By Kyle Soppe
Before I get started on the late game, let me take a second to put the Magic’s collapse into statistical perspective. For those who weren’t watching, Orlando led by 27 points in the third quarter in a home game against a Celtics team that was missing 40% of their starting lineup. Needless to say they blew the lead, and lost 91-83. The depleted C’s ended the game on a 44-15 run. These two teams played in Monday’s Box Score Breakdown, where Orlando recorded a franchise low 56 total points. Sure, they blew a 27 point lead on Thursday, but it took them the final 31 minutes and 10 seconds of Monday’s game to score 27 points. I suppose this should be considered a step forward?
Onto the Grizzles/Clippers game, where Lob City prevailed by a final score of 98-91. This game featured 19 lead changes, even though the Clippers won the first quarter by 12 points.
The Clippers made five more shots from the field, despite attempting 12 less shots.
Building on this idea of efficiency, it took Gay and Quincy Pondexter 37 shots to total 38 points. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul matched them in total points, but only took 25 shots from the field.
This game featured two of the better rebounders in the league in Griffin and Gasol. The two big men were the leading rebounders in this game, but it was their passing that should be recognized. The duo combined for 14 assists, the exact same number as the games two starting point guards (Paul and Conley).
Reserve guards OJ Mayo and Pondexter contributed six offensive rebounds for Memphis, while starting big men Griffin and DeAndre Jordan recorded four.
In big thanks to Mayo and Pondexter, guards were responsible for half of the Grizzles offensive rebounds. Mayo, Pondexter, and Tony Allen were shorter than every Grizzle active player besides rookie Josh Selby, but managed to have a huge impact on the offensive glass.
The Clippers saw five of their players take 84.7% of their shots. Interestingly enough, the teams starting center wasn’t one of those five players. Jordan, who played over 35 minutes, contributed in other ways with nine rebounds and three blocks. The low shot total can’t make Mrs. Jordan very happy, who complained earlier in the season that her son wasn’t getting enough touches.
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