The Algebra of the Game: The little guys contribute commendable board-work
The Mavericks were off-target on 52 FG attempts and two live-ball free throws; including two Team Offensive Rebounds, they regained possession of eight of those misses (good for four “follow-up” points).
Boston players were credited with a defensive rebound for 44 of those misses, 18 of those falling into the dependable hands of R&T Enterprises – in all, guards and wings accounted for nearly half (21) of those D-boards.
Dallas at Boston, Wednesday Dec. 6
Summative Equation:
Bos – 43 Conversions + [8 “Stripes”] {12 treys “minus” 4 missed FT’s “equals” 8 stripes}
Dal – 42 Conversions + [5 “Stripes”] {9 treys “minus” 4 missed FT’s “equals” 5 stripes}
Expected Outcome -- +1 Conversions + [3 Stripes] = C’s win by 5 points
Actual Score: Boston 97, Dallas 90
Conversions and [Stripes} by Quarter
Bos – 11 [1] + 9 [5] + 10 [3] + 13 [-1] = 43 + [8]
Dal – 14 [-3] + 13 [5] + 8 [0] + 7 [3] = 42 + [5]
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| Two D-boards for Shane |
FG: C’s – 36-87, .414 / Dal – 34-86, .395
3FG: C’s – 12-34, .353 / Dal – 9-28, .321
FT: C’s – 13-17, .765 [7] / Dal – 13-17, .765 [8]
TO: C’s – 12 / Dal – 11
OR: C’s – 9 + 1 (team) / Dal – 6 + 2 (team)
Poss: C’s – 96 / Dal – 97
CV%: C’s – 43 / 96, .448 / Dal – 42 / 97, .433
The Modern NBA
For one not-really-so-brief stretch of play – ten consecutive possessions in a game when they totaled 96 opportunities to score – the Boston Celtics completely eschewed the two-point FG attempt in any way, shape or form. From the final offensive possession of Q1 through the first nine of Q2, they piled up one turnover, one OR and 10 treys (four successful) – no deuces or FT’s.
For, the record, the teams played even (12-12) during this sequence.
Summative Equation (Season-to-date):
Bos – 1233 Conversions + [+159 Stripes] {297 treys minus 138 missed FT’s equals 159 stripes}
Opp – 1169 Conversions + [+107 Stripes] {230 treys minus 123 missed FT’s equals 107 stripes}
Expected Outcome -- +64 Conversions + [+52 Stripes] = C’s win by (128 + 52) 180 points
Actual Score: Boston 2716, Opponents 2528
Conversions and [Stripes} by Quarter [Season-to-date]
Bos – 301 [42] + 288 [39] + 319 [44] + 318 [35] + 7 [-1] = 1233 + [159]
Opp – 301 [27] + 298 [34] + 274 [20] + 293 [26] + 3 [0] = 1169 + [107]
Abacus Revelation for the Road
Brad’s Bombardiers fell short of 50% shooting from the field for the first time in six games.
All but one of those 50+% games have occurred in the friendly confines of the TD Garden – on the bright side, the Celtics’ best FG performance of the season (.563) occurred a couple of weeks ago in Indiana.
images: Midland Reporter-Telegram, mavs.com
