duncan228
05-26-2009, 03:06 PM
It has been fun so far.
The Count: Four Thrillers in Four Nights (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/05/26/the-count-four-thrillers-in-four-nights/)
By Carl Bialik
Wall Street Journal
If it seemed like there had never been four days of NBA basketball like fans enjoyed as the conference finals started last week, that’s because there haven’t been. The first two games in both the Eastern and Western Conference finals weren’t decided until the final possession, and the final margin in each game was three points or fewer, with a total margin for the four games of seven points.
Only during the conference finals are there games of such import each day. Earlier rounds are played for lower stakes — that classic Bulls-Celtics series (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/05/06/the-count-not-all-7-game-series-are-classics/)matters less now that both teams are eliminated — and the finals defuse tension with days off. And only once before, since 1951, have two conference finals both started with two games decided by five points or fewer. That was 10 years ago, when in the four days starting on May 29, 1999, San Antonio won its first games by four points and one point over Portland, and New York and Indiana split their first two games with final margins of three points and two points. But the Spurs went on to sweep, while the two series this year each started with splits. And the total margin in those four games was 10 points.
Aside from this year and 1999, just eight conference finals have started with two games decided by five points or fewer, and all were paired with less exciting openers in the other conference. The 1995 Eastern Conference finals sustained close play the longest, with all five opening games between the Pacers and Magic decided by five points or fewer.
That series, and the Nuggets’ rout of the Lakers (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/05/26/rugged-nuggets-keep-pushing-la-around/) on Monday, demonstrated that close games early in a series don’t necessarily augur close games later on. The Pacers won Game 6 in 1995 by 27 points, then the Magic won the finale by 24 points. Even more dramatically, the St. Louis Hawks in 1958 won their first two Western Division finals games against the Pistons by three points apiece, then were routed by 20 in Game 3 and came back to win the last two by a combined 68 points.
Four days with four close conference finals games later in the series might top the four games last week, but that’s never happened. That’s partly because such games are, in general, rare, even in a high-stakes playoff series featuring two of the league’s best teams. And it’s also partly because before the mid-1990s, conference finals weren’t always staggered to ensure that most days featured games. As a result, we’ve lost the occasional doubleheader of thrilling conference finals games but gained the possibility of four straight days of thrillers.
All historical playoff scores via Basketball Reference (http://www.basketball-reference.com/).
The Count: Four Thrillers in Four Nights (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/05/26/the-count-four-thrillers-in-four-nights/)
By Carl Bialik
Wall Street Journal
If it seemed like there had never been four days of NBA basketball like fans enjoyed as the conference finals started last week, that’s because there haven’t been. The first two games in both the Eastern and Western Conference finals weren’t decided until the final possession, and the final margin in each game was three points or fewer, with a total margin for the four games of seven points.
Only during the conference finals are there games of such import each day. Earlier rounds are played for lower stakes — that classic Bulls-Celtics series (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/05/06/the-count-not-all-7-game-series-are-classics/)matters less now that both teams are eliminated — and the finals defuse tension with days off. And only once before, since 1951, have two conference finals both started with two games decided by five points or fewer. That was 10 years ago, when in the four days starting on May 29, 1999, San Antonio won its first games by four points and one point over Portland, and New York and Indiana split their first two games with final margins of three points and two points. But the Spurs went on to sweep, while the two series this year each started with splits. And the total margin in those four games was 10 points.
Aside from this year and 1999, just eight conference finals have started with two games decided by five points or fewer, and all were paired with less exciting openers in the other conference. The 1995 Eastern Conference finals sustained close play the longest, with all five opening games between the Pacers and Magic decided by five points or fewer.
That series, and the Nuggets’ rout of the Lakers (http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/05/26/rugged-nuggets-keep-pushing-la-around/) on Monday, demonstrated that close games early in a series don’t necessarily augur close games later on. The Pacers won Game 6 in 1995 by 27 points, then the Magic won the finale by 24 points. Even more dramatically, the St. Louis Hawks in 1958 won their first two Western Division finals games against the Pistons by three points apiece, then were routed by 20 in Game 3 and came back to win the last two by a combined 68 points.
Four days with four close conference finals games later in the series might top the four games last week, but that’s never happened. That’s partly because such games are, in general, rare, even in a high-stakes playoff series featuring two of the league’s best teams. And it’s also partly because before the mid-1990s, conference finals weren’t always staggered to ensure that most days featured games. As a result, we’ve lost the occasional doubleheader of thrilling conference finals games but gained the possibility of four straight days of thrillers.
All historical playoff scores via Basketball Reference (http://www.basketball-reference.com/).