In episode 536, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer Collin Reid preview the upcoming San Antonio Spurs vs. Denver Nuggets playoff series in detail. From individual player matchups to strengths and weaknesses on both ends of the floor, their conversation goes in all sorts of directions for this series.
As mentioned in the episode, here are the statistics that were used. The stats were collected from NBA.com/stats and CleaningTheGlass.com.
Rotation Lineups – Spurs
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| White | Forbes | DeRozan | Aldridge | Poeltl |
| Mills | Belinelli | Gay | ||
| Bertans |
Rotation Lineups – Nuggets
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Murray | Harris | Barton | Millsap | Jokic |
| Morris | Beasley | Craig | Plumlee | |
Spurs Scoring
| Category | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Points Per 100 Possessions | 113.5 PP/100 | 5th | Elite |
| Halfcourt Points Per Play | 100 PP/100 | 4th | Elite |
| eFG % | 53.8% | 6th | Elite |
| Rim Accuracy | 65.6% | 5th | Elite |
| All Mid-Range Accuracy | 44.2% | 2nd | Elite |
| Corner 3PT Accuracy | 46.5% | 1st | Elite |
| Non-Corner 3PT Accuracy | 38.4% | 2nd | Elite |
| Bench Points Per Game | 38.3 points | 11th | Good |
| Fast Break Points | 10.4 points | 28th | Improvement |
Nuggets Scoring
| Category | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Points Per 100 Possessions | 112.9 PP/100 | 7th | Elite |
| Halfcourt Points Per Play | 95.3 PP/100 | 14th | Average |
| eFG % | 53.1% | 12th | Good |
| Rim Accuracy | 63.2% | 14th | Average |
| All Mid-Range Accuracy | 42.9% | 6th | Elite |
| Corner 3PT Accuracy | 39.6% | 9th | Good |
| Non-Corner 3PT Accuracy | 34.5% | 20th | Improvement |
| Bench Points Per Game | 37.9 points | 13th | Average |
| Fast Break Points | 12.6 points | 15th | Average |
Where do the Spurs frequently take shots from?
| Area | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Frequency at Rim | 26.5% | 30th | Ouch |
| Frequency All Mid-Range | 46.9% | 1st | Elite |
| Frequency All Threes | 26.6% | 30th | Ouch |
| Free Throw Rate | 19.4 P/100 FGA | 18th | Improvement |
Where do the Nuggets frequently take shots from?
| Area | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Frequency at Rim | 35.3% | 21st | Ouch |
| Frequency All Mid-Range | 32.3% | 14th | Average |
| Frequency All Threes | 32.4% | 15th | Average |
| Free Throw Rate | 17.7 P/100 FGA | 26th | Ugh |
Spurs Ball Movement
| Category | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Turnover % | 12% | 1st | Elite |
| Assisted Made Baskets | 58% | 22nd | Improvement |
| Passes Per Game | 280.8 Passes | 27th | Ouch |
| Secondary Assists Per Game | 3.2 assists | 11th | Good |
Nuggets Ball Movement
| Category | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Turnover % | 13.8% | 13th | Average |
| Assisted Made Baskets | 65.3% | 2nd | Elite |
| Passes Per Game | 309.4 Passes | 7th | Elite |
| Secondary Assists Per Game | 3.7 assists | 4th | Elite |
Spurs Defense
| Category | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Points Per 100 Possessions | 111.5 PP/100 | 20th | Improvement |
| Opp Halfcourt Points Per Play | 95.3 PP/100 | 19th | Improvement |
| Opp eFG% | 53.2% | 20th | Improvement |
| Opp Offensive Rebound % | 24.2% | 5th | Elite |
| Opp Free Throw Rate | 17.4 P/100 FGA | 2nd | Elite |
| Opp Frequency Off Live Rebounds | 28.9% | 16th | Average |
| Opp Points Added off Live Rebounds | +1.2 PP/100 | 19th | Improvement |
| OPP Fast Break Points | 14.1 points | 20th | Improvement |
Nuggets Defense
| Category | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Points Per 100 Possessions | 109.2 PP/100 | 11th | Good |
| Opp Halfcourt Points Per Play | 94.5 PP/100 | 14th | Average |
| Opp eFG% | 52.4% | 14th | Average |
| Opp Offensive Rebound % | 24.6% | 8th | Good |
| Opp Free Throw Rate | 19.5 P/100 FGA | 15th | Average |
| Opp Frequency Off Live Rebounds | 26.9% | 7th | Good |
| Opp Points Added off Live Rebounds | +1 PP/100 | 13th | Average |
| OPP Fast Break Points | 12.2 points | 6th | Elite |
Where do opponents shoot from and how accurate are they against the Spurs’ defense?
| Shot Locations | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Opp Frequency at Rim | 32.7% | 3rd | Elite |
| Opp Accuracy at Rim | 63.3% | 18th | Improvement |
| Opp Frequency All Mid-Range | 34% | 25th | Elite |
| Opp Accuracy All Mid-Range | 43.2% | 29th | Ugh |
| Opp Frequency Corner 3PT | 7.1% | 10th | Good |
| Opp Accuracy Corner 3PT | 39.6% | 20th | Improvement |
| Opp Frequency Non-Corner 3PT | 26.2% | 20th | Improvement |
| Opp Accuracy Non-Corner 3PT | 35.6% | 19th | Improvement |
Where do opponents shoot from and how accurate are they against the Nuggets’ defense?
| Shot Locations | Season | Rank | Rating |
| Opp Frequency at Rim | 37.6% | 24th | Ugh |
| Opp Accuracy at Rim | 63.1% | 16th | Average |
| Opp Frequency All Mid-Range | 28% | 6th | Ugh |
| Opp Accuracy All Mid-Range | 40.3% | 16th | Average |
| Opp Frequency Corner 3PT | 9.8% | 30th | Ouch |
| Opp Accuracy Corner 3PT | 38.4% | 17th | Average |
| Opp Frequency Non-Corner 3PT | 24.6% | 12th | Good |
| Opp Accuracy Non-Corner 3PT | 32.8% | 1st | Elite |
The ratings were a system I created early in the season in my Spurs Evaluation series.
Elite – Rank near Top 5
Good – Rank near Top 10
Average – Rank near 15th
Improvement – Rank near 20th
Ugh – Rank near 25th
Ouch – Rank near 30th
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