Identical paces for Celtics & Warriors - ridiculous odds of that happening


The chance of this statistic occurring from Saturday's exciting contest between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors is very unlikely. Both teams came out of the game with the exact same pace of 99.00. I will leave the chances of that happening to any statisticians in our readership, but it does show that Boston came out with their number of possessions close to their season average of 98.16. Golden State registered a decrease from their season average of 102.42, partly due to Boston's tough defense slowing down the Warrior's offensive attack.


The Warriors play at a fast pace, the third-fastest in the NBA. For a great visual analysis of a fast pace, watch the video below. Steph Curry grabs a rebound, races down the court and throws up his usual launch-it-on-the-way-up three-pointer - all in a total of four seconds. Just imagine what the pace numbers would look like if both teams fired up all their shots within four seconds after gaining possession. Does 360.00 sound right? Anyone? Bueller?


Kyrie Irving gets his magic-act shot off in four seconds in the video, but possession obviously took place sooner. But his sleight-of-hand dribbling, and the shot itself, are worth a look anyway.


The NBA used to have one-on-one tournaments in the 1970's, and I recall Celtics guard JoJo White battling big man, Bob Lanier for the Title. Watching a one-on-one between Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving would be invigorating. We may get to see a five-on-five version of that battle in June. These guys put on a hell of a show.

Follow Tom at @TomLaneHC

Photo via Brian Babineau/Getty Images

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