Stats That Defined the NBA Season's 1st Half
Come one, come all and step right up to admire the statistical marvels of the NBA's first half.
With the midway point fading in the rearview mirror, it's time to examine the numbers, facts and figures that have helped make the 2014-15 campaign one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.
Whether it's been the Houston Rockets' ambitious approach from three-point range, Kobe Bryant's historic shooting splits or the Oklahoma City Thunder's excellence at full strength, there are plenty of statistics worth parsing through to put the season's first 41 games in perspective.
So as a way to prep for the captivating regular-season action ahead, here are the most significant trends worth monitoring over the next few months.
47: Total Minutes San Antonio's Starting 5 Has Played
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Be afraid, Western Conference title contenders. The San Antonio Spurs are coming.
After a slew of injuries crippled the Spurs' ability to establish continuity early in the season, the team's starting five is finally clicking with Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Tony Parker all healthy.
It's been a long time coming too.
Following Friday's 99-85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs' starting lineup of Parker, Leonard, Splitter, Tim Duncan and Danny Green has played a grand total of 47 minutes together over the course of five games.
To put that figure in perspective, the Los Angeles Clippers' starting five consisting of Matt Barnes, J.J. Redick, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan has run together for 797 minutes over 41 appearances, per NBA.com.
And while Gregg Popovich's go-to lineup is operating with a negative net efficiency rating for the time being, that's to be expected given the rust that's accumulated throughout the season's first half.
Having won four of their last five games since Leonard returned from a torn ligament in his right hand, the Spurs look ready to take off.
53.3: Kyle Korver's 3-Point Percentage
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At a certain point, describing Kyle Korver's play from beyond the arc as unconscious doesn't do his performance justice.
Leading the league with a three-point field-goal percentage of 53.3, Korver is on pace to become the second member of the league's 50-50-90 club, reserved for players who convert better than 50 percent of their total shots, 50 percent of their triples and 90 percent of their free-throw attempts.
The only other marksman who's boasted the credentials necessary for entry to said club is Steve Kerr, who accomplished the feat during the 1995-96 season, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
However, Kerr didn't meet the needed threshold to qualify; per sportingcharts.com, "Players must meet the league minimums for each category, which is 300 FGs made, 55 3PTs made and 125 FTs made." Kerr made 78 free throws, 122 threes and 244 field goals. Currently, Korver has made 71 free throws, 131 threes and 177 field goals.
While Korver has been positively lethal from every area beyond the arc, his 58.8 percent conversion rate from the corners is downright jaw-dropping.
Shooting nearly 6 percent better from beyond the arc than inside of it, Korver has operated as the primary individual beneficiary of an Atlanta offense that's posting the league's highest assist ratio since the 2003-04 New Jersey Nets, per NBA.com.
58.1: Stephen Curry's 2-Point Field-Goal Percentage
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If it wasn't clear already, MVP front-runner Stephen Curry is one of the league's most resourceful offensive threats.
Case in point: For all of the noise about his elite marksmanship (39.9 percent shooting from three), Curry is entering rare air as it pertains to his field-goal percentage inside the arc.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, he is shooting 58.1 percent from two-point range, a mark that would equal the best for any guard all time. James Harden (2011-12) and Magic Johnson (1983-84) occupied the No. 1 spot at 57.9 percent entering the 2014-15 season.
So how do defenses stop Curry?
The simple answer is they often don't.
As ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss explained, Curry doesn't depend upon any single mode of operation to pile up points:
"That’s because the three-pointer doesn’t define his game so much as it fuels it. The constant deep threat is leveraged into offense for everyone. Like a notorious bank robber who can pull off heists with a toy gun, Curry can pillage a fearful defense without using his famous weapon. This process was exemplified in the third quarter, when he scored 17 points without even attempting a three and Golden State turned a close game into a blowout.
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Diving deeper, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes detailed the increased rate at which Curry has bolted to the cup, noting, "over 20 percent of Curry's shot attempts this year have come from within three feet, according to Basketball-Reference.com, a career high. Watch any Warriors game, and you'll notice how often he gets chances inside and how much more effectively he's converting them."
Shooting a staggering 71.1 percent inside of three feet and 56.1 percent between three and 10 feet, there's no stopping Curry. Containment is becoming more of a pipe dream at this point, too.
Instead, defenses just have to pick their poison.
.722: OKC's Winning Percentage with Durant and Westbrook Healthy
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Like the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder are just now regaining their footing in the fierce Western Conference.
As head coach Scott Brooks told Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling, "The way we started, there could be a lot of satisfying moments at the end of the season because I know we had to overcome a lot, and we still do. There's no question our goal is to win a championship. I know that we have the ability and we have the team to get there."
At the start, things looked bleak. Russell Westbrook had to rehabilitate a broken hand, and Kevin Durant dealt with a fractured foot before spraining his ankle.
But as recent results have indicated, the Thunder are on course to wedge their way into the postseason picture so long as Westbrook and Durant stay on the floor for the duration of this campaign.
In the 18 games they've shared the floor this season, Oklahoma City has posted a 13-5 record, good for a .722 winning percentage. Only the Atlanta Hawks (.818) and Golden State Warriors (.854) have recorded higher winning percentages this season.
Warding off the steady Phoenix Suns won't be an easy feat, but if early returns have been any indication, Oklahoma City has the potential to wreak some havoc on the playoff bracket down the stretch.
33.3: 3-Point Attempts Per Game by the Houston Rockets
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The Houston Rockets are jacking up threes at an unprecedented rate.
Granted, they're only converting a league-average 35.4 percent of them, but the Rockets' dedication to Morey-ball strategy is reaching new heights as James Harden has rocketed up the NBA's MVP leaderboard.
Specifically, Houston is launching 33.3 triples per game, meaning this year's Rockets will likely finish as the first team in league history to attempt at least 30 per night, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
But as ESPN Insider's Tom Haberstroh explained, basic math has helped the Rockets stay afloat in the efficiency department (No. 14 overall):
"Yet the Rockets are still carving out an edge by shooting so many threes. Why? For the simple fact that three is more than two. Even with a lukewarm conversion rate, the payoff of an average Rockets three-point shot is 1.059 points, whereas the average two-point shot is 0.998. That extra value adds up over time. Even so, it's not enough to give them elite offense, though it has improved since Dwight Howard has gotten back to the court after his right knee injury.
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With a defense that ranks fifth in points allowed per 100 possessions, it'll be fascinating to see if Houston's offense can rise above the mean and propel the Rockets into a more elite statistical realm as the playoff chase heats up.
12: Detroit Pistons Wins Since Waiving Josh Smith
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The Detroit Pistons' post-Josh Smith awakening is starting to border on urban legend status. Or perhaps it's just confirmation that analytics really are trying to tell us something.
Either way, Smith's departure and the arrival of a rejuvenated Brandon Jennings are thrusting Detroit into the Eastern Conference playoff conversation with authority.
Since Smith was waived Dec. 22, the Pistons have posted a 12-3 record, which is bonkers considering the team was 5-23 prior to Smith's exit.
Over their last 16 games, the Pistons have played at a much more comfortable clip, totaling a net rating of plus-9.5 points per 100 possessions. If that net rating spanned the course of the regular season, it would rank No. 2 overall behind only the Golden State Warriors (plus-13.4).
Furthermore, Detroit has picked up the pace since Smith left, generating 97.61 possessions per 48 minutes. That tally represents a nearly three-possession bump from the season's first two months.
On the precipice of achieving what seemed impossible prior to the new year, there's a possibility that the revitalized Pistons will be surging into a first-round playoff series come mid-April.
Update: Disaster may have struck Saturday night for the Pistons. Offensive leader Brandon Jennings fell to the floor on a non-contact play in the third quarter versus the Bucks. He may have suffered a torn Achilles tendon on the play and be out for the year.
37.3: Kobe Bryant's Field-Goal Percentage
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While it remains to be seen if Kobe Bryant's rotator cuff tear will end his season, the first half of his 2014-15 jaunt will forever be marked by new levels of inefficiency.
Through 35 appearances, he has hit on a career-low 37.3 percent of his total shots, nearly 4 percent worse than his rookie conversion rate of 41.7.
To make matters worse, Bryant may well wind up being the first player since Dolph Schayes in the 1960-61 season to knock down fewer than 38 percent of his looks from the field while attempting at least 20 shots per game, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
However, the fact that Hall of Famers like Schayes and Bob Cousy are the only names who have qualified for that list make such a futile factoid easier to digest.
The number to monitor moving forward, though, will be the Los Angeles Lakers' production sans Bryant. To date, the Purple and Gold's offense has been 3.5 points better per 100 possessions with Bryant off the floor, while the defense has been 9.8 points better.
113.5: Cleveland's Offensive Rating with Big 3 on the Floor
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been steamrolling their competition of late, rattling off five straight wins with the health of a vaunted core restored in full.
And when Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and LeBron James have shared the floor, Cleveland has functioned as an offensive dynamo.
Not only are the Cavaliers 22-11 with the celebrated triumvirate healthy, according to Waiting for Next Year's Jacob Rosen, but the trio's offensive rating of 113.5 would rank as a league high by nearly three points.
This season, only the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers boast three-man units with more prolific efficiency ratings (minimum 800 minutes) on that end.
Cleveland's defensive rating of 106.0 is still only better than those possessed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, but a fully functional offense with supreme firepower should send shivers up the spines in Chicago and Toronto.
37: 3rd-Quarter Points Scored by Klay Thompson in 1 Game
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Klay Thompson's record-setting 37-point outburst in the third quarter of Friday's 126-101 win over the Sacramento Kings was the stuff of hardwood folklore.
En route to tallying a career-high 52 points, Thompson drilled all 13 of his field-goal attempts in the third frame, including nine triples.
To put that astronomical total in perspective, Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway tweeted, "13 teams haven't even had a player score 37 points in a game this season."
Previously on the All-Star bubble, there's no debating the merits of Thompson's inclusion anymore.
Averaging 22.6 points on 45.9 percent shooting from distance, Thompson is on pace to join teammate Stephen Curry (2012-13) as the only players since 2005-06 to average at least 20 points and knock down at least 45 percent of their threes, per Basketball-Reference.com.
What's truly mind-boggling is that nearly 45 percent of Thompson's field-goal attempts have come with the closest defender more than four feet away, according to SportVU player tracking data, which speaks to the brilliance of Curry's orchestration.
All statistics current as of Jan. 24 and courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
