The eye exam may tell one story, but the numbers tell another. Take a look at one notable stat for each playoff series.
(1) Boston vs. (8) Miami
-8.3% – Jrue Holiday had a usage rate of just 16.1% this season, the lowest mark of his career and down from 24.4% in 2022-23. This is the largest drop (-8.3%), by far, among the 209 players who played at least 1,000 minutes in each of the last two seasons. The two-time All-Star took on a smaller role in a new team’s starting lineup, and it worked for both him and the Celtics. Go further.
(2) New York vs. (7) Philadelphia
24.5% — According to Second Spectrum tracking, the Knicks have made 24.5 percent of their shots in the final six seconds of the shot clock this season. This was by far the highest rate in the league…with the Sixers ranking second at 22.6%. Over two series in last year’s playoffs, Philadelphia made an incredible 30.8 percent of its shots in the final six seconds of the shot clock. Go further.
(3) Milwaukee vs. (6) Indiana
56% – The Pacers allowed their opponents to make 56% of their shots in the paint. This was the highest opponent rate in the league, by far. Indiana limited its opponent’s attempts to 3-pointers, but gave up a lot of shots near the basket, a strategy that didn’t work so well considering they finished 24th in defensive efficiency. The good news is that they have improved defensively on shots in the paint (55.4%), as they ranked 16th defensively over the last five weeks than before (59.3%). Go further.
(4) Cleveland vs. (5) Orlando
9.2% – The Magic shot 58.7% (11th best) in the paint, but had an effective shooting percentage of 49.5% (28th) on shots outside the paint. This is the largest gap (9.2%) in the league. The Magic ranked bottom 10 offensively for the 11th straight season, with a lack of perimeter shooting being their biggest problem. Go further.
(1) Oklahoma City vs. (8) New Orleans
41% — The Thunder earned 41 percent of their regular-season minutes, the fourth-highest rate in the league among rookies (23 percent, third highest) or second-year players (18 percent, eighth highest). None of the other seven teams that got at least 25 percent of their minutes from rookies or second-year players reached the playoffs. Go further.
(2) Denver vs. (7) LA Lakers
18-15 – This is the series where 3-point shooting will mean the least. The Nuggets were the only team with a winning record (18-15) in games in which they were outshot by 3 points this season. The Lakers, on the other hand, had the most victories (23-29) when they were dominated from deep. Denver (35.2%) and LA (35.8%) ranked 30th and 28th, respectively, in the percentage of their shots coming from 3-point range, and those rates were even lower (32.9% and 31 .0%) during the three regular seasons. meetings. Go further.
(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Phoenix
64.8% — The Wolves (in their 41 away games*) have only allowed their opponents to make 64.8% of their shots from the restricted area or 3-point range. It was the lowest opponent rate in the league as Minnesota took opponents out of the 3-point line and – with the Defensive Player of the Year favorite in charge – kept them from reach the edge. Forcing opponents to take the least efficient shots on the floor (those between the restricted area and the 3-point line) is a big reason why the Wolves had by far the No. 1 defense in the league. Go further.
(4) LA Clippers vs. (5) Dallas
8.4 — Taking away their last two games (in which they rested Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving), the Mavs were 8.4 points better per 100 possessions after the trade deadline (plus-8.3, second best) than they were before (minus-0.1, 17th). This is by far the biggest improvement in the league, and the biggest improvement is on defense, where the Mavs rank 22nd before the deadline and fifth between the deadline and these last two games. Go further.
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John Schuhmann is a senior statistics analyst for NBA.com. You can email him here, find his archives here and follow him on X.
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