Ultimate ABCA Season 4 - By the Numbers
Mar 22, 2016 13:54:34 GMT
Minnesota, Madrid, and 3 more like this
Post by Tel Aviv on Mar 22, 2016 13:54:34 GMT
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - With the regular season over and the playoffs fast approaching here is a different season review and playoff preview, by the numbers. Giving you some numbers of the past and present of the Ultimate ABCA and then taking a closer look at the playoff match-ups and what the numbers say about them, to give you an idea of whats to come.
66- The Timberwolves tie the all time wins for a season, a record that the Bulls set during the 2001 season. A record that the team surely would of broken if they didn't rest their players down the stretch.
4- Charles Barkley named the league MVP for the 4th season in a row. He has won this award every season of the leagues existence. He has also led the league in scoring during those 4 seasons. If he keeps this up the award could be named after him.
0- No team in the league has made the playoffs during all 4 years of the league's existence. A surprising statistic.
4- Four teams will be making their first appearance in the post season. Taipei Fubon Braves, Washington Generals, New Orleans Jazz, Guangdong Southern Tigers will be enjoying their first time in the playoffs.
5- Five teams still haven't made the playoffs in Ultimate ABCA. Istanbul Anadolu Efes, Newcastle Eagles, LA Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Supersonics are the teams still looking for their first playoff birth.
13- The amount of wins that the Supersonics picked up during the season. The lowest amount since the Generals had a record low 6 wins during the inaugural season.
34- Mikawa Aisin Seahorses finished the season with 23 wins, 34 less than the 57 wins they had last season. Just shy of the biggest drop in wins from one season to the next, set by Piraeus Olympiacos BC with 36, set in the 2001-2002 seasons.
67- Flamengo bigman Anthony Davis set a new record league high in points in a single game this season, when he scored 67 points in a win against Olimpia.
21- Tony Parker equaled the league record with 21 assists during their loss against the Chicago Bulls this season, tying the record set by John Stockton back in 2002.
47- The amount of triple doubles that Jason Kidd has collected during his career for KK Cibona. A number that no other player in the league comes close to.
10- Antonello Riva hit 10 3-point field goals against the Vancover Grizzlies this season, to equal the record for most three's in a game, a record set by Andrew Gaze for the Toronto Raptors back in 2001.
Barkley wins his 4th MVP but won't be able to improve on his poor offseason record.
Closer look: Eurasian Conference
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid meet in the #1v#8 match-up in the Eurasian conference, it will be the first time the two teams meet in the playoffs. Tel Aviv have a 81% win percentage against Real in the ABCA, winning 9 of the 11 match-ups between the teams. But Real won the last meeting between the two teams, which was in Tel Aviv, 91-84. Real also made it past the first round in the playoffs last season, beating Tel Aviv's division rival Zamalek 4-2.
Zamalek and CSKA will also be meeting for the first time in the playoffs. The teams played each other twice this season, both winning a game each. Through the history of the league it’s Zamalek who hold the advantage, winning 6 of the 9 meetings between the teams. Both teams were in the playoffs last season, with Zamalek losing in the first round, CSKA made it all the way to the conference finals.
The match-up between Fubon Braves and KK Cibona will see one of the teams make it through to the 2nd round of the playoffs for the first time, Cibona have never made it out the first round and this is Fubon Braves first appearance in the post season. Cibona have historically come out on top when these two teams meet, winning 8 of the 11 match-ups, including 2 of the 3 games this season. Two of Fubon Braves' highest point scoring games have come against Cibona though, a team high 144 back in 2002 and 140 this during a 23 point win.
Guangdong Southern Tigers are making their first playoff appearance coming off a good season but face a tough match-up against the #2 seed KK Partizan. The season series was split 1-1 with both teams winning their home games which sets up the series nicely. Previously Partizan have had the better of the meetings between the teams winning 8 of the 10 games but the Southern Tigers are a better team than they have been the past few seasons.
Isiah Thomas has led the Braves to their first playoff birth during his rookie season.
Closer look: American Conference
The Generals are making their first playoff appearance against a Grizzlies team who they don't fare too badly against, the Generals won 2 of the 3 match-ups this season. Two of the games were quite close which suggests we could be in for an interesting series. Historically the Grizzlies hold the edge with a 7-4 record in the meetings, which you would expect to be slightly higher considering the way the two teams have performed in previous seasons. The Grizzlies held the Generals to a season low 72 points in their last meeting.
The Celtics and Raptors face off in the first round and these two teams have been very evenly matched during the history of the league, with both teams winning 6 of the 12 match-ups but they haven't met in the playoffs before. This season the Celtics came out on top, winning 2 of the 3 meetings. The Celtics are a team that Doug Wrenn seems to like playing against for the Raptors, he scored a career high 35 points against the Celtics in a game between the two sides this season, he also had a career high in assists in another game against them this season.
Flamengo and the Knicks are another set of teams who have been pretty evenly matched throughout the history of the league, The Knicks with the slight edge, winning 6 of the 11 match-ups between the teams. The season series was split 1-1, with both teams winning the away game. Flamengo will miss Bruce Bowen who is out for 38 days with a broken foot. The Knicks set a franchise record for wins with 57 while battling injuries through the season and will be favorites to advance here.
New Orleans are making their first playoff appearance but it will surely be a short lived one, as the face the best team in the league the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves have won 9 of the 11 match-ups between the teams and swept the season series 2-0. Kevin Garnett has scored at least 39 points three times against the Jazz, including a 42 point performance this season. Minnesota have also never failed to get out of the first round during their previous playoff appearances. Tony Parker has just been named to the All League first team for the 2nd time in his career and will be keen to show what he can go in the playoffs.
Kevin Garnett will look to lead the favourite Timberwolves to their first title.
