Stat Stories: Episode 27 — Imbalance of Power
Examining Playoff Blowouts & the NBA’s Perceived Lack of Parity
To say the first three rounds of the 2017 NBA Playoffs weren’t competitive would be quite an understatement. With seemingly every game devolving into a one-sided blowout, Chad Shanks and Justin Kubatko look for reasons behind the lopsided play and determine whether or not the NBA truly does have a lack of parity.
Listen to the embedded audio and browse through the StatMuse stats mentioned in the episode (data accurate as of the date of publication).
Blowouts in 2017
The run to the 2017 NBA Finals featured its fair share of blowouts, but none as devastating as the 44-point beatdown the Cavaliers gave the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals — which is the largest margin of victory in ECF history.
There have been 19 games decided by 20 or more points in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, the second most ever. The record of 24 such games was set last season.
Golden State & Cleveland’s Dominance
The Warriors are the first team in NBA history to have an average point differential of 10 or higher for three straight regular seasons. They own three of the 11 largest average point differentials in history.
Going into the 2017 Finals, they have the highest margin of victory per game in a single playoff run in NBA history.
The Warriors have won 12 playoff games by 20 or more points since 2015, the most ever in a three-year span (though Cleveland isn’t too far behind).
The Cavaliers are averaging 14.6 three-pointers made per game in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, on pace to be the highest such figure in history.
