Larry Bird

NBA Finals 3-Point Shooting, A History

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We didn’t get an official prediction for this year’s Finals out publicly, but I was pretty much on board with the conventional wisdom that Oklahoma City was a prohibitive favorite over the Pacers.  I expected OKC’s defense to match up well against Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.  I also expected that the Pacers’ lack of a physically dominating center would allow Chet Holmgren to be quite effective.  In other words, I thought this would be yet another 4-1 win for the favored team in the … [Read more...] about NBA Finals 3-Point Shooting, A History

Ranking The 2023-24 Celtics

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How historically great were the 2023-24 Celtics?  It’s nearly impossible to compare teams from different eras on a head-to-head matchup basis because the rules and strategies have changed so much between generations.  It is not an apples-to-apples comparison when one wonders how the 1995-96 Bulls would play if they were magically teleported to the 2024 NBA.  There is also the thorny issue of whether the players are just better today, though I’m confident that the good players of … [Read more...] about Ranking The 2023-24 Celtics

NBA Finals Preview 2023-24: Can Anyone Stop Luka?

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At the beginning of the playoffs, Boston versus Dallas did not seem to be a likely Finals matchup but here we are.  Well, the Boston side of the equation was pretty predictable but Dallas has been a pleasant surprise.  Nevertheless, Dallas has shown itself to be a legitimate NBA finalist with Luka Doncic’s incredible shot making and a supporting cast that suddenly fits so well together.  Let’s run through the major issues of this series and see what comes of it… Did Boston get … [Read more...] about NBA Finals Preview 2023-24: Can Anyone Stop Luka?

A Quick Look at Peak SF Advanced Stats

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A few days ago, we did a tweet thread on the career advanced stats for the SFs who made the top 75 and those that likely narrowly missed.  I had a couple of requests for how these players rated at peak. So,  I took the 3 best consecutive years for each of the players.  I also added Bird, Durant + Dr J for comparison/context (did not use ABA Erving).  Anyway, here they are:  -Bird 1984-87: 26.2 PER, .242 WS48, 9.0 BPM, 25.7 VORP -KD 2011-14: 28.2 PER, .275 WS48, 9.0 … [Read more...] about A Quick Look at Peak SF Advanced Stats

NBA Title Teams and Opening Night

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On opening night, the two presumptive favorites, Brooklyn and the Lakers, started the season with resounding thuds.  The Nets were easily handled by that Bucks, before bouncing back with a nice win in Philly.  The Lakers, on the other hand, were beaten by Golden State and then were steamrolled by Phoenix to start out 0-2.  These results got me wondering whether winning on opening night has any relationship to winning a title.  How worrisome is a losing start to eventual … [Read more...] about NBA Title Teams and Opening Night

SI’s 1996-97 Fearless Predictions Revisited

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In March 2020, while we were just starting this long pandemic, I resolved to do more deep dives on NBA history stuff.  The first result was an article revisiting Sports Illustrated’s Hank Hersch “10 Fearless Predictions” for the 1995-96 NBA season.  The goal wasn’t to critique the predictions.  Really, the goal was to capture that moment in time and what people were thinking at the time and what we see now with the benefit of hindsight.  These predictions were obviously meant … [Read more...] about SI’s 1996-97 Fearless Predictions Revisited

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