Playoff Tune-In Tidbits: September 4, 2020

Get ready for Friday’s playoff doubleheader with five key stats to know about each matchup. The action begins with Game 3 between the Bucks and Heat and followed by Game 1 between the Rockets and Lakers on NBA League Pass.


Game 3: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat (MIA Leads 2-0), 6:30 ET, NBA League Pass

  • The Heat had seven players score in double figures in Game 2, led by Goran Dragic’s 23 points. Between the regular season and playoffs, the Heat are 16-4 when Dragic scores at least 20 points, with three of those wins coming against Milwaukee.
  • The Bucks outscored the Heat by 18 points in the 33 minutes that Khris Middleton was on the court in Game 2. The Bucks were outscored by 20 points in the 15 minutes he was off the court.
  • Miami has opened the playoffs with six straight wins for the third time in franchise history, matching the streak from the 2014 playoffs as the defending champs (an eight game win streak spanning the two seasons), and two behind the longest single-postseason streak in team history by the 2005 Heat, who swept the first two rounds fo the postseason.
  • Of the 37 players in the postseason that have at least 25 catch-and-shoots attempts, this series features four of the top 11 players in effective field goal percentage: Goran Dragic (1st, 78.6%), Kyle Korver (5th, 71.2%), Duncan Robinson (7th, 65.6%) and Khris Middleton (11th, 63.0%).
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 23.5 points on 53.3% FG%, 33.3% 3P and 52.0 FT% shooting; those numbers are down dramatically from the opening round against Orlando (30.6 PPG, 59.0% FG, 38.5% 3P and 62.5% FT. Giannis is shooting 12-16 (75%) inside of five feet in this series, but is just 4-14 (28.6%) outside of five feet.

Game 1: Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 9:00 ET, NBA League Pass

  • The Rockets were one of only three teams (and only Western Conference team) to win the season series with the Lakers during the regular season, taking two of the three games. Russell Westbrook appeared in two of those games and averaged 38 points on 62.7% shooting.
  • Anthony Davis and LeBron James each appeared in two of the three meetings with the Rockets this season and both averaged 24.5 points. James added 13.5 assists (his second-highest average against any opponent) for an average of 32.5 points created for the Lakers.
  • Of the 27 five-man lineups that have played at least 25 minutes together in the playoffs, the Lakers’ five-man group of LeBron James, JaVale McGee, Danny Green, Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has the highest offensive rating (134.4) and net rating (32.0) in 61 minutes together on the court.
  • Of the 48 players with at least 5 isolation possessions in the postseason, LeBron James has the highest FG% (68.8%) and eFG% (84.4%). On 21 isolations, LeBron has scored 32 points on 11-16 shooting for an average of 1.56 points per possession. James Harden leads all players with 76 isolation possessions and is scoring 1.07 points per possession, which is down slightly from his 1.12 during the regular season.
  • The Lakers (21.2 PPG) and Rockets (20.0 PPG) rank first and second in points off turnovers in the playoffs, and ranked third and fourth, respectively, during the regular season. The Rockets have limited their turnovers (12.5% TOV%, 4th) better than the Lakers (14.6%, 12th) during the playoffs.

Next Article

Mike Woodson Returns To Knicks As Assistant On Tom Thibodeau’s Staff