11-01-2024, 09:24 AM
(11-01-2024, 06:39 AM)LukaMagic Wrote: Here is a quick look at the last year's playoff run by the Mavs. During last year's playoffs Lively and Gafford have both played in 21 games. Lively missed one game vs Minnesota.
Lively and Gafford combined for an average of 18.9 points IN MAVS PLAYOFF WINS.
While they combined for an average of just 13 points IN MAVS PLAYOFF LOSSES.
Another interesting stat from last year's playoffs is that whenever Lively and Gafford combined for at least 20 points Mavericks did not lose. There were 8 such games. Given last year's playoff performance and given the start of this season, it seems fair to say that Mavericks are pretty unbeatable if Lively and Gafford combine for 20 points.
Good observation!
Correlation is not causation, though. I'm interested in why we see the variance. Is it due to competitive level? Game to game officiating differences? Changes in defensive strategies? Just an 'off' game for one or both? Maybe some of our advanced stats guys have some insight?
I guess I'm trying to see if DAL needs to focus on getting the 5 spot going early to collapse the defense and open up the perimeter a bit. But I'm no expert and haven't stayed at a HI Express recently.