Rummpd
06-16-2014, 12:55 PM
This rematch of a classic, seven-game NBA Finals was supposed to be another thriller. Instead, we got a rout.
And while the 2014 Finals won't go down in history as one of the most exciting or dramatic championship series, the San Antonio Spurs' performance in their five-game series win over the Miami Heat should be remembered as the most dominant Finals performance ever.
Here's a look at a variety of eye-popping statistics that underscore San Antonio's dominance.
Hyper-efficient offense
We start where the Spurs' victory began: at the offensive end of the floor. With its ball movement and outside shooting, San Antonio put on a clinic at times, particularly in the first half of Game 3. The Spurs ended up with a 124.0 offensive rating for the series, the best by any team in a Finals dating back to 1978 (the first year for which Basketball-Reference.com has turnovers by series).
BEST FINALS OFFENSIVE RATINGS
Year Team Opp ORtg
2014 SAS MIA 124.0
1989 DET LAL 122.1
1995 HOU ORL 121.1
2002 LAL NJN 120.0
1987 LAL BOS 119.5
2000 IND LAL 118.2
2012 MIA OKC 117.6
1991 CHI LAL 116.7
San Antonio's .528 shooting percentage was an NBA Finals record, but that doesn't tell the whole story of how well the Spurs shot the ball. They made 55 3-pointers -- more than any team has ever made in a Finals of fewer than seven games -- and shot them at a 46.6 percent clip.
Effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the additional value of 3s by treating them as 1.5 field goals, does a better job of capturing San Antonio's efficient shooting. The Spurs' 60.4 percent mark blew away the previous record (55.5 percent by the 2002 Lakers).
In addition to cruising to their victories, with an air-conditioning (or lack thereof) boost in Game 1, the Spurs also suffered their only loss by the narrow margin of two points. As a result, per Basketball-Reference.com, their plus-70 point differential (plus-14.0 points per game) was the largest ever in a Finals, surpassing the 12.6 points per game by which the Boston Celtics outscored the Los Angeles Lakers in 1965, another five-game series. (The most lopsided sweep saw the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks outscore the Baltimore Bullets by 12.3 points per game.)
The case for San Antonio remains strong when we take the opposition into account. Even though this season's Heat weren't as effective in the regular season as their championship predecessors, the Spurs still beat them by 17.9 points per game more than we'd expect from an average opponent, accounting for their extra home game. That's the best adjusted Finals point differential in league history, ahead of the 1991 Chicago Bulls beating a good Lakers team by 9.8 points per game despite playing more games on the road. :ihit:lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt:
Rest at: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11091118/san-antonio-spurs-put-most-dominant-finals-performance-ever-2014-nba-finals
And while the 2014 Finals won't go down in history as one of the most exciting or dramatic championship series, the San Antonio Spurs' performance in their five-game series win over the Miami Heat should be remembered as the most dominant Finals performance ever.
Here's a look at a variety of eye-popping statistics that underscore San Antonio's dominance.
Hyper-efficient offense
We start where the Spurs' victory began: at the offensive end of the floor. With its ball movement and outside shooting, San Antonio put on a clinic at times, particularly in the first half of Game 3. The Spurs ended up with a 124.0 offensive rating for the series, the best by any team in a Finals dating back to 1978 (the first year for which Basketball-Reference.com has turnovers by series).
BEST FINALS OFFENSIVE RATINGS
Year Team Opp ORtg
2014 SAS MIA 124.0
1989 DET LAL 122.1
1995 HOU ORL 121.1
2002 LAL NJN 120.0
1987 LAL BOS 119.5
2000 IND LAL 118.2
2012 MIA OKC 117.6
1991 CHI LAL 116.7
San Antonio's .528 shooting percentage was an NBA Finals record, but that doesn't tell the whole story of how well the Spurs shot the ball. They made 55 3-pointers -- more than any team has ever made in a Finals of fewer than seven games -- and shot them at a 46.6 percent clip.
Effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the additional value of 3s by treating them as 1.5 field goals, does a better job of capturing San Antonio's efficient shooting. The Spurs' 60.4 percent mark blew away the previous record (55.5 percent by the 2002 Lakers).
In addition to cruising to their victories, with an air-conditioning (or lack thereof) boost in Game 1, the Spurs also suffered their only loss by the narrow margin of two points. As a result, per Basketball-Reference.com, their plus-70 point differential (plus-14.0 points per game) was the largest ever in a Finals, surpassing the 12.6 points per game by which the Boston Celtics outscored the Los Angeles Lakers in 1965, another five-game series. (The most lopsided sweep saw the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks outscore the Baltimore Bullets by 12.3 points per game.)
The case for San Antonio remains strong when we take the opposition into account. Even though this season's Heat weren't as effective in the regular season as their championship predecessors, the Spurs still beat them by 17.9 points per game more than we'd expect from an average opponent, accounting for their extra home game. That's the best adjusted Finals point differential in league history, ahead of the 1991 Chicago Bulls beating a good Lakers team by 9.8 points per game despite playing more games on the road. :ihit:lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt:
Rest at: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11091118/san-antonio-spurs-put-most-dominant-finals-performance-ever-2014-nba-finals