Ever wondered how Kevin Durant fared against Tony Allen throughout this season? Do you often catch yourself thinking aloud if the Knicks would’ve done better against Miami in the playoffs than they did Boston? Does Sasha Vujacic‘s impact on the Nets keep you awake at night?
If so, number one, you need to get out more. But two, if you’re a stat nerd and haven’t been using NBA.com StatsCube lately, you are missing out.
Launching April 20, StatsCube is used by media outlets around the basketball world and is derived from the statistics taken courtside at games. Throughout the playoffs, it will provide you access to player vs. player, team vs. team, player vs. team and lineup comparisons. Basically, any stat you would ever need to settle an argument with your boys is right here.
I’ve been using it a lot lately, and while some people say it’s a little intimidating at first, it’s really fun and easy to interact with. I went digging today and here are a bunch of crazy stats that I found:
*** *** ***
67: Joe Johnson‘s three-point shooting percentage through four games in the Hawks’ semifinal series with Chicago.
14.55: The regular-season difference in point differential when Jason Collins was on the floor against Orlando as opposed to when he was on the bench.
26.6: The plus/minus difference for Dwight Howard against Atlanta in the regular season when matched up with Collins (-14.3) and when he didn’t (+12.3).
10: The percentage number showing how much better Chicago was from the corner three (44 percent) than from the rest of the arc (34 percent) in the first round against Indiana.
15.77: The Mavericks advantage in team point differential per 100 possessions against L.A. in the playoffs. During the regular season, the Lakers were plus-7.72 in the same category against Dallas.
26.5: The percentage difference between how well Dallas shot the three (46.2 percent) and how well the Lakers shot it (19.7) during their series.
52: The percentage of corner threes Dallas made against the Lakers in their playoff series.
89: How many more threes San Antonio took than Memphis did in 10 games against each other this season.
9.5: How many more points per game Atlanta is averaging against Chicago in the playoffs as opposed to the regular season.
27.16: The Lakers’ difference in team point differential per 100 possessions in the playoffs for when Chris Paul was on the court (only plus-6.01) and when he was on the bench (plus-33.17).
22: The difference in Kevin Durant’s shooting percentage during the second round when Tony Allen is on the court (37 percent) and when he isn’t (59 percent).
95.71: The Thunder’s clutch (player performance in the last five minutes of a game when the score margin is within five points) offensive rating in the playoffs (points scored per 100 possessions) with Russell Westbrook on the court. During the regular season, that same number with him was 114.96.
59.5: Derrick Rose‘s player usage percentage in the clutch during the playoffs. In other words, it’s greater than Westbrook’s same playoff rate by 15 percent. Also, Rose’s player usage percentage in the clutch during the regular season was 52.7 percent.
12: The difference in Miami’s shooting percentage at the rim against Boston during the regular season (57 percent) and in the playoffs (69 percent).
What is the most surprising stat of all?
Follow Sean on Twitter at @SEANesweeney.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
