Last night we took a trip down memory lane to revisit the classic Mavs-Sonics series from 1987, back when 120-115 scores were commonplace events in the NBA.
It’s only fitting, then, that we recall the great Sonics-Rockets series which that Mavs series preceeded. After taking the first two games of the series, the Sonics split the next two to make the series 3-2 Seattle, setting up the classic Game 6 finale on a Thursday night in Seattle.
“[Game 6] has to be our best game,” Tom Chambers said after the Sonics lost Game 5 in Houston. ''Because we'd have no chance if we have to come back here for a game seven.”
The subplot for Chambers’ comments was obvious to someone following the series back then, but not to people reading the boxscores now. In addition to the fact the Sonics would be on the road for a game seven, they would also be carrying the baggage provided by Dale Ellis and Kevin Williams, who had mixed it up with off-duty Houston police officers at a local nightclub on a Sunday night following Seattle’s game one win in Texas.
After spending the night in jail, Ellis and Williams returned to the court for game two. Williams was the main cause of the problem (according to bar patrons, he refused to leave his area) but it was Ellis who endured the taunts, including one sign with “Free Drinks at the Ocean Club” written on it. The greatest shooter in Seattle history managed to keep it together enough to continue his torrid outside shooting that had begun in the Dallas series a week earlier (and, yes, I see you raising your hand over there, Ray Allen, but, no, Dale was better) .
With the series on the line, then, game six promised to be a classic, and it was. [Side note: Paul will fondly recall, as I do, that we were let out of band practice early that night so that we could take in the game on television. Back then, teachers had their priorities right.] The magnificent trio of Chambers, Ellis, and Xavier McDaniel put 97 points on the board, but it would take double overtime for the Sonics to overcome Hakeem Olajuwon’s 49 points (!), 25 rebounds (!!), and six blocked shots.
There will be little if any of that excitement tonight, though, and what little excitement to be found will be coming solely from the Rockets, who are in the midst of a dogfight for playoff seeding. Gametime for the matchup is 5:30 Seattle time.
Last Friday, the Sonics dropped a miserable game 79-66 to the Rockets, one of their worst offensive showings in an offensive season. Houston is desperate to gain an edge in the playoff matchups to come, as well as to get their ship a little bit more aligned properly. The line started with the Rockets as 17-point favorites, but that has dropped to 15.
Considering how well the Sonics have played in the past two games, I’d be inclined to take Seattle and the points. But when you factor in this being the second in a back-to-back, well, I think the smart wager is to take the Rockets and give up 15. Final score: Houston 99-Seattle 81.
Wednesday, April 9
Durant In the Clutch
Anyone who witnessed Kevin Durant’s fantastic performance against the Nuggets last weekend has to be rejoicing at how the young man came through in an ultimate NBA clutch situation, and not just once, but twice.
That showing is backed up by a recent stat revelation from 82games.com, which, as always, has provided basketball junkies with a treasure trove of statistical goodness. One recent article listed the “clutch” stats of all NBA players, sorted by various categories (clutch being defined by 82games as “4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points”).
Before we get into the details, let me offer an interesting piece of information gleaned from the tables: Kevin Durant has played more “clutch” minutes this season than, among others, Chris Paul, Manu Ginobili, Chauncey Billups, and Carlos Boozer. For a player on a team enduring a season-long slump, that’s a bit surprising, no? Obviously, players on great teams don’t play close games very often, but the flip side of that same coin is players on lousy teams don’t play nail-biters very often, either. It’s not a hugely important statistic, but reassuring for those of us hoping to see KD develop his skills in the ultimate crucible of NBA development – crunch time.
But back to the numbers. The following is a list of the top 10 players in points per 48 minutes of crunch time:
LeBron James
Kobe Bryant
Dirk Nowitzki
Manu Ginobili
Michael Redd
Ben Gordon
Chris Paul
Stephen Jackson
Steve Nash
and
Kevin Durant
You read that right, Kevin Durant is among the 10 best in the NBA at getting his in the final minutes of close games – better than Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade, or Amare Stoudemire.
As you can no doubt figure out, there are other factors at play here. For one, most great NBA players have someone else who can take the burden off their shoulders, as evidenced by Golden State’s duo of Jackson and Davis (not to mention Monta Ellis, etc, etc). Durant, however, has no supporting cast, and the Sonics’ dearth of 3-point shooters means Durant is often confronted by double teams, regardless of where he sets up on the floor.
A closer look at the numbers reveals some other tidbits as well. For example, Durant’s scores come with an assist 59% of the time, a rather high number, especially when compared to Bryant and James (23%), Redd (30%), or Nowitzki (46%), indicating KD is less capable of finding his own shot than those players. Bear in mind, though, that Durant is still barely out of high school and doesn’t have the strength of those players, nor the respect from the officials that enables him to drive the lane with the confidence of a man who knows he’ll be getting a foul call when contact is made.
This is further evidenced by his relatively low number of shot attempts. Durant’s average of 23 attempts per 48 minutes isn’t even in the top 20, illustrating the Sonics need to: 1) get him some help and 2) get him a point guard who doesn’t think he’s the best option on offense. (On the shot attempt note, here’s an easy bar bet to win – Which five players take the most shots in clutch situations? The first four are easy, LBJ, Kobe, Dirk and D-Wade. The fifth? Jamaal Tinsley. Proving, if nothing else, than while Mr. Tinsley has plenty of other problems, self-esteem is not among them.)
Also interesting to note is Durant’s below-average number of 3-point attempts per 48 minutes, relative to the other players in the top 10, as well as his astounding success rate from long-range (66%!). True, it’s a small sample size, but welcome nonetheless (in fact, Durant’s remarkable accuracy rate from deep is the best in the entire league outside of Milwaukee’s Charlie Bell, who has taken much fewer shots).
Best of all is the young man’s success at the free throw line. There is no greater test of clutch ability than success at the charity stripe in the dying moments of close games (see Tigers, Memphis). Of players who have average 10 or more FTA per 48 minutes in these situations, only seven have a better accuracy rate than Durant, among them the most renowned clutch players in the game (Ginobili, Rip Hamilton, Billups). Vince Carter also checks in ahead of KD’s FT mark, but we’ll ignore that comparison for the time being.
What does it all mean, then? Naturally, extrapolating one small part of one season’s statistics into a career is a foolhardy mission, and I won’t begin to suggest that Kevin Durant is the second coming of Robert Horry, but I believe it’s fair to say that Durant, while mired on a miserable team in a miserable situation, has proven himself capable of succeeding in clutch situation this season.
Will Seattle fans be able to witness the fruit from this tree in the playoffs, the ultimate clutch situation? Too soon to tell, but let’s hope that last Sunday’s coming out party proves to be a portent for many more clutch three-pointers to come for Kevin Durant in a Seattle jersey – ones that are made in May and June.
That showing is backed up by a recent stat revelation from 82games.com, which, as always, has provided basketball junkies with a treasure trove of statistical goodness. One recent article listed the “clutch” stats of all NBA players, sorted by various categories (clutch being defined by 82games as “4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points”).
Before we get into the details, let me offer an interesting piece of information gleaned from the tables: Kevin Durant has played more “clutch” minutes this season than, among others, Chris Paul, Manu Ginobili, Chauncey Billups, and Carlos Boozer. For a player on a team enduring a season-long slump, that’s a bit surprising, no? Obviously, players on great teams don’t play close games very often, but the flip side of that same coin is players on lousy teams don’t play nail-biters very often, either. It’s not a hugely important statistic, but reassuring for those of us hoping to see KD develop his skills in the ultimate crucible of NBA development – crunch time.
But back to the numbers. The following is a list of the top 10 players in points per 48 minutes of crunch time:
LeBron James
Kobe Bryant
Dirk Nowitzki
Manu Ginobili
Michael Redd
Ben Gordon
Chris Paul
Stephen Jackson
Steve Nash
and
Kevin Durant
You read that right, Kevin Durant is among the 10 best in the NBA at getting his in the final minutes of close games – better than Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade, or Amare Stoudemire.
As you can no doubt figure out, there are other factors at play here. For one, most great NBA players have someone else who can take the burden off their shoulders, as evidenced by Golden State’s duo of Jackson and Davis (not to mention Monta Ellis, etc, etc). Durant, however, has no supporting cast, and the Sonics’ dearth of 3-point shooters means Durant is often confronted by double teams, regardless of where he sets up on the floor.
A closer look at the numbers reveals some other tidbits as well. For example, Durant’s scores come with an assist 59% of the time, a rather high number, especially when compared to Bryant and James (23%), Redd (30%), or Nowitzki (46%), indicating KD is less capable of finding his own shot than those players. Bear in mind, though, that Durant is still barely out of high school and doesn’t have the strength of those players, nor the respect from the officials that enables him to drive the lane with the confidence of a man who knows he’ll be getting a foul call when contact is made.
This is further evidenced by his relatively low number of shot attempts. Durant’s average of 23 attempts per 48 minutes isn’t even in the top 20, illustrating the Sonics need to: 1) get him some help and 2) get him a point guard who doesn’t think he’s the best option on offense. (On the shot attempt note, here’s an easy bar bet to win – Which five players take the most shots in clutch situations? The first four are easy, LBJ, Kobe, Dirk and D-Wade. The fifth? Jamaal Tinsley. Proving, if nothing else, than while Mr. Tinsley has plenty of other problems, self-esteem is not among them.)
Also interesting to note is Durant’s below-average number of 3-point attempts per 48 minutes, relative to the other players in the top 10, as well as his astounding success rate from long-range (66%!). True, it’s a small sample size, but welcome nonetheless (in fact, Durant’s remarkable accuracy rate from deep is the best in the entire league outside of Milwaukee’s Charlie Bell, who has taken much fewer shots).
Best of all is the young man’s success at the free throw line. There is no greater test of clutch ability than success at the charity stripe in the dying moments of close games (see Tigers, Memphis). Of players who have average 10 or more FTA per 48 minutes in these situations, only seven have a better accuracy rate than Durant, among them the most renowned clutch players in the game (Ginobili, Rip Hamilton, Billups). Vince Carter also checks in ahead of KD’s FT mark, but we’ll ignore that comparison for the time being.
What does it all mean, then? Naturally, extrapolating one small part of one season’s statistics into a career is a foolhardy mission, and I won’t begin to suggest that Kevin Durant is the second coming of Robert Horry, but I believe it’s fair to say that Durant, while mired on a miserable team in a miserable situation, has proven himself capable of succeeding in clutch situation this season.
Will Seattle fans be able to witness the fruit from this tree in the playoffs, the ultimate clutch situation? Too soon to tell, but let’s hope that last Sunday’s coming out party proves to be a portent for many more clutch three-pointers to come for Kevin Durant in a Seattle jersey – ones that are made in May and June.
60 Not so Nifty
60 losses, that's what this season has come to. In more than 40 years of Sonic basketball, no team had cracked that plateau, but the Bennett Boys managed to carry it off thanks to a 99-83 defeat to Dallas in Texas last night.
The Sonics hung tough for a good portion of the game, but a late Dallas run in the fourth quarter keyed the loss. Jeff Green returned to earth after his phenomenal performance against the Nuggets, contributing only 11 points on 13 shots.
On the plus side, Seattle didn't fold as they have in so many games in the second half of the season. The Denver win - coupled with the tough loss to the Mavs - gives me hope that Durant, Green, et al still have some pride, a hope that had all but been extinguished with the dismal showings in the games prior to that. It's a optimistic sign for next season, assuming, well, you know how that sentence ends, right?
So, with the loss, there are four games remaining in the season. Three road games, one home game (this Sunday against Dallas) and the 2007-08 season will be complete. Will it also be the end of the Sonics' tenure in Seattle? Mark Cuban hopes not, but even he admits that the relocation vote will be overwhelming in favor of moving. So it comes down to the court case this June in Seattle, and whether Mayor Nickels will be able to resist the 30 pieces of silver offered to him by Clay Bennett after the decision is rendered.
Stay tuned.
The Sonics hung tough for a good portion of the game, but a late Dallas run in the fourth quarter keyed the loss. Jeff Green returned to earth after his phenomenal performance against the Nuggets, contributing only 11 points on 13 shots.
On the plus side, Seattle didn't fold as they have in so many games in the second half of the season. The Denver win - coupled with the tough loss to the Mavs - gives me hope that Durant, Green, et al still have some pride, a hope that had all but been extinguished with the dismal showings in the games prior to that. It's a optimistic sign for next season, assuming, well, you know how that sentence ends, right?
So, with the loss, there are four games remaining in the season. Three road games, one home game (this Sunday against Dallas) and the 2007-08 season will be complete. Will it also be the end of the Sonics' tenure in Seattle? Mark Cuban hopes not, but even he admits that the relocation vote will be overwhelming in favor of moving. So it comes down to the court case this June in Seattle, and whether Mayor Nickels will be able to resist the 30 pieces of silver offered to him by Clay Bennett after the decision is rendered.
Stay tuned.
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