Boxed Out: A weekly look at statistical oddities around the NBA
The more the Celtics win, the better my mood gets, which means the less of my pseudo-wittiness that you all have to deal with at the beginning of each Boxed Out. It's that simple and perhaps a good enough reason for even our non-Celtics-supporting readers to enjoy the Celts' recent hot streak. Let's start this Monday morning by goofing around with some numbers.
Atlanta Hawks, Monday at Miami: 26 field goals made, 7 assists
Only three players had a dime: Marvin Williams, Josh Smith (two) and Joe Johnson (four). Yep, point guard Mike Bibby didn't have a single assist to go with his five turnovers and 1-for-6 performance from the field. The Hawks as a team had 19 turnovers. Will there be a "RON-DO'S BET-TER!" chant in the comments section?
Ron Artest, Monday at New York: 4-for-19 from the field, 1-for-10 on threes
When one considers that Rafer Alston shot 3-for-10 and Tracy McGrady 7-for-20, it's really a small miracle that the Rockets managed to shoot as high as 38.9 percent as a team for the game.
Richard Jefferson, Monday versus Minnesota: 3-for-15 from the field, 0-for-5 from three, 10 points
Remember what I said last week about RJ perhaps getting more comfortable as the number one option in Michael Redd's absence? He didn't get off to a great start.
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Monday at Oklahoma City: 8 minutes, 2-for-2 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line, 8 points, plus-21
It's the plus-minus that gets me. The Nets lost this game by nine after trailing by as many as 30. Also, Devin "We'll see how I respond" Harris and Vince Carter combined for a monster 6-for-29 performance from the field in this game. Good stuff.
Travis Outlaw, Monday at LA Clippers: 8-for-9 from the field, 20 points, plus-24
Not a personal favorite by any means, but that's a very nice performance at the offensive end.
Mo Williams, Tuesday versus Sacramento: 15-for-24 from the field, 7-for-12 on threes, 6-for-6 foul shooting, 43 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds
LeBron James also had a triple-double in this game, and the Cavs only managed to beat Sacramento by seven. Good on Kevin Martin for putting up 35 to keep the Kings around.
J.J. Redick, Tuesday versus Indiana: 5 minutes, 1-for-1 from the field, 2 points
We mention him because he was the only one of nine Magic players to score in this game who didn't find his way into double figures. Hedo Turkoglu (11), Rashard Lewis (24), Dwight Howard (22), Courtney Lee (14), Jameer Nelson (12), Mickael Pietrus (27), Anthony Johnson (10) and Tony Battie (13) all did as the Magic shot 54.9 percent from the field (and 15-for-33 from deep) en route to 135 points in regulation in blowing out the Pacers.
Also in this game, the Orlando bench shot 20 free throws. The Indiana roster shot 17.
Tim Duncan, Tuesday at Utah: 10-for-16 from the field, 4-for-10 foul shooting, 24 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks
Every now and then, it's healthy to be reminded that Tim Duncan is really, really good. Except at foul shooting.
Charlotte Bobcats, Tuesday at LA Lakers: 117 points scored, 110 points allowed, 1 win
With my sincerest apologies to wondahbap (the site's resident fan of the purple and gold and an insightful commenter), wasn't that nice?
Also of note: The vaunted LA bench combined to shoot 6-for-25 from the field. Shannon Brown came off the bench to hit six shots all by himself for the Bobcats.
T.J. Ford, Wednesday versus Milwaukee: 14-for-21 from the field, 6-for-8 foul shooting, 0-for-0 on threes, 34 points, 3 assists, 5 turnovers, plus-1
Lots of interesting stuff there. The negative assist-to-turnover ratio and plus-1 mark in a game in which he was his team's scoring leader and his team won by eight both merit note. But even more intriguing, when was the last time a guard put up 30 points without attempting a single three-pointer? Probably a good idea in T.J.'s case, as he shoots only 31.6 percent from deep for his career.
Eddie House, Wednesday versus Milwaukee: 21 minutes, 10-for-13 from the field, 8-for-9 on threes, 28 points
Mentioned both because I love Eddie and because I fear incurring Toine43's substantial wrath again if I omit Monsieur Mansion for the second week in a row.
Keyon Dooling, Wednesday versus Toronto: 5-for-9 from the field, 5-for-8 on threes, 17 points
Something about that proportion of field-goal attempts that came from beyond the arc makes me want to open my window and scream, "I love Wal-tah!"
Kevin Love, Wednesday versus Detroit: 26 minutes, 6-for-11 from the field, 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 turnovers
Another nice game for the rook.
Devin Brown, Wednesday versus Denver: 24 minutes, 6-for-7 from the field, 3-for-3 on threes, 18 points, plus-15
A big reason the Hornets cruised past the Nugs by 13 despite not having Tyson Chandler and David West and getting a 3-for-12 shooting night and five turnovers from Chris Paul. Some props are in order for Peja Stojakovic as well for his 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting.
Kevin Durant, Wednesday versus Memphis: 14-for-23 from the field, 35 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 turnovers, 4 blocks
Is it just me, or does this sort of thing seem to be happening with increasing regularity of late?
Stephen Jackson, Wednesday at Dallas: 7-for-14 from the field, 2-for-2 on threes, 9-for-10 foul shooting, 25 points, minus-22
There has to be something unjust about Jax going minus-22 while Monta Ellis and Jamal Crawford (who played 25 and 23 minutes respectively) teamed up to score 10 points on 3-for-17 shooting with four assists and six turnovers between them, and they only wound up a combined minus-20.
Baron Davis, Wednesday versus Chicago: 1-for-10 from the field, 3 points
Welcome back, Baron.
Manu Ginobili, Thursday at Phoenix: 6-for-13 from the field, 18-for-18 foul shooting, 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers
Good showing.
Mark Blount, Friday at Indiana: 23 minutes, 7-for-12 from the field, 17 points, 8 rebounds
Imagine that: A guy gets paid $41 million over six years, and every so often, he shows up to play a half-decent game. Novel.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Friday versus LA Clippers: 10-for-16 from the field, 20 points, 11 rebounds, plus-24
A more successful return from injury than that of Baron Davis.
Al Jefferson, Friday versus LA Lakers: 34 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks
In a week full of big performances for Big Al, we felt we owed the first-time All-Star some attention (although giving up 27 and 15 to Andrew Bynum in this game wasn't so desirable).
Wait, what's that you say?
Let's rephrase: In a week full of big performances for Big Al, we felt we owed the promising young big man some attention (although giving up 27 and 15 to Andrew Bynum in this game wasn't so desirable).
Jose Calderon, Friday versus Milwaukee: 1-for-2 foul shooting
That's the first time in his last 39 regular season games that his free throws made and free throws attempted have not been equal. Going back to last year, Calderon had made 87 straight regular season free throws before the miss, good for the second longest streak in NBA history. Well done, Jose.
Derrick Rose, Friday at Sacramento: 11 assists
The Kings had 10.
Elton Brand, Saturday versus New Jersey: 18 minutes, 2-for-10 from the field, 5 points, 9 rebounds
Karma has its way of coming around. And that goes way beyond Saturday night's poor shooting for Elton.
Dirk Nowitzki, Saturday at Miami: 12-for-14 shooting, 30 points, 0 turnovers
Another guy whose routine excellence many of us (self no doubt included) sometimes seem to take for granted.
Nick Young, Saturday versus LA Clippers: 8-for-11 from the field, 22 points, plus-20
As I've said before, watching him shoot is an enjoyable pastime.
Ben Gordon, Saturday versus Phoenix: 8-for-14 from the field, 5-for-7 on threes, 5-for-5 foul shooting, 26 points, 6 assists, 0 turnovers
Another guy who isn't a personal favorite, but he earns credit for playing an impressive game in a Bulls win in Phoenix.
Joel Przybilla, Saturday versus Utah: 4-for-5 from the field, 6-for-9 foul shooting, 14 points, 17 rebounds
A 'thrilla' of a performance from the Vanilla Gorilla is always a good note to end on.
As always, please don't hesitate to let us know what we missed this week. You'll be shocked to know that we're back with the Babble this afternoon. See you on the flip side of the meridian.