Comments on: Most Similar NBA Finalists & Finals Matchups

By: Neil Paine

Neil Paine — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:11:12 +0000

Brian - It's not that simple, because the Suns' performance also had to do with the system, the coach, the supporting players, etc. But yes, regardless, Nash is one of the greatest offensive players of all time. And to Larry, I'm not really sure why Nash's individual defensive shortcomings and a lack of team championships -- again, because he and his teammates have been subpar defensively -- would have any bearing on his offensive ability...

By: Larry

Larry — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:02:33 +0000

Neil thinks nash is one of the greatest offensive players of all time, i don't know but those numbers are bull to me....it proves nothing. nash never made it to a finals, never will win a title and can't guard anyone.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:47:07 +0000

I uploaded the Bulls' '96 loss to Toronto a couple years ago, here's my YouTube highlight-cap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EruzMMs6wTM

Sorry the quality is so poor, I uploaded it before YouTube allowed HD/HQ videos.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:53:54 +0000

So Neal, according to your math, in the last 6 years The Phoenix Suns have had five of the ten best offenses in league history. And seeing as how Steve Nash is the common denominator in all of this; that would make Steve Nash the greatest offensive player in NBA history. Really? I'm a Phoenix resident, and I've been shaking my head at Steve Nash's greatness for six years. I've always thought he might be one of the top ten offensive players of all time, or even top five. But the best? I'll have to think about it. What does your math say?

By: Neil Paine

Neil Paine — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:36:01 +0000

Rock, Paper, Scissors... I wonder whether we can ID specific "rock-paper-scissors" matchup situations in the past from the season series between teams? Could be an interesting post at some point.

By: Neil Paine

Neil Paine — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:31:31 +0000

The 1975 Rockets had a slow pace, which hurt their PPG numbers. They had the league's best regular season Offensive Efficiency that year, 2nd in FG%, 2nd in FT%. In the playoffs, their offense was ridiculous, 8 points/100 possessions better than the league average. With a better defense, that team would have been dominant.

By: Jason J

Jason J — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:17:36 +0000

That poor '94 Sonics team... it is both impressive and sad that they rank so high on that list... Quick question: if the Sonics don't fall to Denver in the first round, do they beat Houston later in the playoffs? They did in '93. Kenny Smith has a theory that in the playoffs in the early 90s the Suns always beat the Sonics, the Sonics always beat the Rockets, and the Rockets always beat the Suns, and that it was more about matchups than overall talent between those clubs.

By: MCT

MCT — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:00:19 +0000

Looking at the teams near the top of each "All-Time Best" list, most were very good teams, and/or had a reputation as a very good offensive or defensive team (even if some couldn't put both sides together, and therefore may not have been a great team overall). One team jumps out at me as not obviously fitting this criteria, though: the '75 Rockets, who are #7 on the All-Time Best Offense list. They were a little before my time, but I don't remember ever seeing them identified as an offensive juggernaut. They had a .500 record. In terms of raw points scored, they ranked 6th in a 18-team league. They did have Rudy T. and Calvin Murphy; they seem like they would have been a pretty good offensive team, but not neccesarily a historically great one. What's the backstory that makes them rank so high?

By: Neil Paine

Neil Paine — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:22:41 +0000

I should do a post on "worst losses by a dominant club"... Everybody has to lose sometime, and for a force of nature like those Bulls, any loss is probably a "bad loss". But some are more embarrassing than others.

By: Jason J

Jason J — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:09:51 +0000

I believe those '96 Bulls have the highest average margin of victory ever. If I'm not mistaken the '97 Bulls have the second highest. Part of the reason for that is that the league was fairly top-heavy at the time (and if you look at other teams with total wins in the high-60s that tends to be true as well), but ironically that '96 team lost to expansion Toronto Raptors. One out of ten total losses came to a bottom feeder.