2013-14 - Around the League Thread

[nuraman00]

I remember Minnesota once had a 17 point halftime lead, and they lost by 28 points, in 2001-2002, against Miami.

I know that's not the biggest point differential in NBA history (45 points), but it was jarring, especially because Minnesota won 50 games that year.

Too bad I didn't see the TNT game. I watch as many as I can.

Your example turned a 14 point halftime lead into a 12 point loss. Only a 26 point turnaround.

During game 5 of Portland-Phoenix 2010, Portland turned a 17 point 1st quarter lead into a a double digit loss.

During game 3 of Clippers-Spurs 2012, the Clippers turned a 24 point 1st quarter lead into a double digit loss. They were trailing by double digits entering the 4th. (At home).

 

[MHSL82]

I remember Minnesota once had a 17 point halftime lead, and they lost by 28 points, in 2001-2002, against Miami.

I know that's not the biggest point differential in NBA history (45 points), but it was jarring, especially because Minnesota won 50 games that year.

Too bad I didn't see the TNT game. I watch as many as I can.

Your example turned a 14 point halftime lead into a 12 point loss. Only a 26 point turnaround.

During game 5 of Portland-Phoenix 2010, Portland turned a 17 point 1st quarter lead into a a double digit loss.

During game 3 of Clippers-Spurs 2012, the Clippers turned a 24 point 1st quarter lead into a double digit loss. They were trailing by double digits entering the 4th. (At home).

When I was a kid, I went to a Jazz game where they were down by 36 points. They're down by 34 at halftime and I went down to my uncle's seats and told him we were going to win the game. He laughed at me, probably because I was so young. And then we won by 4 points. It was against the Denver Nuggets. If I remember correctly, at one point after the comeback we were up by 11 points. We ended up winning by four, so it would've been terrible if we lost that game.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_biggest_comeback_in_NBA_history

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199611270UTA.html?mobile=false

Easier for me to view: http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=161127026

 

[nuraman00]

I remember the headline for that game.

It said "Down 36 points, Malone powers the Jazz".

We've talked about that game a few times. I didn't know you went to it though! That's awesome. You saw a truly memorable game.

 

[nuraman00]

So a 36 point lead for Denver was an 11 point trail at one point. That's a 47 point swing. That's even better than the Minnesota-Miami 2002 game I remember reading about!

I never knew the Jazz were up by 11.

 

[nuraman00]

I wonder if that's the biggest swing in NBA history.

 

[nuraman00]

That is one aspect that I don't like about games like these though. Because the 1st half is spent playing D or F basketball. Only the 2nd half is good.

I prefer wire to wire or close wire to wire games where a team exerts its superiority for the entirety of the game. Thus, they earn an A or A+ for the entire game.

 

[nuraman00]

OT: I remember someone predicted the Spurs would have a wire to wire lead over the Jazz in the 2012 series. That's right, for the entire series.

The Jazz did lead for a few minutes during that series, but that's pretty bad when one team isn't even expected to take the lead during any games, much less win a game.

 

[nuraman00]

When I was a kid, I went to a Jazz game where they were down by 36 points. They're down by 34 at halftime and I went down to my uncle's seats and told him we were going to win the game. He laughed at me, probably because I was so young. And then we won by 4 points. It was against the Denver Nuggets. If I remember correctly, at one point after the comeback we were up by 11 points. We ended up winning by four, so it would've been terrible if we lost that game.

What was the biggest comeback in NBA history

Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz Box Score, November 27, 1996 | Basketball-Reference.com

Easier for me to view: Denver vs. Utah - Box Score - November 27, 1996 - ESPN

Hey, I just looked closer at the AP article for that game. It said "stubborn boy predicts Jazz win at halftime", with a pic of you.

 

[MHSL82]

Hey, I just looked closer at the AP article for that game. It said "stubborn boy predicts Jazz win at halftime", with a pic of you.

That's the media for you. It should've said "optimistic" or "naive."

 

[nuraman00]

That's the media for you. It should've said "optimistic" or "naive."

Great post.

 

[MHSL82]

Also, they wouldn't have won at halftime, so that stubborn boy was wrong. The long title should have been, "Optimist and Naive Barely-a-teen Boy Predicts in Private and Unverified Conversation with Uncle by Marriage and Father (Different Person than Uncle) at Halftime of the Utah Jazz Home Game Versus the Denver Nuggets that the Jazz Would Win At or Before the Final Buzzer After Jazz Were Trailing by 36 Points at One Point."

 

[MHSL82]

NBA Stats: Comparing the Scoring Streaks

 

[MHSL82]

I watch the end of the third, fourth quarter, and the two overtimes of the Wizards and Spurs game. I normally don't care that much about other teams' games, but that was very entertaining. There were three or four times where one could think the game was decided. Then the game turns back to a tie. The last minute or so of the first overtime was entertaining, too.

Duncan the last three games has looked pretty good. He's looked like the second best power forward of all time. No, Charles Barkley's third. Fine, to leave no ambiguity, Karl Malone is the best. The Spurs are the best team and Popovich is the best coach. I give him the edge over Sloan because of the championships. I also know that Sloan is the toughest. I don't know what to say versus Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson did have Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

Before anyone gets mad at me for calling Duncan second, I am compromising. I've always called him a center.

 

[MHSL82]

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers - Recap - January 07, 2014 - ESPN

CJ Miles hit 10 threes. Hitting them? It's crazy that he even shot that many... but go with what is working.

I predict 1-7 or 2-8 next game - not because he is band, but you try to ride it sometimes and sometimes it doesn't work.

Mea culpa. He followed up this game with a 1-1 game. DeShawn Stephenson, Burks, or even young CJ Miles would have jacked up 7 or more than next game, making 1 or 2.

Nope, I was right. He followed his 10-14 shooting with an 0-5 game. Sure, it was 6 games and 13 days later, but still. When will he grow up?

C.J. Miles Game By Game Stats and Performance - Cleveland Cavaliers - ESPN

 

[nuraman00]

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-140211/daily-dime

That was ... helpful. The Bobcats finished with an absurd 42 assists on 45 made baskets (a 93 percent assist rate). They were lead by Josh McRoberts, who dished out 13 helpers from the power forward position.

 

[MHSL82]

Now, this is a non-point because no one would pick up his contract, but otherwise, it wouldn't be a good thing to tell teams this: Glen Davis to Sign with Los Angeles Clippers if Waiver-Wire Cleared - ESPN Los Angeles

He says that if he claims waivers, he'll sign with the Clippers. One, you want to negotiate a deal, so you want more suitors to bump your salary or years. Second, if I'm another team and I want him and I hear that, I'd claim him off waivers knowing I had no shot at him in free agency. Assuming that I think he's a professional competitor who will suit up and compete even with a different team. But if he didn't say that, I might wait for free agency thinking I had a chance. And then, Davis would go to the Clippers after a for-show meeting with others.

But again, no one was going to pick up his contract. Just talking in general terms.

 

[MHSL82]

Should have been our Collins!

Jason Collins of Brooklyn Nets makes NBA return against Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN New York

 

[MHSL82]

6 of the 15 Philadelphia wins were in OT or decided in the last 4 seconds. They could have been as bad as 9-54. They're not, as winning those six shows they are better than that. But still, 3 wins in the last 29 and two of them were in the last 3.2 seconds?

None of that is too surprising, but only two losses by three or less? (One 2-point loss and one 3-point loss.)

That means they are somewhere between a 9-54 team and a 17-46 team. I expected a bigger swing.

 

[nuraman00]

6 of the 15 Philadelphia wins were in OT or decided in the last 4 seconds. They could have been as bad as 9-54. They're not, as winning those six shows they are better than that. But still, 3 wins in the last 29 and two of them were in the last 3.2 seconds?

None of that is too surprising, but only two losses by three or less? (One 2-point loss and one 3-point loss.)

That means they are somewhere between a 9-54 team and a 17-46 team. I expected a bigger swing.

There's also the thought that close games are just noise (in the standings), and blowouts are more meaningful.

There have been a lot of average teams with exceptional records in close games.

One year, an 8th seed Milwaukee team was 13-0 in games decided by 3 points or less. But they're were just an 8th seed, and lost in 4 or 5 games in the 1st round like most 8th seeds.

 

[MHSL82]

By comparison, the Jazz have lost three games by 3, one by 2, one OT loss (by 6), one OT win (by 10), one 2-point win, and three 3-point wins. So my range for the Jazz is 28-36 and 16-48. It just happens to be we are right in the middle of those two this year.

Last year, the Jazz had one 3-point loss, two 2-point losses, two 1-point loss, three OT losses (1, 4, 7), two OT wins (7, 4), three 2-point wins, and two 3-point wins. Their range thus was 51-31 and 36-46. They ended with a 43-39 record.

These things tend to even out and as discussed earlier this week, you earn your wins and you earn your losses. Similarly, you earn the number of points in the loss or win. One could make a three at the buzzer to cut a 5-point loss to 2 points. That's still a close game. One could make a 3 at the buzzer to make a 2 point win into a 5 point win and now, it's not counted. But I suppose those two possibilities cancel out, too.

I see it more often in football where people will say that the game really wasn't as close as the score, the losing team scored a touchdown and a field goal in garbage time.