Archive for Number Crunchin

Number Crunchin’ – Calling All Bandwagon Fans

October 29, 2010 Nat Number Crunchin

Two games on the schedule and both were duds. The Wizards looked horrible and got doubled up in almost every major category by the Magic. In the late game, the Jazz looked to be a step slow for the 2nd game in a row. They even managed to make the Suns, who have issues of their own, look good. Basically, the best part of the night was the Inside the NBA crew on TNT.

Before getting to the numbers, I have something to rant about. Brian Windhorst of the Heat Index tweeted that Miami still has hundreds of tickets available for their home opener vs. the Magic on Friday Night. Where are all the Miami bandwagon fans?!? You have Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on your team and can’t sell out the arena? It is not just any game either — Its the home opener against one of the best teams in the East that happens to be in the same division. The Heat fired their sales team after landing the marquee free agents. Doesn’t look like a wise move right about now. It blows my mind that people talk of moving teams like Toronto. They are pegged to be a bottom dweller, yet the Raptors brought in 18,000+ through the gates for their first game. Something is seriously wrong with this picture.


The Night in Numbers
Every night, I scour the box scores and pick out some of the most telling numbers from the games. These numbers directly or indirectly have an impact on the final scores.

Fantasy Freaks
PG: John Wall — 14 PTS (6-19), 2-3 (FT), 1 RBS, 9 AST, 3 STL, 3 TO
SG: Vince Carter — 18 PTS (8-12), 2-5 (3PT), 0-1 (FT), 5 RBS, 2 AST
SF: Hakim Warrick — 18 PTS (6-11), 6-7 (FT), 11 RBS, 1 AST, 1 ST
PF: Paul Millsap — 19 PTS (9-13), 1-3 (FT), 13 RBS, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 1 TO
C: Dwight Howard — 23 PTS (7-9), 9-19 (FT), 10 RBS, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3 BLK, 3 TO

Orlando Magic 112 – Washington Wizards 83
1st two points of John Wall’s NBA career were scored on a goaltend by Dwight.
56 Points in the paint for the Magic to the Wizards 28.
-120 combined +/- for the Wizards starters. Blatche had just 6 points and needs to step up!
69% from the field for the Orlando starters. Dwight Howard had 23 points and Carter added in 18.

Phoenix Suns 110 – Utah Jazz 94
18 Points for Hakim Warrick as he singlehandedly outscored the jazz bench.
12 Rebounds for Grant Hill on a night when his shot was not falling. Suns still lost the battle on the glass.
1 monsterous dunk from Deron Williams but it wasn’t enough to spark the Jazz who that trailed all game long.

I suggest you forget these two games happened and just watch this video on loop!

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Number Crunchin’ – The Race to ROY starts here

October 28, 2010 Nat Number Crunchin

Day 2 of the NBA season and we are treated to 13 games. Thanks commissioner Stern. I was in attendance for the Raptors/Knicks but all I could think of was getting home to catch up on the other 12 games. There were rookies in action, rebounding machines at work and dunks that got me out of seat. Yep, just another night for the best basketball league in the world.

26 teams in action... Thank God for NBA League Pass

The Night in Numbers
Quick refresher how this goes. Basically, I scour the box scores and pick out some of the most telling numbers from the games each night. These numbers directly or indirectly have an impact on the outcome of the game.

Fantasy Freaks
PG: Chris Paul — 17 PTS (6-11), 1-2 (3PT), 4-6 (FT), 4 RBS, 16 AST, 1 TO
SG: Monta Ellis — 46 PTS (18-24), 1-2 (3PT), 9-12 (FT), 3 RBS, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1 TO
SF: Kevin Durant — 30 PTS (9-24), 1-5 (3PT), 11-13 (FT), 7 RBS, 3 AST, 3 ST, 6 TO
PF: Louis Scola — 36 PTS (14-24), 8-12 (FT) 16 RBS, 1 STL, 1 BLK
C: Joakim Noah — 18 PTS (7-13), 4-6 (FT), 19 RBS, 2 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK, 2 TO

Boston Celtics 87 – Cleveland Cavaliers 95
20,562 in attendance to kick of the Post-Lebron era in Cleveland
6 Cavaliers players in double digits scoring, led by Hickson’s 21. Doubt that ever happened last season!
0-5 from long range for Ray Allen. Can’t remember the last time that happened either.

Detroit Pistons 98 – New Jersey Nets 101
48 Points in the paint for the Nets. Most of those thanks to Brook Lopez’s 25.
10 Rebounds to go along with 8 points in 20 minutes for rookie Favors. Impressive start to his career.
11 more wins and the Nets will surpass their total from last season.

Miami Heat 97 – Philadelphia 76′ers 87
30 Points for Wade after a bad shooting night against Boston. Jones added another 20 for the Heat
9 Turnovers for Lebron James in this one. He has 17 in total through the 1st 2 games.
30 Minutes off the bench for rookie Evan Turner. Made the most of them with 16pts, 7rbs, 4ast
0 free throws taken between all 5 Philadelphia starters. WOW!

New York Knicks 98 – Toronto Raptors 93
10 Blocks for the Knicks as a team. They brought their hustle north of the border.
7 Knicks players scored in double digits. Led by Wilson Chandler’s 22. Rookie Fields went 3-6 from deep.
9 Turnovers for Amare, just avoiding the the “ugly” triple double with 19pts, 10rbs, 9TO’s
16 Rebounds for Reggie Evans. He did everything but score… just what the team needs.
12 ineffective minutes for Amir Johnson as he once again found himself in foul trouble.

Miwaukee Bucks 91 – New Orleans Hornets 95
15 rebounds, 15 points for Bogut as he made his return from that gruesome injury last season.
16 assists to go along with 17 points for Chris Paul. He never ceases to amaze me…
18 Lead changes in this one. Both teams shooting close to 43%
7 new faces on the two teams combined. Belinelli and Gooden both major contributors

Sacramento Kings 117 – Minnesota Timberwolves 116
2 worst teams in the Western Conference from last season faced off.
14 Points for rookie DeMarcus Cousins to go along with 8rbs, 5ast. Impressive
1 Monsterous dunk in the 2nd quarter from rookie Wesley Johnson. He had 13pts and 4 rbs.
20-2 run by the Kings got them back in this one. They also had 47 FT attempts.

Chicago Bulls 95 – Oklahoma City Thunder 106
31 shots hoisted up by Derrick Rose to get his 28 points. EEEK
1 scary moment as Durant went down hard on an offensive foul. He did return and scored 30
14-2 run by the Thunder in the 4th quarter sealed the deal.
13 FT’s attempted by Westbrook as he filled the stat sheet. 28pts, 10rbs, 6ast, 2stl, 1blk

Atlanta Hawks 119 – Memphis Grizzlies 104
0 points from 2nd year player Thabeet. Still shaking my head over that draft pick…
52% shooting from the field as a team, the Hawks also won the battle of the boards and dimes.
50-28 the Hawks bench outscored the Grizzlies who for the 10th year in a row lost game 1.
16 shots taken by Joe Johnson and he only made 6. He ended the night with 22 points.

Charlotte Bobcats 86 – Dallas Mavericks 101
18 Assists for Jason Kidd. 1 shy of the NBA record for most assists in a season opener.
28 Points for Dirk Nowitzki. He was the high man in the game and added 13 boards.
16 unanswered points by the Mavs to start the game. They held Charlotte to 39% from the floor
38 turnovers in this one. Ugly, but for the Mavs the W is what counts.

Indiana Pacers 109 – San Antonio Spurs 122
65 Points for the Spurs big three combined. Duncan threw in 12 boards, Parker 9 assists.
53% from the field were the Pacers but in return they allowed 122 points by the Spurs.
32-17 scoring edge for the Spurs bench who were led by Hill’s 16 points.
9 Rebounds to go with 28 points and 3 blocks for Pacers big man Roy Hibbert.

Utah Jazz 88 – Denver Nuggets 110
28 Points, 7 rebounds in 36 minutes for the man of the hour, Carmelo Anthony.
22 Turnovers for the Jazz leading to 19 Denver points. Gotta clean that up
16 Rebounds for Sheldon Williams(!!) as he got the start at PF — thought I was seeing things.
27 Points was the biggest lead for the Nuggets as a happy George Karl looked on. Nice to have him back

Houston Rockets 128 – Golden State Warriors 132
46 Points for Monta Ellis, tying his career high and very efficiently too. 18-24 from the floor.
16 Rebounds for the 2nd night in a row for Scola. He also poured in 36 points.
55% From the field, the Warriors were lights out getting 25pts from Curry and 17 from Lee.
1 best seat in the house for Yao Ming as he was held out on the 2nd game of a back to back.

Portland Trail Blazers 98 – Los Angeles Clippers 88
38 minutes was all it took for Blake Griffin to take the lead in the ROY race. 20pts, 14rbs, 4ast. WOW
15 unanswered points for the Blazers in the 4th quarter finally put this one away.
21 Offensive rebounds for the Blazers, a night after they had 18 vs. the Suns.
5 Portland starters reached double figures in scoring. Led by Roy’s 18pts.

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Number Crunchin’ – Can someone turn the HEAT on?

October 27, 2010 Nat Number Crunchin

That is them ... after looking at the Heat boxscore

The most anticipated NBA season in recent memory kicked off tonight and did not disappoint (Unless you are one of those bandwagon Heat fans).

The Night in Numbers
Quick refresher how this goes. Basically, I pick out some of the most telling numbers from the games each night. These numbers directly or indirectly have an impact on the outcome.

Miami Heat 80 – Boston Celtics 88
500 Credentialed media in attendance… are you kidding me?!?
9 Points is all the Heat managed to put up in the first quarter
14 Turnovers between Lebron and Wade combined.
4 Celtics players scored in double digits to Miami’s 2.
17 Assists for Rondo, even though he was shooting blanks all night.
18,624 Gasps as Pierce left the floor with back spasms. He did return in typical Paul Pierce fashion though.

Houston Rockets 110 – Los Angeles Lakers 112
60 Championship rings given out. Biebster got to rock Phil Jackson’s bling! (photo credit @HPBasketball)
11 Point halftime deficit erased, largely thanks to the Laker bench.
5 Lakers scored in double digits. Let by Gasol with 29, Kobe had 27.
24 Minutes for Yao. That was the limit the Rockets had put… fitting he fouled out in his 24th
16 Rebounds to go along with 18 points for Scola. He is balling since the World Championships.
21 Turnovers for the Rockets. They did win the battle of the boards and dimes.

Phoenix Suns 92 – Portland Trail Blazers 106
18 Rebound differential as the Blazers dominated the glass. Get used to it Suns fans.
27 Minutes and just 6 points for Hedo Turkoglu. Raptors fans rejoice!
9 Turnovers by Nash. He is going to have a lot more of those with this team.
16-1 run for the Blazers to end the game.
11 Points of the final 18 were scored by Batum. Fanasty owners better run to the waiver wire!
+22 For Wesley Matthews — already making good on that major pay raise.

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Destination: Miami — Scattered thoughts on Chris Bosh

July 7, 2010 Nat NBA Observations, Number Crunchin, Raptor Ramblings

The signs were all there but the biggest may have been when Bosh cropped his locks to prepare for the Miami HEAT! (yes, that was my attempt at a play on words) At some point Bosh realized he can’t do this on his own, he had earned his right to choose his destination and South Beach seemed to be the perfect fit. Earlier today he confirmed his decision on ESPN — already getting the national exposure he so desired. He was giddy as a school girl as he reveled his choice and so was his girlfriend who moments later tweeted that she is looking forward to the year round tanning *Le Sigh*.

Fans in Toronto can be angry about how he handled free agency but there are two parties involved here. Colangelo an Raptors management as a whole tried to play hardball and that may eventually cost them. From the looks of it, Bosh has decided to take less money to play where he wants. If that’s the case — good on him. He has stressed for a long time that he wants to win (3 playoff games won in 7 years is hardly a resume to boast about) and going to Miami where Pat Riley has shown he knows how to put together a winning team confirms that. The fact that Miami has just 4 players under contract is a whole nother story and should be interesting to see the pieces placed around the two stars.

Along with the winning, Bosh had said in the past that he wants to be the man somewhere. I guess no one told him that Miami is Wade County. Nonetheless, he has a better chance of being in the spotlight with Wade than with King James. Bosh never got the National exposure playing north of the border, but the losing didn’t help his case. Maybe if they won a series or two things would have been different. That’s as much on the Raptors organization as on him, the captain of the Toronto Raptors.

Right now that is my concern — The Raptors organization. They had plenty of chances to surround Bosh with good players but always picked the wrong guy. Colangelo tried to bring in friends of Bosh (see: TJ Ford and J Jack) to keep him happy but he would have been better off getting real talent around the 5 time all-star. Bosh walking and leaving the $30million is a big time blow to the Raptors. Bosh can make up some of that lost money on piggy back endorsements with Wade maybe and the face that Florida has no state taxes. The Raptors meanwhile can be blamed for Miami having the room to sign him in the first place. Colangelo did the Marion trade which allowed for Miami to clear space with the expiring Jermaine O’neal contract. Major OUCH.

There is still time for the Raptors to work something out and for the teams sake I hope they do. As stated many times on this blog — I am a season seat holder and my dedication is to this team (not an individual player) but when things like this happen I feel like I am being robbed in plain daylight. I have no ill feelings towards Bosh. Rather, a lot of great memories in 7 years with the Toronto Raptors. I will be one of the fans rooting for him as he continues his NBA journey and apologize in advance for all the fans at the ACC who will boo him.

Picture Above is via @sportscenter

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Number Crunchin’ – R.E.S.P.E.C.T

December 2, 2009 Nat Number Crunchin

promoFree food trumps winning??
I have been attending Raptor games for 10 years and as far back as I can remember, they have had a variation of the free slice of pizza promo. It usually goes, if the team scores 100 points or more you get a free slice of pizza the next day. During the Kevin O’Neil days there was no chance in hell the team was going to score 100 so they had this box where at the start of the game they would pull out a number like 88. Now realistically fans pay $50 on average for a ticket and that slice of pizza costs $2. It baffles me to think that the $50 is rendered worthless to some on nights when they can’t redeem the free food. There are nights when the Raptors have won but scored 99 points and you can hear the boos in the building. Last night the team had a chance to win down 3 but most people were leaving, the few left in the building were more than happy to cheer for a buzzer beating 3 that gave them a LOSS and a free slice of pizza!
Raptor fans took solace last night that they got the free slice of pizza if not the win. I want to try to find out how many people actually redeem this stuff?? I give my ticket (if the 100 point mark was reached) to the homeless man on the sidewalk so he can grab a slice the next day but now there is a limit on how many slices you can redeem. So now, said homeless man has to barter the tickets for something else he needs. How do I know this? Well one of them decided to go on a 15 minute tirade with me the last time I offered up my ticket. I know I never make it out to redeem the slice but I also know that I will not be offering my ticket up anymore either.
Apparently this is happening all over the league with Chalupa’s and Taco’s. Last night Laker fan’s booed the Hornets for playing hard to the end because they wanted their free tacos. (Hornets Hype) It baffles me that the marketing gurus behind these things haven’t figured out that they need to switch it. Make the promotion “Hold the opponent to under 100 points and get a free ______.” This way the fans are in it til the end chanting defense and that’s what the team really needs.

The Night in Numbers:

Boston Celtics 108 – Charlotte Bobcats 90
27 points a season high from Ray Allen after he clearly struggled v/s Miami with his mind more focused on his sons health.
4 game win streak comes to an end for Charlotte as the Celtics hold them to 40% from the field and 2-11 from long distance.

Washington Wizards 106 – Toronto Raptors 102
1-6 from the FT line. The Raptors resorted to playing Hack-a-Haywood trying to find ways to stop the guy who had stopped Bosh all night long.
17 turnovers on the same night they had 50 rebounds (season high). The Raptors have yet to play a complete game on both ends and we are 1/4 done with the season.

Phoenix Suns 99 – New York Knicks 126
8 Assists for Steve Nash in the game… Larry Hughes had that in the 1st quarter!
1 st game this season that the suns were held to under 100 pts. The Knicks are known to give up 110 ppg on average

Golden State Warriors 107 – Denver Nuggets 135
62 points in the paint for the Nuggets as they got a much needed 28 point blowout to get the team back on track after the loss to the Wolves.
30 minutes for Monta Ellis a night after he goes off for a career high? GSW threw in the towel early and even though they had a short bench they finally rested the kid.

Miami Heat 107 – Portland Trailblazers 100
27 points for Michael Beasley. For a guy who had a rough off-season he has sure silenced the doubters.
20 Rebounds for Greg Oden (career high) in 30 minutes but 4-13 from the floor is straight ugly from your big man.

New Orleans Hornets 99 – Los Angeles Lakers 110
29 min = The average floor time the Lakers starters saw last night thanks to a 2nd quarter where the Hornets were held to 15 points and never really recovered
19 % from 3 point range for the Hornets who played again without Peja and CP3

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