The Positive Residual apps are available online at:
They include the NBA Calendar, True Shooting Charts, and Playing Time apps, as well as the WNBA Dashboard.
Maya Moore walked away from the WNBA (in many ways, she was already among the greatest of all time) in the midst of her prime to help champion Jonathan Irons’s cause. He was freed today. We use the term “legend” liberally, but this is what it truly means.
If an NBA owner were photographed with a known white supremacist, the league would rightfully be beside itself. It should be no different with the WNBA.
ALERT: Kelly Loeffler just posed for a photo with Chester Doles, a former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA.
In 1993, Doles nearly beat a Black man to death.
In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville.
This is who
@KLoeffler
is proudly appealing to.
I'm thrilled to announce that I've embarked on a partnership with The Ringer for the remainder of the
#NBAPlayoffs
. I'll be contributing some post-game charts and analysis over
@ringer
. Many thanks to
@BillSimmons
and the team for this opportunity to collaborate.
This is the kind of elite-level passing that I’m striving to appreciate as much as possible before LeBron’s inevitable retirement. The vision, the velocity, the accuracy — they’re all in this play, and he executes it effortlessly.
In a game that was decided by 5 points, the Clippers outscored the Lakers by 26 during the 31.5 minutes that Patrick Beverley was on the floor. No other player had a +/- even close to it.
The past two seasons have ended in disappointment for the Dodgers, but I’m grateful that Yasiel Puig leaves us with one of the most memorable moments in the franchise’s recent history. Farewell to the Wild Horse.
Watch Mason Plumlee here. He trails Anthony Davis and points for Jerami Grant to switch. Grant either doesn’t hear or hesitates to leave LeBron. Davis receives the inbound pass wide open and, by the time Nikola Jokic arrives, his shot is off. Dagger.
This was the exact moment when Max Muncy caught Chris Taylor’s throw and turned toward home. Randy Arozarena was on the ground not even halfway to the plate. There’s no way this should have resulted in a run in a major league game, let alone the World Series.
This is a great reminder that Toronto is the fourth most populous city in North America and, arguably, the most multicultural in the world. Beautiful place, beautiful community, beautiful moment.
I continue to be amazed at the social awareness, generosity, and initiative of the current generation of NBA players. I realize they have representatives who counsel them, but that doesn’t take away from their acts of kindness. We’re talking about people in their early 20s/teens.
In just 27 minutes of play, Diana Taurasi dropped 37 points on a mere 16 true shot attempts -- a 112% true shooting percentage. She was 8/11 from deep and 8/8 from the line. Incredible offensive display from an all-time great.
Giannis dropped 50 points on 40 true shot attempts and 41% usage. He was 12/16 at the rim, 3/8 behind the arc, and 13/19 at the line. His 6 assists contributed an additional 16 points. He committed no turnovers while grabbing 14 rebounds. An absolutely masterful performance.
The Clippers are doubling Nikola Jokic, and their rotations are sound in this play. But there’s little that you can do when the big man can execute a pass like this one. Gorgeous assist for a wide open catch-and-shoot 3.
My 74-year-old aunt came into the house and, before putting down the gifts and expressing season's greetings, said: "My god, can you believe how good that Kuzma is?!"
Happy Holidays to you, too, auntie. 😂
The way to appreciate Mike Conley’s defense on CJ McCollum is to watch the entire minute-long possession. Conley pokes away 2 inbound passes. The Pelicans have to set three screens to put the ball in play, then Conley recovers to deny CJ’s initial attempt. Great effort.
Kyle Kuzma's played more minutes than any other player in the NBA (including LeBron, by a minute) over the past 10 games. He's already played over 2,400 minutes this season (3rd among rookies). It's hard to see how the benefits of playing the final 3 games outweigh the risks.
Russell Westbrook's 20-20-20 game came on 24 true shot attempts, with only one trip to the line. Of his 21 assists, 14 led to shots at the rim and 6 to 3-pointers (including 4 from the corners). He committed just 2 turnovers (both dead-ball).
Giannis dropped 39 points on 33% usage and 25 true shot attempts, including 11/12 at the rim. His 4 assists helped facilitate an additional 10 points. He committed just 2 turnovers, both of which were dead-ball. He also grabbed 16 boards, with 5 on the offensive glass. Amazing.
The best part about Mookie Betts’s game-winning play is that he was able to place his right hand over the ball as he was sliding through the outfield grass. Just incredible.
LeBron unloaded 44 points on 31 shooting possessions, including 15-15 from the line. He gutted the Pacers right up the middle, particularly at the rim. He also had 10 boards and 8 assists, of which 6 went for 3s and 2 for shots in the restricted area. Clutch play by the King.
I loved this shot of Willy Adames’s bat as it made contact with Brusdar Graterol’s 100 MPH sinker. The ball left the bat at 69 MPH with a launch angle of 41. Look at the tremble.
DeMar DeRozan had 42 points on 30 shooting possessions. Five of his 6 assists led to shots from 3 and in the restricted area (the exception was Fred VanVleet's game-winner). Despite high usage, DeRozan had just 1 turnover. He was an insane +154% win probability added (
@inpredict
)
Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani with the Angels. Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, and many others with the Dodgers. These are exciting times for baseball in Southern California.
This quote by Kareem deserves to be presented in full. First and foremost, it’s such a critical message, and it’s delivered with characteristic clarity. Second, it shows yet again that he’s arguably the most important sports figure over the past 50+ years.
Incredible performance by Steph Curry, who dropped 48 points on 38% usage and 33 true shot attempts. He was 11/19 behind the arc. His 5 assists included a pair that led to 3-pointers and a pair that led to shots at the rim, and he had 0 turnovers. Crunch time was all his.
I loved seeing Richard Jefferson call out "Dribble Weak" on this Clippers' sideline out-of-bounds set.
"Same play as in Cleveland, I see you T. Lue," he said.
Please, more of this type of analysis on the national broadcast.
Sensational performance by Donovan Mitchell, who dropped 35 points on 24 true shot attempts and 32% usage. Only 2 of his 12 made field goals were assisted. He was 3/6 from 3-point range and 8/11 at the line. He helped add another 17 points via assists with just 2 turnovers.
Anthony Davis dropped 50 points on 33 true shot attempts and 37% usage, including 11/11 at the rim and 10/10 at the line. He had 6 assists, of which 4 led to shots in the restricted area, while committing just 1 dead-ball turnover. He had a game-high 4 steals, as well. Dominant.
The Warriors assisted on over 70% of their made shots. Half of Steph Curry's team-high 8 assists went to Draymond Green, who in turn assisted Kevon Looney on 4 of his 7 dimes.
Russell Westbrook has 24 assists through the first overtime. Half of them have been at the rim and 7 behind the arc. He's helped facilitate 55 total points through his dimes thus far (or, put differently, 2/3 of the Thunder's made shots while he's on the floor). Incredible.
In exchange for Jimmy Butler, the Sixers traded two floor-spacing, starter-level players who had served as Ben Simmons’s primary targets. Over the past two seasons, Dario Saric and Robert Covington had received 43% of Simmons’s total assists and half of his 3-point assists.
The Warriors’ 85% assist rate is their 2nd highest in a game and the 5th highest overall this season. Of Draymond Green’s team-leading 10 assists, 4 went to Steph Curry, who in turn facilitated Klay Thompson three times. Here’s their assist network:
These were vintage Clayton Kershaw curve balls to induce swinging strikes against Randy Arozarena during the World Series. Arozarena’s such a tough batter to face, and it took some of Kershaw’s best stuff to try to keep him at bay.
Thread: The Danny Green shot is a good reminder to be cautious of how screenshots might bias our assessments. In this video, I start with the typical screenshot that’s been used to highlight Green’s openness. I then show the full play so we can see the nuances of his openness.
@Rachel__Nichols
@ZachLowe_NBA
@Rjeff24
We are all TMac watching RJ talk about how D’Angelo saved the Nets season while Zach says, “It’s not a ‘Save Your Season’ award.” 😂 Good stuff. ✊🏼
The fact that, in the face of death threats, Danny Green would take the high ground and shine a light on social injustices shows you how upstanding and committed he is. At the same time, it’s horrible that anyone would have to endure such nonsense — especially over a game.
Danny Green on the fans who've made death threats against him & his fiancé after his missed shot: "I hope they're that passionate about voting, or injustice for these people who deserve justice - we'll get some better change in the country." Green calls himself "an easy target."
Nine of James Harden's 13 made shots were unassisted. In addition, of his 15 assists, 10 were at the rim and 5 were from downtown. He scored 44 points and assisted on 35 more. Between his buckets and dimes, he had a hand on 79 of the Rockets' 135 points (i.e., 59% of the total).
Jonathan Isaac made things very difficult for Kristaps Porzingis, who had just 10 points on 15 attempts. You can see his dynamic athleticism shine here. Blocks and steals do not, on their own, encompass defensive impact, but even beyond the highlights, he made his presence felt.
This might be my favorite moment of the Lakers’ championship celebration: LeBron, the NBA Finals veteran, gives a tip to the newly decorated Anthony Davis about how tonight is the only time in the season when they won’t need ice. Wonderful glimpse into their shared craftsmanship.
JR Smith’s blunder is a glaring example of why it’s problematic to measure a player’s legacy by rings without accounting for teammates and other factors. LeBron had an epic performance. He played 47.5 minutes. Yet his team’s chances turned on something beyond his control.
It’s ridiculous how many little tricks Nikola Jokic has. He just knows how to orchestrate the Nuggets offense regardless of what the defense throws at him. Watch this give-and-go with Michael Porter Jr. He makes it look so easy, too.
Giannis dropped 44 points on 26 true shot attempts and 30% usage. He was 13/14 at the rim while generating 5 of his 6 free throw trips in the paint. Four of his 8 assists led to 3-pointers, and he committed no turnovers in 35 minutes of play. Absolutely dominant.
Based on the
@inpredict
calculator, this block by Rudy Gobert amounted to a roughly +30% win expectancy, if one assumes that Delon Wright would have otherwise converted the layup. The Jazz would have been at around a 60% win expectancy. Instead, the block put them at 90%.
Here are the Bucks' defensive matchups against the Raptors last night. Giannis was mostly on Serge Ibaka, but he had some time on every Toronto player. Eric Bledsoe was almost exclusively on Kyle Lowry.
Here's how the Lakers matched up defensively against the Blazers last night. We can see LA's switches manifest themselves in the data. Look, for instance, at the number of different-colored lines that flow toward CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard, Nik Stauskus, etc.
Another incredible performance by Kawhi, who dropped 35 points on 34% usage and 30 true shot attempts, including 4/6 at the rim, 5/8 from 3, and 8/9 at the line. Every one of his 9 assists led to a 3-pointer, facilitating another 27 points. He committed just 1 dead-ball turnover.
Thread: My NBA Calendar app has been updated with the 2021-22 season schedule. The Pistons have the most games with a true rest advantage (17), whereby they have at least one day of rest while they play an opponent without rest.
Setting aside the 1/6 shooting performance behind the arc, Russell Westbrook was just 4/10 in the restricted area, and he drew only one trip to the free throw line (excluding his and-1). Moreover, 5 of his 6 turnovers were live-ball. It was a rough night, to say the least.
Thread: In two of the most critical crunch-time moments of Game 3, Boston scored on layups with Joel Embiid's elite rim protection over 24 feet away. Credit Brad Stevens once again for drawing up brilliant after-timeout plays.
One of my favorite charts of the season, showing how Becky Hammon turned the Aces into WNBA champions in her first season as head coach.
In 2021, Vegas took just 19% of their shots from 3, last in the league. In 2022, they were top-3 at 38%.
Thread: The NBA Calendar app has been updated with the 2023-24 season schedule:
The Celtics have the most rest-advantage games at 16.
Additional insights below as I analyze the calendar.
The Clippers outscored the Suns by 24 during the 19.4 minutes that Rajon Rondo was on the floor. He led all players with 9 assists while committing 0 turnovers. He also made 3/4 from deep.
The most interesting part of Kevin Durant's comments is at 1:45, when he says that his height advantage makes it hard to earn calls against a shorter defender like Patrick Beverley ("David vs. Goliath"). I haven't seen data on this topic, but that's an interesting hypothesis.
Kevin Durant goes extremely in depth on the Clippers style of defense, the overhelp, why he won’t get caught up in a 1-on-1 battle with Patrick Beverley
A Case Study in Resignations
Sam Hinkie: "It’s clear now that I won’t see the harvest of the seeds we planted. That’s OK. Life’s like that...." ()
Bryan Colangelo: "[My wife's] actions were a seriously misguided effort...."
Nikola Jokic had 14 assists, of which 5 went to Michael Porter Jr and 4 to Monte Morris. Six of Jokic's assists led to 3-pointers and another six to shots at the rim. He assisted half of Denver's baskets while on the floor tonight.
At Sloan, Daryl Morey discussed the flaws of the "distance travelled" stat, noting that many elite players rank low in this area. The best tend to know how to make high impact at minimal effort. Their efficient actions stem from both physical gifts and understanding of the game.
My first impression of watching LeBron in person for the first time is that he's playing half as hard as anyone else is. I don't mean that as an insult, he's just so damn good that he doesn't have to go all that hard to dominate a regular season game in March. Incredible.
Giannis finished with 49 points on 39 true shot attempts and 49% usage. He was 8/10 at the rim, 4/8 from 3, and 3/6 at the line. Only 8 of his 21 field goal attempts were assisted. His 4 assists came with just 1 dead-ball turnover. Sensational performance.
The NBA doubtless understands its business and fans better than its peers do. It recognizes that, rather than cannibalizing its product, social media and video use actually deepen fan engagement and investment. It's done a great job of helping its partners realize this, too.
Nikola Jokic finished with 30 points on 21 true shot attempts and 30% usage, including 5/6 at the rim and 10/10 at the line. His 7 assists came without any turnovers. He led all players in scoring, assists, and rebounds (14). Dominant performance.
Pascal Siakam dropped 30 points on 20 true shot attempts and 23% usage, including 5/8 at the rim and 3/3 from the corners. Three of his four assists were in the restricted area, with the other behind the arc. He committed no turnovers in his 41.5 minutes of play.
Just a few months ago, Kristi Toliver and Sue Bird were squaring off as the starting point guards for the Mystics and Storm in the WNBA Finals. Now, both have new roles in the NBA with the Wizards and Nuggets. Fantastic.
Few things are more sobering than being on the phone with a 5th grader, who's home alone because her parents are essential workers and who's calling tech support on the 1st day of school because she and her younger siblings can't log into their Zoom classes. Such a sad situation.
In the aftermath of an ankle injury, Luka Doncic dropped 43 points on 32 true shot attempts, including 8/8 at the rim and 4/10 from deep, with the final one at the buzzer. His 13 assists added another 30 points. He led all players with 17 boards. Sensational performance.
Anthony Bourdain proclaimed immigrants as the “backbone” of the restaurant industry. As an immigrant myself with family members in the culinary world, I always appreciated Bourdain’s sentiments. May his spirit live on wherever soulful food is served.
#RIP
Rajon Rondo had 17 assists -- as many as the entire Blazers team altogether. Seven of his assists went to Anthony Davis and 5 to Nikola Mirotic. Also, 7 of his assists led to shots at the rim and 5 to 3-pointers. Here's the Pelicans assist network: