Numbers & thoughts on seeding game 2 “vs” Portland

Long-time Portland bench leader Terry Stotts would appear to be the only NBA head coach to apply a playoff mentality to the “Seeding Games” from the get-go – through two down-to-the-wire games (including Friday’s OT victory over Memphis), he’s limited his playing rotation to just eight players and ridden his dynamic backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum for 176 out of a possible 202 minutes. [Rockets’ mentor Mike D’Antoni gets an old-school honorable mention for using four guys for 40+ minutes in their OT opener with the Mavs.]

The blazing comeback of Stotts’s Ironmen fell a bit short in large part due to the red-hot three-point shooting of Brad Stevens’s “Jay Team” – the youngsters converted 11 of 16 treys (compared to eight-for-21 from the Portland guards). Jaylen Brown’s 16 Q4 points resulted from perfect (6-for-6) shooting including four 3-balls – JB also led the team in rebounds during that final 12 minutes.

For the second time in a row, Boston yielded an unacceptable 22 points off Turnovers … and perhaps surprisingly, for the second game in a row, the C’s won the battle of Second-chance Points (15-10 despite Portland’s +3 in Offensive Rebounds).


BOSTON 128

FG: C’s – 42-77, .545
3FG: C’s – 18-30, .600
FT: C’s – 26-34, .765 [14 conversions]
TS%: C’s – .696
OR: C’s – 6 + 3 (team) [minus 0 FT rebounds]
DR: C’s – 30 + 1 (team) [minus 0 FT rebounds]
TO: C’s – 14 + 0 (team)
Poss: C’s – 97 {40 “Empty”}
PPP: C’s – 1.320
CV%: C’s – 57 / 97, .588
Stripes: C’s – 10 [5 conversions]
Adjusted CV%: C’s – 62 / 97, .639 {expected production, 124 points}


PORTLAND 124

FG: Port – 45-90, .500
3FG: Port – 19-45, .452
FT: Port – 15-16, .938 [7 conversions]
TS%: Port – .639
OR: Port – 9 + 3 (team) [minus 0 FT rebounds]
DR: Port – 26 + 2 (team) [minus 2 FT rebounds]
TO: Port – 12 + 0 (team)
Poss: Port – 97 {45 “Empty”}
PPP: Port – 1.278
CV%: Port – 52 / 97, .536
Stripes: Port – 18 [9 conversions]
Adjusted CV%: Port – 61 / 97, .629 {expected production, 122 points}


Note re Calculation & Notation:

The number of “possessions” is an accurate count, not a formula-based estimated value. For purposes of clarity, the bracketed digit following the FT% is the exact count of “conversions” represented by those FTA’s.

“Possessions” calculation: FGA’s + FT conversions + TO’s – OR’s (including Team OR’s) – FT OR’s

“Conversions” calculation: FG’s + FT conversions

“Stripes” calculation: 3FG’s – missed FTA’s

TS% = True Shooting Percentage

PPP = Points per Possession

CV% = Conversion Percentage


Abacus Revelation for the Road

Terry Stotts is the only NBA coach for whom Damian Lillard has ever played – they both arrived in the Pacific Northwest for the 2012-13 season – Coach coming off a four-year stint as an assistant to Rick Carlisle in Dallas, Dame as the No. 6 pick in the draft.

Since the 1994-95 season when Terry moved from the CBA to Seattle (along with his mentor George Karl), Coach Stotts has NOT been in the employ of an NBA team for a measly 100 games (the last 18 of 2006-07 and the full 82 the following year) … a no-doubt NBA Lifer.

This tandem is attempting to qualify for the post-season for the seventh consecutive season – I wouldn’t bet against them.