Biggest Elimination-Game Chokes by Win Shares
Posted by Neil Paine on April 29, 2010
After I posted a list of the Top 100 elimination-game performances by Win Shares since 1991 on Monday, several readers mentioned that they wanted to see the flip side of that, the biggest "chokes" in elimination games by Win Shares since '91. Well, here you go: the list of the 100 worst elimination-game performances by WS in the era for which we have box scores...
| Player | Date | Tm | Op | Rd | Mp | Ps | PP | ORt | %Ps | DRt | Fl% | Stp | St% | OWS | DWS | WS | W/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Garnett | 5/2/1998 | MIN | SEA | WC1 | 43 | 20.2 | 8.4 | 41.5 | 26.7 | 117.5 | 0.203 | 6.6 | 0.438 | -0.391 | -0.018 | -0.409 | L |
| Kenyon Martin | 6/15/2003 | NJN | SAS | FIN | 39 | 21.7 | 6.0 | 27.5 | 28.9 | 90.7 | 0.137 | 9.7 | 0.650 | -0.477 | 0.109 | -0.369 | L |
| Eric Snow | 5/3/2002 | PHI | BOS | EC1 | 28 | 12.2 | 7.3 | 60.0 | 26.9 | 155.1 | 0.277 | 3.1 | 0.337 | -0.165 | -0.152 | -0.317 | L |
| Tony Parker | 5/15/2004 | SAS | LAL | WCS | 39 | 18.8 | 9.2 | 48.9 | 27.5 | 110.5 | 0.247 | 4.8 | 0.350 | -0.294 | -0.019 | -0.314 | L |
| Michael Finley | 5/14/2001 | DAL | SAS | WCS | 39 | 13.0 | 3.8 | 29.3 | 17.3 | 116.9 | 0.146 | 5.8 | 0.385 | -0.281 | -0.020 | -0.300 | L |
| Kobe Bryant | 6/17/2008 | LAL | BOS | FIN | 43 | 26.7 | 21.0 | 78.6 | 31.8 | 141.7 | 0.323 | 5.5 | 0.326 | -0.166 | -0.133 | -0.299 | L |
| Karl Malone | 5/27/1999 | UTA | POR | WCS | 45 | 20.1 | 11.0 | 54.7 | 25.5 | 111.1 | 0.271 | 7.4 | 0.467 | -0.285 | -0.007 | -0.291 | L |
| Richard Hamilton | 4/26/2009 | DET | CLE | EC1 | 38 | 15.4 | 9.2 | 59.6 | 23.5 | 126.0 | 0.284 | 4.1 | 0.313 | -0.210 | -0.044 | -0.254 | L |
| Kobe Bryant | 5/15/2003 | LAL | SAS | WCS | 43 | 23.6 | 18.4 | 78.2 | 30.8 | 132.8 | 0.356 | 4.4 | 0.288 | -0.150 | -0.102 | -0.251 | L |
| Allan Houston | 6/2/2000 | NYK | IND | ECF | 40 | 17.4 | 9.7 | 55.4 | 23.8 | 113.2 | 0.275 | 5.4 | 0.367 | -0.240 | -0.003 | -0.243 | L |
| Matt Maloney | 5/29/1997 | HOU | UTA | WCF | 24 | 6.9 | 0.6 | 9.2 | 15.7 | 127.5 | 0.041 | 2.1 | 0.241 | -0.204 | -0.033 | -0.237 | L |
| Bobby Jackson | 5/2/2008 | HOU | UTA | WC1 | 26 | 11.0 | 5.8 | 52.6 | 24.2 | 130.2 | 0.235 | 4.4 | 0.487 | -0.176 | -0.044 | -0.220 | L |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 5/3/2007 | DAL | GSW | WC1 | 39 | 15.7 | 9.5 | 60.6 | 21.7 | 118.8 | 0.268 | 8.0 | 0.553 | -0.185 | -0.026 | -0.211 | L |
| Devin Harris | 5/22/2006 | DAL | SAS | WCS | 33 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 23.8 | 12.5 | 123.2 | 0.119 | 4.0 | 0.338 | -0.186 | -0.025 | -0.211 | W |
| Al Harrington | 5/1/2003 | IND | BOS | EC1 | 21 | 11.5 | 5.6 | 48.6 | 31.1 | 120.7 | 0.237 | 4.6 | 0.624 | -0.192 | -0.019 | -0.211 | L |
| Terry Teagle | 5/3/1992 | LAL | POR | WC1 | 34 | 15.0 | 6.1 | 40.4 | 22.8 | 103.2 | 0.208 | 8.3 | 0.628 | -0.278 | 0.067 | -0.211 | L |
| Rasheed Wallace | 4/26/2009 | DET | CLE | EC1 | 29 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 14.6 | 14.0 | 116.1 | 0.071 | 5.4 | 0.535 | -0.208 | 0.001 | -0.208 | L |
| Josh Smith | 5/4/2008 | ATL | BOS | EC1 | 28 | 13.6 | 7.1 | 52.4 | 28.3 | 111.5 | 0.265 | 6.1 | 0.631 | -0.222 | 0.015 | -0.207 | L |
| Glenn Robinson | 5/4/2000 | MIL | IND | EC1 | 31 | 17.3 | 10.7 | 61.8 | 30.6 | 114.1 | 0.308 | 4.3 | 0.381 | -0.201 | -0.006 | -0.207 | L |
| Rod Strickland | 5/5/1996 | POR | UTA | WC1 | 40 | 17.9 | 12.1 | 67.2 | 24.9 | 119.5 | 0.329 | 5.8 | 0.400 | -0.187 | -0.020 | -0.207 | L |
| Rasheed Wallace | 5/30/2008 | DET | BOS | ECF | 32 | 12.9 | 6.3 | 48.5 | 24.5 | 107.7 | 0.233 | 6.0 | 0.574 | -0.237 | 0.032 | -0.205 | L |
| Bob Sura | 5/7/2005 | HOU | DAL | WC1 | 25 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 8.0 | 10.2 | 138.2 | 0.038 | 2.8 | 0.308 | -0.140 | -0.065 | -0.205 | L |
| Jamal Mashburn | 5/21/2000 | MIA | NYK | ECS | 42 | 13.5 | 7.5 | 55.6 | 20.0 | 111.1 | 0.244 | 5.8 | 0.432 | -0.211 | 0.008 | -0.203 | L |
| Steve Nash | 4/29/2008 | PHO | SAS | WC1 | 38 | 19.2 | 11.2 | 58.5 | 26.8 | 106.0 | 0.257 | 5.5 | 0.383 | -0.246 | 0.046 | -0.200 | L |
| Patrick Ewing | 5/13/1998 | NYK | IND | ECS | 34 | 17.4 | 11.1 | 63.9 | 28.2 | 114.7 | 0.336 | 5.5 | 0.441 | -0.196 | -0.003 | -0.198 | L |
| Anfernee Hardaway | 5/2/1994 | ORL | IND | EC1 | 42 | 20.3 | 13.4 | 66.3 | 26.3 | 112.0 | 0.332 | 7.0 | 0.453 | -0.205 | 0.007 | -0.198 | L |
| Rudy Fernandez | 4/30/2009 | POR | HOU | WC1 | 41 | 8.7 | 3.2 | 37.3 | 12.7 | 117.4 | 0.182 | 6.0 | 0.436 | -0.193 | -0.005 | -0.198 | L |
| Clyde Drexler | 5/3/1998 | HOU | UTA | WC1 | 37 | 16.1 | 7.6 | 47.2 | 24.8 | 95.5 | 0.267 | 8.0 | 0.614 | -0.281 | 0.084 | -0.197 | L |
| Hot Rod Williams | 5/4/1995 | CLE | NYK | EC1 | 33 | 12.7 | 5.8 | 45.3 | 21.8 | 109.1 | 0.224 | 6.2 | 0.529 | -0.237 | 0.040 | -0.197 | L |
| Tony Parker | 5/19/2006 | SAS | DAL | WCS | 35 | 17.8 | 9.2 | 51.7 | 27.0 | 99.9 | 0.244 | 5.6 | 0.419 | -0.265 | 0.070 | -0.195 | W |
| Rasual Butler | 4/29/2009 | NOH | DEN | WC1 | 31 | 12.7 | 7.7 | 60.3 | 22.0 | 125.7 | 0.291 | 4.0 | 0.347 | -0.159 | -0.035 | -0.194 | L |
| Jason Terry | 5/3/2007 | DAL | GSW | WC1 | 35 | 16.9 | 12.5 | 74.4 | 25.5 | 129.0 | 0.337 | 4.4 | 0.331 | -0.123 | -0.068 | -0.191 | L |
| Stephen Jackson | 5/19/2005 | IND | DET | ECS | 39 | 13.6 | 7.5 | 55.1 | 21.1 | 110.6 | 0.270 | 6.4 | 0.500 | -0.217 | 0.027 | -0.191 | L |
| David Wesley | 5/7/2005 | HOU | DAL | WC1 | 41 | 10.0 | 6.5 | 64.9 | 13.6 | 131.5 | 0.288 | 6.8 | 0.458 | -0.114 | -0.074 | -0.188 | L |
| Vlade Divac | 5/3/1992 | LAL | POR | WC1 | 33 | 15.1 | 7.8 | 51.9 | 23.6 | 109.8 | 0.246 | 6.0 | 0.472 | -0.228 | 0.040 | -0.188 | L |
| DeShawn Stevenson | 4/30/2007 | WAS | CLE | EC1 | 22 | 7.0 | 0.5 | 7.6 | 17.0 | 105.5 | 0.035 | 4.8 | 0.584 | -0.208 | 0.021 | -0.187 | L |
| Chris Childs | 5/18/1997 | NYK | MIA | ECS | 37 | 15.2 | 8.6 | 56.3 | 21.6 | 111.5 | 0.252 | 6.8 | 0.481 | -0.205 | 0.020 | -0.185 | L |
| Clifford Robinson | 4/29/1998 | PHO | SAS | WC1 | 18 | 6.7 | 0.5 | 7.1 | 19.3 | 110.7 | 0.034 | 2.8 | 0.409 | -0.192 | 0.007 | -0.185 | L |
| Jason Kidd | 5/16/2000 | PHO | LAL | WCS | 39 | 15.8 | 7.9 | 49.9 | 22.2 | 99.5 | 0.215 | 7.4 | 0.516 | -0.248 | 0.063 | -0.184 | L |
| David Wesley | 5/4/2004 | NOH | MIA | EC1 | 38 | 11.2 | 3.5 | 31.7 | 16.1 | 96.2 | 0.149 | 7.4 | 0.534 | -0.236 | 0.053 | -0.184 | L |
| Nenad Krstic | 5/16/2006 | NJN | MIA | ECS | 29 | 7.5 | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.3 | 112.5 | 0.078 | 5.1 | 0.450 | -0.196 | 0.015 | -0.181 | L |
| Negele Knight | 5/5/1994 | SAS | UTA | WC1 | 29 | 13.7 | 8.6 | 63.1 | 27.5 | 117.9 | 0.303 | 3.7 | 0.369 | -0.164 | -0.016 | -0.180 | L |
| Lindsey Hunter | 4/29/2000 | DET | MIA | EC1 | 34 | 16.1 | 7.2 | 44.7 | 23.9 | 93.7 | 0.228 | 7.7 | 0.575 | -0.259 | 0.080 | -0.179 | L |
| Reggie Miller | 6/11/1999 | IND | NYK | ECF | 36 | 16.9 | 10.0 | 59.3 | 24.8 | 106.2 | 0.259 | 4.8 | 0.350 | -0.195 | 0.017 | -0.178 | L |
| Howard Eisley | 6/12/1998 | UTA | CHI | FIN | 11 | 5.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.6 | 97.3 | 0.000 | 2.3 | 0.629 | -0.200 | 0.023 | -0.178 | W |
| Reggie Miller | 5/29/1998 | IND | CHI | ECF | 41 | 11.6 | 7.2 | 61.9 | 17.3 | 118.8 | 0.248 | 4.5 | 0.339 | -0.153 | -0.024 | -0.177 | W |
| Andrew Lang | 5/19/1994 | ATL | IND | ECS | 29 | 12.8 | 7.7 | 60.4 | 24.9 | 118.0 | 0.278 | 3.9 | 0.383 | -0.161 | -0.016 | -0.177 | L |
| Mo Williams | 5/3/2006 | MIL | DET | EC1 | 19 | 9.0 | 4.8 | 54.0 | 25.5 | 137.8 | 0.269 | 2.4 | 0.336 | -0.130 | -0.047 | -0.176 | L |
| Chuck Person | 5/16/1996 | SAS | UTA | WCS | 31 | 5.9 | 3.0 | 51.3 | 11.2 | 136.2 | 0.180 | 3.0 | 0.287 | -0.098 | -0.078 | -0.176 | L |
| Allan Houston | 5/21/2000 | NYK | MIA | ECS | 42 | 9.6 | 4.8 | 49.7 | 14.4 | 113.0 | 0.238 | 4.5 | 0.335 | -0.173 | -0.003 | -0.176 | W |
| Jason Kidd | 5/20/2004 | NJN | DET | ECS | 43 | 10.2 | 3.1 | 30.1 | 12.9 | 98.8 | 0.142 | 9.7 | 0.613 | -0.220 | 0.045 | -0.175 | L |
| Muggsy Bogues | 5/4/1995 | CHH | CHI | EC1 | 33 | 12.6 | 6.0 | 47.2 | 22.0 | 104.6 | 0.231 | 5.4 | 0.466 | -0.231 | 0.057 | -0.174 | L |
| Ricky Davis | 4/25/2004 | BOS | IND | EC1 | 27 | 11.5 | 5.4 | 47.1 | 22.8 | 106.0 | 0.195 | 4.1 | 0.411 | -0.176 | 0.003 | -0.174 | L |
| Sam Cassell | 5/22/2006 | LAC | PHO | WCS | 39 | 14.2 | 13.0 | 91.9 | 19.7 | 146.5 | 0.459 | 4.7 | 0.323 | -0.036 | -0.138 | -0.174 | L |
| LeBron James | 6/14/2007 | CLE | SAS | FIN | 46 | 33.3 | 25.1 | 75.5 | 40.4 | 101.1 | 0.354 | 7.2 | 0.439 | -0.244 | 0.070 | -0.173 | L |
| Chris Webber | 5/3/2005 | PHI | DET | EC1 | 41 | 19.9 | 13.3 | 66.8 | 27.6 | 107.0 | 0.345 | 6.2 | 0.432 | -0.219 | 0.046 | -0.173 | L |
| Dominique Wilkins | 5/5/1991 | ATL | DET | EC1 | 30 | 15.2 | 8.7 | 56.8 | 25.2 | 111.8 | 0.272 | 6.8 | 0.559 | -0.199 | 0.028 | -0.171 | L |
| Gary Payton | 5/22/1993 | SEA | HOU | WCS | 35 | 10.1 | 5.2 | 52.0 | 17.4 | 116.4 | 0.267 | 4.7 | 0.404 | -0.171 | 0.000 | -0.170 | W |
| Jerry Stackhouse | 5/14/2002 | DET | BOS | ECS | 34 | 17.1 | 10.4 | 61.1 | 27.5 | 104.7 | 0.244 | 6.0 | 0.483 | -0.198 | 0.029 | -0.169 | L |
| Wesley Person | 5/3/1996 | PHO | SAS | WC1 | 45 | 9.3 | 7.0 | 75.7 | 11.3 | 133.4 | 0.332 | 6.0 | 0.363 | -0.070 | -0.099 | -0.168 | L |
| Brad Miller | 5/5/2006 | SAC | SAS | WC1 | 19 | 8.1 | 3.2 | 39.4 | 23.5 | 121.2 | 0.184 | 2.8 | 0.400 | -0.157 | -0.010 | -0.167 | L |
| Shane Battier | 5/2/2008 | HOU | UTA | WC1 | 42 | 8.2 | 6.5 | 79.4 | 11.1 | 137.7 | 0.336 | 4.7 | 0.319 | -0.055 | -0.110 | -0.165 | L |
| Voshon Lenard | 5/28/1997 | MIA | CHI | ECF | 41 | 11.0 | 7.9 | 71.8 | 15.9 | 127.8 | 0.294 | 4.1 | 0.296 | -0.106 | -0.058 | -0.165 | L |
| Chris Gatling | 5/1/1996 | MIA | CHI | EC1 | 20 | 8.3 | 4.2 | 50.6 | 23.0 | 127.6 | 0.263 | 3.3 | 0.455 | -0.132 | -0.030 | -0.162 | L |
| Wally Szczerbiak | 5/18/2008 | CLE | BOS | ECS | 15 | 4.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.4 | 123.4 | 0.000 | 1.7 | 0.333 | -0.148 | -0.014 | -0.162 | L |
| Desmond Mason | 5/3/2002 | SEA | SAS | WC1 | 43 | 13.3 | 9.1 | 68.3 | 18.1 | 117.4 | 0.342 | 8.3 | 0.563 | -0.130 | -0.032 | -0.162 | L |
| Karl Malone | 4/29/2002 | UTA | SAC | WC1 | 41 | 18.3 | 12.7 | 69.5 | 24.9 | 111.1 | 0.345 | 5.7 | 0.391 | -0.163 | 0.002 | -0.161 | L |
| Willie Anderson | 5/3/1991 | SAS | GSW | WC1 | 35 | 14.9 | 9.1 | 60.8 | 20.9 | 115.8 | 0.304 | 5.6 | 0.392 | -0.176 | 0.016 | -0.160 | L |
| Rik Smits | 6/19/2000 | IND | LAL | FIN | 25 | 8.2 | 4.2 | 50.4 | 17.3 | 124.5 | 0.233 | 4.4 | 0.467 | -0.122 | -0.037 | -0.159 | L |
| Thaddeus Young | 4/30/2009 | PHI | ORL | EC1 | 41 | 10.8 | 8.2 | 75.6 | 14.3 | 131.8 | 0.371 | 5.5 | 0.363 | -0.082 | -0.076 | -0.159 | L |
| John Starks | 6/22/1994 | NYK | HOU | FIN | 42 | 14.1 | 8.7 | 61.9 | 19.2 | 110.9 | 0.281 | 5.9 | 0.398 | -0.171 | 0.013 | -0.158 | L |
| Stephen Jackson | 4/26/2010 | CHA | ORL | EC1 | 39 | 17.7 | 13.2 | 75.0 | 25.9 | 119.0 | 0.360 | 6.0 | 0.442 | -0.149 | -0.009 | -0.158 | L |
| Xavier McDaniel | 5/17/1992 | NYK | CHI | ECS | 42 | 15.0 | 12.8 | 85.4 | 20.6 | 135.3 | 0.412 | 4.0 | 0.272 | -0.085 | -0.073 | -0.158 | L |
| Anthony Carter | 4/27/2001 | MIA | CHH | EC1 | 17 | 11.0 | 5.8 | 53.1 | 35.9 | 110.0 | 0.257 | 2.7 | 0.443 | -0.163 | 0.006 | -0.157 | L |
| Marcus Camby | 5/2/2007 | DEN | SAS | WC1 | 36 | 13.3 | 6.5 | 49.1 | 21.7 | 97.5 | 0.234 | 10.2 | 0.837 | -0.226 | 0.070 | -0.157 | L |
| John Starks | 6/4/1993 | NYK | CHI | ECF | 44 | 18.2 | 14.2 | 77.6 | 24.0 | 120.5 | 0.376 | 5.4 | 0.356 | -0.136 | -0.021 | -0.156 | L |
| Jason Terry | 5/13/2009 | DAL | DEN | WCS | 34 | 12.0 | 9.5 | 78.9 | 19.0 | 135.7 | 0.291 | 5.5 | 0.432 | -0.078 | -0.079 | -0.156 | L |
| Robert Pack | 5/21/1994 | DEN | UTA | WCS | 25 | 12.3 | 8.0 | 64.9 | 29.3 | 117.7 | 0.323 | 2.9 | 0.352 | -0.142 | -0.013 | -0.156 | L |
| Scottie Pippen | 4/29/2001 | POR | LAL | WC1 | 37 | 14.1 | 7.3 | 51.4 | 19.6 | 102.4 | 0.247 | 8.3 | 0.579 | -0.202 | 0.048 | -0.154 | L |
| Buck Williams | 5/5/1996 | POR | UTA | WC1 | 30 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 42.1 | 11.9 | 124.2 | 0.206 | 3.1 | 0.286 | -0.121 | -0.032 | -0.154 | L |
| Chauncey Billups | 6/2/2006 | DET | MIA | ECF | 41 | 15.8 | 11.3 | 71.8 | 22.6 | 117.2 | 0.347 | 5.6 | 0.400 | -0.151 | -0.001 | -0.153 | L |
| Kevin Johnson | 5/3/1997 | PHO | SEA | WC1 | 44 | 24.8 | 20.8 | 84.1 | 29.5 | 123.1 | 0.382 | 8.5 | 0.505 | -0.115 | -0.038 | -0.153 | L |
| Cedric Henderson | 4/30/1998 | CLE | IND | EC1 | 35 | 12.5 | 5.6 | 44.8 | 21.0 | 94.6 | 0.240 | 7.5 | 0.627 | -0.236 | 0.083 | -0.152 | L |
| Stephon Marbury | 5/2/1998 | MIN | SEA | WC1 | 46 | 16.2 | 11.1 | 68.1 | 20.1 | 111.9 | 0.303 | 9.1 | 0.559 | -0.164 | 0.012 | -0.152 | L |
| Vladimir Radmanovic | 5/3/2002 | SEA | SAS | WC1 | 36 | 10.9 | 7.9 | 71.7 | 17.8 | 124.5 | 0.311 | 4.9 | 0.399 | -0.093 | -0.059 | -0.152 | L |
| Andre Miller | 5/1/2008 | PHI | DET | EC1 | 34 | 13.2 | 10.4 | 78.9 | 22.6 | 130.3 | 0.393 | 3.0 | 0.260 | -0.093 | -0.059 | -0.152 | L |
| Pau Gasol | 6/17/2008 | LAL | BOS | FIN | 32 | 13.1 | 10.6 | 80.9 | 20.6 | 136.3 | 0.397 | 5.7 | 0.445 | -0.072 | -0.079 | -0.152 | L |
| Steve Smith | 5/13/1997 | ATL | CHI | ECS | 43 | 18.4 | 16.3 | 88.5 | 23.6 | 133.1 | 0.386 | 3.5 | 0.228 | -0.063 | -0.089 | -0.152 | L |
| Isaiah Rider | 6/6/1999 | POR | SAS | WCF | 39 | 13.6 | 10.8 | 79.6 | 21.8 | 124.6 | 0.382 | 4.8 | 0.381 | -0.076 | -0.073 | -0.149 | L |
| Tim Hardaway | 5/1/1996 | MIA | CHI | EC1 | 38 | 16.2 | 14.5 | 89.7 | 23.7 | 137.4 | 0.391 | 3.2 | 0.230 | -0.046 | -0.102 | -0.148 | L |
| Rasheed Wallace | 4/29/2001 | POR | LAL | WC1 | 46 | 18.5 | 11.7 | 63.5 | 20.6 | 105.0 | 0.314 | 9.2 | 0.515 | -0.193 | 0.045 | -0.148 | L |
| Fred Jones | 5/4/2006 | IND | NJN | EC1 | 27 | 5.8 | 1.2 | 19.9 | 12.6 | 113.1 | 0.090 | 5.0 | 0.543 | -0.159 | 0.012 | -0.147 | L |
| Mark Price | 5/29/1992 | CLE | CHI | ECF | 38 | 21.0 | 16.0 | 76.3 | 29.3 | 115.2 | 0.359 | 4.8 | 0.334 | -0.169 | 0.023 | -0.146 | L |
| Richard Hamilton | 5/24/2003 | DET | NJN | ECF | 41 | 23.7 | 20.1 | 84.8 | 32.2 | 123.4 | 0.393 | 4.7 | 0.321 | -0.096 | -0.050 | -0.146 | L |
| Jamal Mashburn | 5/3/1998 | MIA | NYK | EC1 | 41 | 20.7 | 15.8 | 76.2 | 27.9 | 113.6 | 0.352 | 6.7 | 0.452 | -0.147 | 0.002 | -0.144 | L |
| Aaron McKie | 5/4/1997 | DET | ATL | EC1 | 11 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 9.6 | 26.6 | 105.6 | 0.044 | 1.9 | 0.520 | -0.158 | 0.014 | -0.144 | L |
| Roger Mason | 5/2/2008 | WAS | CLE | EC1 | 30 | 8.0 | 6.4 | 79.8 | 15.8 | 140.2 | 0.344 | 2.1 | 0.206 | -0.055 | -0.089 | -0.144 | L |
| Joe Dumars | 5/16/1999 | DET | ATL | EC1 | 32 | 8.9 | 5.0 | 55.9 | 17.3 | 112.2 | 0.227 | 4.8 | 0.466 | -0.133 | -0.009 | -0.142 | L |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 5/3/1998 | HOU | UTA | WC1 | 42 | 21.8 | 14.7 | 67.7 | 29.6 | 97.9 | 0.347 | 8.2 | 0.553 | -0.225 | 0.083 | -0.142 | L |
| Eddie House | 4/27/2001 | MIA | CHH | EC1 | 31 | 17.2 | 12.3 | 71.5 | 30.8 | 111.8 | 0.330 | 4.5 | 0.399 | -0.146 | 0.004 | -0.142 | L |
One interesting note is that John Starks' infamous Game 7 performance from the 1994 Finals is actually pretty far down the list (#71). Why? We all remember Starks' hideous 2-for-18 line (0-11 3Pt), but he actually only used 14.1 possessions when you take into account who passed him the ball and New York's 14 offensive rebounds, and he produced 8.7 points with his scoring, passing, and rebounding. An offensive rating of 61.9 in the biggest game of your life is still terrible, mind you, but there have definitely been worse performances in the Finals according to WS (Kobe Bryant's disastrous Game 6 vs. Boston in 2008, for instance), even though history will always judge Starks more harshly.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
The way the buzz went back in the 1990's, you would have expected to see David Robinson three or four times on this list.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
I'm surprised Pippen's 1990 migraine game didn't make the list. Don't recall the stats, but he really had a tough time. Also remember Kobe in '98 against Utah had a goddawful game 4, but maybe it wasn't really that bad.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
3 for 23 by Kenyon Martin!
Maybe he should have stopped shooting...
April 29th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Surprised that Allen Iverson isn't on here at all (not that I can point to a specific game tho)
April 29th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Just noticed that 1997 Matt Maloney sighting... That Rockets team gets trashed a little for not making the finals with Clyde, Dream, and Chuck, but if you take a look at the Stockton v. Maloney matchup for that game (and series), it becomes very clear where the Jazz took the victory.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199705290HOU.html
Poor Matt was a serviceable back-up forced to play the starter role against GP and then Stock in back to back series (though Glove mostly cover Drexler is memory serves).
Also of note - Kenyon Martin was playing on a bad wheel against Duncan at his apex, when Timmy humiliated him.
April 29th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
I'm surprised at how many stars there are on this list, but I suppose if your 4th or 5th best player is stinking out the join you bench him before too much damage is done.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
A lot of these definitely had extenuating circumstances. And like Downpuppy said, stars (or at least starters) are predisposed to appearing on this list because the coach allows them to continue sucking for 30+ minutes. If a lesser player started out 1 for 6 with 2 turnovers or whatever, he'd get yanked, but when someone like Kobe does it, the coach knows it's uncharacteristic and hopes he'll eventually turn it around. If you pull Kobe after a cold start, maybe you reduce the chances of having one of these team-killing games, but you also reduce the chances of him getting hot again and dominating. Is it better to have a cold player who has a nontrivial chance of getting hot again soon, or a known mediocrity that won't go 6 for 23 and get you blown out, but also has no chance of playing well?
April 29th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
What I find interesting is that a number of the players on this list also appear on the best elimination game performances list, too.
The point, as I see it, is that we shouldn't be too quick to brand a player as a hero or a goat based on just one or two big games; it may be that their next big game will be as bad as the last big game was good (or vice versa).
April 30th, 2010 at 5:26 am
Wow. Kobe twice on the list in the top 10 alone.
April 30th, 2010 at 9:10 am
I guess advanced stats (and regular stats as well for that matter) will say Nowitzki had a highly efficient game 6 last night facing elimination against the Spurs. 33 pts on 38 minutes, 13/21 from the field, just one turnover.
And yet this will fail to capture how stupidly he put himself in foul trouble in the 1st half with two frustation fouls on George Hill.
May 1st, 2010 at 7:11 am
Did Durant just push his way onto the list Neil, or did his free throw shooting save the day for him?
May 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 pm
One-game play may be fairly random, but for the duration of a playoff series, it seems that player's have their good and bad series.
Any chance you could do WS per game over the course of a series, and rank these?
First-round, 2nd, Conf. finals and Finals?
Listing also players' regular-season WS (per game or per minute) ?
Ultimately, having these plus playoff opponent RS W% (or Pyth%), we could get a measure of Playoff-minus-Season records for players. Relative to the stiffer competition in the playoffs.
In the season, the average opponent is about .500 . In playoffs it's generally over .600, but it varies by matchup. Wouldn't a player's playoff WS/Min expect to be only .500/W% of his RS rate?
May 4th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
larry bird is a great player.
May 4th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
larry bird did doa good job.
May 4th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
I love Larry Bird!
(But what does that have to do with this post?)