NBA Playoffs 2012: The 7 Most Shocking Stats from the First Week of the Playoffs

The first week of the 2012 NBA playoffs has provided some thrilling moments and some not-so-thrilling moments.

There have been some great performances both by individuals and teams. The nice thing about a lot of performances is that they give you some nice tidy numbers that convey some (though not all) of what happened.

Sometimes what happens defies convention and what we think was supposed to happen. Here are the numbers of some of the most surprising instances of this week's playoff games.

Paul Pierce's 36-Point Game

Paul Pierce is too old, they said. Well, he shot his age and added two more just for good measure, scoring 36 points in Game 2 versus the Atlanta Hawks. And if that's not enough for you, he grabbed 14 rebounds. Too-old that!

To be fair, though, he only scored 12 points in Game 1.

They say Ponce de León was looking for the fountain of youth when he discovered Florida. Maybe he should have looked in Georgia.

Derrick Rose's Near Triple-Double

Before he went down for the season with a torn ACL, the fact is that Derrick Rose was having a brilliant game in in the series opener versus the Philadelphia 76ers.

In fact, some speculate that he was in the game so that he could secure his triple-double. Certainly, in an alternate universe where he goes unhurt, he could have cinched it.

Sad but true, the ACL overshadowed his 23-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist game. That's not bad for a guy who was supposed to be shaking off the rust.

Kobe Bryant and Those 29 Field-Goal Attempts

Kobe Bryant shoots too much, they say, followed by some stat about what happens when he does.

So far in this postseason, Kobe has taken the most shots per game, and guess what? He's scored the most points per game and the Lakers are up 2-0 on the Denver Nuggets.

The only kind of shot that Bryant isn't taking right now is the kind that the critics throw at him.

Jrue Holiday's Hot Shooting Outburst

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and...Jrue Holiday? Yes, Holiday had his moment in the sun in the best performance of his career in Game 2 against the Bulls.

His shooting was so sharp he could have circumcised a gnat from a hundred paces, as he went 11-of-15, including hitting on 10 of his first 11 shots (three being treys).

Holiday's performance was a big part of the reason the 76ers were able to steal home-court advantage from the Bulls.

Miami Heat's Combined 60-Point Margin

Remember when people thought the Miami Heat were going to be challenged by the Knicks? That's not quite working out the way they thought it was, is it?

Tyson Chandler, who was the champion of the defense in Dallas that beat the Heat in the finals last year, was going to stop the Heat this year, or at least make a fight out of it.

Instead, the Heat have won by 33 points, 10 points and 17 points, respectively. The close game was 10 points.

I haven't seen a fight like this since Michael Spinks took on Mike Tyson. Oops. Better not make punching jokes here—people might not like the punch line. (I can't stop!)

Andrew Bynum's 10 Blocks

Andrew Bynum may have caught up and passed Dwight Howard in the offensive department, but he's nowhere near Howard in terms of the defensive end of...

(Puts hand up to ear in best Jon Stewart impression...)

Wait, I'm being told he had 10 blocked shots and altered about 317 more in Game 1 against the Nuggets. That's a postseason record.

There was some talk about trading Bynum for Howard this year. At this point I'm sure the Magic would be interested in "buyin' 'em," but I'm not sure the Lakers are still interested in sellin' 'em.

The Los Angeles Clippers' Fourth-Quarter 21-Point Comeback

My initial comments from this game say it all. The Clippers' 21-point fourth-quarter comeback ties for the largest in NBA postseason history for a fourth-quarter comeback.

For the first 44 minutes, the Grizzlies looked like they were aptly named. What do I mean? Well, in this video, the Grizzlies are grizzly, and the Los Angeles Clippers are fish. Is that graphic enough for you? 

The comparison is dead-on accurate. Memphis caught "Lob City" out of the air and proceeded to maul and chew them until the Clips were nothing more than a satisfying sensation deep in their bellies. 

Now, imagine if the half-eaten fish had suddenly climbed out of the bear's belly, reassembled itself and started slapping the bear around like a rag doll. That fish has no business making a comeback, and neither did the Clippers. 

But they did, in arguably the most remarkable comeback in the history of playoff basketball.