2014 NBA PLAYOFFS: MOST IMPRESSIVE STATISTICS IN THE FIRST ROUND.

Most impressive "ATTACK / EFFICIENCY / DEFENSE" players statistics in the 2014 NBA PLAYOFFS: First round.

A. ATTACK/EFFICIENCY.

The most exciting part of the year in “planet basket” has begun with the playoffs in NBA. It’s time to look at the most impressive statistics so far after the first round.

As usual, I began with my benchmark of "all around/versatile player" (a similar benchmark to the one used to determine my G.O.A.T/per decade, while less focused on defense and efficiency; see my article: What do the statistics say about who should be the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T)? PART 1.).

A special mention must be made to 2 players in this first round.

Firstly, LEBRON JAMES is the only one to play a game (a) with at least 30 Pts, 10 Rbs, 5 Ast and a field goal % above 50%. By doing this, he joins the top 3 of an illustrious list of players that did it in the playoffs since 1986 (among the best to ever play; data available only since 1986 for games).

a. From 1986 to 2014, in the playoffs, requiring Points >= 30 and Total Rebounds >= 10 and Assists >= 5 and Field Goal Pct >= 0.5, sorted by most games matching criteria (link to the full data).

Rk	Player	From	To	Count
1	Charles Barkley	1986	1999	10
2	Shaquille O'Neal	1995	2006	10
3	Tim Duncan	2002	2008	8
4	LeBron James	2009	2014	8
5	Michael Jordan	1989	1997	8
6	Hakeem Olajuwon	1987	1997	7
7	Karl Malone	1994	1998	6
8	Larry Bird	1986	1987	4
9	Patrick Ewing	1990	1993	4
10	Carlos Boozer	2007	2010	3
11	Kevin Durant	2012	2013	3
12	Dirk Nowitzki	2006	2009	3
13	Dwyane Wade	2006	2011	3
14	Magic Johnson	1987	1991	2
15	Paul Pierce	2003	2010	2

Secondly, TIM BUNCAN became only the third player (aged 37 and more) in the history of NBA playoffs to average (b) at least 17 Pts, 8 Rbs, 1 Ast with a TS% above 52.5%.

b. In the playoffs; from 1946-47 to 2013-14; age 37 or older; requiring Points Per Game >= 17 and Rebounds Per Game >= 8 and Assists Per Game >= 1 and True Shooting Pct >= 0.525.

				Per Game
Player	Season	Age	G	MP	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS ▾	2P%	FT%	TS%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1984-85	37	19	32.1	8.1	4.0	1.2	1.9	2.7	3.5	21.9	.560	.777	.602
Tim Duncan	2013-14	37	7	34.9	8.4	1.3	0.1	1.9	0.7	2.6	17.3	.580	.731	.608
Robert Parish	1992-93	39	4	36.5	9.5	1.3	0.3	1.5	1.5	3.5	17.0	.544	.857	.566

I then screened (c) the most efficient shooters so far in playoffs (see my article on the best efficient shooters ever in NBA history in the regular season). 

c. In 2014, in the playoffs, requiring 2-PT Field Goal Pct >= 0.5 and 3-Pt Field Goal Pct >= 0.4 and Free Throw Pct >= 0.9 and Minutes Played >= 30, sorted by most games matching criteria.

Rk	Player	Pos	From	To	Count
1	Joe Johnson	G	2014	2014	2
2	Paul Pierce	F	2014	2014	2
3	Bradley Beal	G	2014	2014	1
4	Norris Cole	G	2014	2014	1
5	Mike Conley	G	2014	2014	1
6	Monta Ellis	G	2014	2014	1
7	Paul George	F	2014	2014	1
8	Danny Green	F	2014	2014	1
9	James Harden	G	2014	2014	1
10	Serge Ibaka	F	2014	2014	1
11	Andre Iguodala	G	2014	2014	1
12	Reggie Jackson	G	2014	2014	1
13	LeBron James	F	2014	2014	1
14	Kyle Korver	F	2014	2014	1
15	Courtney Lee	G	2014	2014	1
16	Damian Lillard	G	2014	2014	1
17	Jeremy Lin	G	2014	2014	1
18	Shawn Marion	F	2014	2014	1
19	Paul Millsap	F	2014	2014	1
20	J.J. Redick	G	2014	2014	1

B. DEFENSE.

On defense, I focused on 2 different sets of data. The first one (a) looks at player impact on opponents points (a global view of the impact of the defense), defensive player impact on opponents’ offensive rebounds (the fewer offensive rebounds, the less second chance points by opponents) and opponents' field goal % (a good defense imply a lower field goal %). Finally, I screened (b) individual statistics specific to defense (defensive rebounds, steals and blocks).

Here to, a special mention must be made to Tim Duncan, who at age 38, appeared in my 2 different sets of statistics.

a. Per 48 minutes, in 2013-14, in the playoffs, requiring Opponent Offensive Rebounds <= 10 and Opponent Field Goal Pct <= 0.35 and Opponent Points <= 80 and Minutes Played >= 30, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.

Rk	Player	Season	Count
1	Alan Anderson	2013-14	1
2	Tim Duncan	2013-14	1
3	Kevin Durant	2013-14	1
4	Tony Parker	2013-14	1
5	Deron Williams	2013-14	1

b. In 2014, in the playoffs, requiring Defensive Rebounds >= 6 and Blocks >= 1 and Steals >= 1 and Minutes Played >= 30, sorted by most games matching criteria.

Rk	Player	Count
1	Kevin Durant	3
2	Marc Gasol	3
3	Draymond Green	3
4	Dwight Howard	3
5	Paul Millsap	3
6	LaMarcus Aldridge	2
7	Trevor Ariza	2
8	Nene Hilario	2
9	Serge Ibaka	2
10	DeAndre Jordan	2
11	Joakim Noah	2
12	Nicolas Batum	1
13	Stephen Curry	1
14	DeMar DeRozan	1
15	Tim Duncan	1
16	Paul George	1
17	Marcin Gortat	1
18	Andre Iguodala	1
19	Reggie Jackson	1
20	LeBron James	1
21	Al Jefferson	1
22	Terrence Jones	1
23	Robin Lopez	1
24	Josh McRoberts	1
25	Dirk Nowitzki	1
26	Chandler Parsons	1
27	Kendrick Perkins	1
28	Paul Pierce	1
29	David West	1
30	Russell Westbrook	1

Source: www.basketball-reference.com. 

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