14 games).

*The Celtics have made more field goals than their opponent in their last 8 games, which is tied for the longest current streak in the NBA (Clippers). It is also tied for the 3^rd-longest streak for any team this season.
–This Celtics’ 8-game streak is the franchise’s longest since 2010 (14 games).

*When the Celtics last faced the Detroit Pistons (November 18, 2012), the Celtics had their season-low assist total (12).
–The Celtics’ 15 assists on Friday against the Bulls were their 3^rd-fewest in a game this season. They had just 11 assists in regulation, which would have been the team’s season-low (via Jessica Camerato).

*The Pistons are 8-0 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 88 points.
–When they give up at least 88 points in 2012-13, they are 6-25.
–When they give up at least 102 points, they are 0-14.

*The Pistons have played the 3^rd-easiest schedule in 2012-13 and only have 14 wins.

*After losing on Friday, the Celtics are now on a 2-game home losing streak, tying their longest this season.
–The Celtics’ last home losing streak of more than 2 games: January 6 to 16, 2012 (4 games).

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Pistons
–Since 2007-08, Boston is 11-7 in those meetings.
–The Celtics’ 2 worst scoring outputs against the Pistons since 2007-08 have come in their last 2 meetings (both losses – Celtics had 81 points on February 19, 2012 and 83 points on November 18, 2012)

*Milestone Watch:

–Celtics History: All-Time Steals–
1. Larry Bird 1,556
2. Paul Pierce 1,555                        (Pierce needs 2 to move into 1^st place)
3. Rajon Rondo 906

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
20. Charles Barkley 23,757
21. Ray Allen 23,355
22. Paul Pierce 23,342            (Pierce needs 14 to move into 21^st place)

1/18/12: Celtics vs. Bulls Stat Pack

*Recently, Kevin Garnett’s 2012-13 single-player plus/minus has fell drastically.
–First 21 games of 2012-13: KG +99
–Last 17 games this season: KG -70

*The Celtics and Bulls have been 2 of the hottest teams since we turned the page to 2013.
–They are 2 of 9 teams to have won at least 6 games thus far in 2013.

*Even after losing Wednesday’s game, the Celtics already have more wins in January (6-2 record) than they did in all of December (5-9 record).
–The Celtics need just 3 more wins to match their win total from November (9-6 record).

*The Bulls have the 3^rd best point differential (+2.2) among Eastern Conference teams.
–The Celtics are 1 of only 3 current playoff teams with a negative point differential.

*The Bulls are 5-0 in Friday games this season.

*Since leaving the Celtics to coach the Bulls, Tom Thibodeau is 6-4 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 3-0 in meetings in which they shot at least 50% from the field.
–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), 41% (L), 40% (L), 38% (L) and 38% (L).

*The Bulls have won their last 4 road games, tied for their longest road winning streak of 2012-13.

*The Celtics are 2-7 this season when being outrebounded by at least 10.
–They are 6-11 this season when being outrebounded by at least 5.
–They are 14-7 when outrebounding their opponent or being outrebounded by 5 or fewer.

*After Wednesday’s loss, the Celtics are 24-9 since 2007-08 (including the playoffs) when Paul Pierce has double-digit rebounds.

*The Celtics had some extremely bad free throw shooting and 3-point shooting on Wednesday.
–It was their worst 3-point shooting performance (4 for 18, 22%) of the season in regulation when attempting at least 18 threes.
–It was the first time since 1994 (!!!) that the Celtics shot 37.5% or worse from the free throw line in a single game.

*The Celtics now have a better field goal percentage than their opponent in 7 consecutive games, which is the team’s longest streak this season.
–The Celtics are 17-4 this season when they have a better field goal percentage.
–The Bulls are 18-1 this season when they have a better field goal percentage.

*Recent Meetings: Celtics vs. Bulls
–Since 2007-08, the Boston is 12-9 against the Bulls.

*Milestone Watch:

–All-Time NBA Field Goals Made–
10. John Havlicek 10,513
11. Dominique Wilkins 9,963
12. Kevin Garnett 9,962            (Garnett needs 2 to move into 11^th place)

–All-Time NBA Points Scored–
21. Ray Allen 23,355
22. Robert Parish 23,334
23. Paul Pierce 23,329            (Pierce needs 6 to move into 22^nd place)

–Celtics History: All-Time Steals–
1. Larry Bird 1,556
2. Paul Pierce 1,554                        (Pierce needs 3 to move into 1^st place)
3. Rajon Rondo 904