Clutch Stats Playoff Edition (Kobe, LeBron, Ginobili, Wade)
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:41 pm
Some of the recent threads asking questions about who's the best closer/clutch player got me thinking if there was anything more meaningful than the 82games.com clutch stats which seems to only account for the regular season. I thought it would be interesting to see what some of the more well known closers in the league have averaged (yearly, and over their careers). They have also had a certain amount of success in terms of at least reaching the Finals, so there is a good enough sample size for these players and each have played their fare share of meaningful games. I think this is important because as you progress in the playoffs the intensity picks up and in general, so does the competition and pressure.
Anyway...
I used 82games.com definition of clutch play, which is defined as: 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points. I'm not certain if I interpreted this the right way, so I should point out that some of the games ended up having a double-digit margin of victory. However, every last game that I took statistics for was within 5 points at some point in the final 5 minutes.
Statistics are accumilated starting at the 5 minute mark in the 4th quarter when the game is within 5 points. Note that games are not always within 5 points at the 5 minute mark, so there are times where I started compiling stats at the 3 minute mark, for example. That is why I kept track of the minutes when doing these statistics.
I was as careful as possible compiling these numbers, but mistakes do happen. If you find something that is not accurate then let me know and I will make the correction after verifying. I used primarily the ESPN play-by-play and in situations where those were unavailable I used the ones from NBA.com. So that there will be no questions as to the integrity of these statistics you can view the raw data here:
Kobe Bryant - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/kobe_clutch_stats.txt
LeBron James - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/lebro ... _stats.txt
Manu Ginobili - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/ginob ... _stats.txt
Dwyane Wade - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/wade_clutch_stats.txt
It's worth noting that Kobe's stats are not even close to complete. I can't find a good chunk of game logs for the Lakers prior to 2002 (which would encompass most of the 3-peat era) so if anyone knows where I can find these please let me know so that I can finish this off. If there aren't any and someone is willing to compile this data from watching those games (that would be tedious, no doubt) then that would be excellent. Also, I don't have the play-by-play for 1 Lakers games in 2002 where the game was close: Game 2 of the WCS (SAS). Again, if you know where I can find this game let me know.
That said, here's what these guys have done in the playoffs...
Kobe Bryant
Highlights:
- 2008, hit game-winner with 23 seconds left against SAS in Game 1 of the WCF
- 2006, hit game-winner at the buzzer against PHO in Game 4 of Round 1
- 2002, hit game-winner with 5 seconds left against SAS in Game 4 of the WCS
- 2000, hit game-winner with 5.9 seconds left against IND in Game 4 of the NBA Finals
- 2000, hit game-winner with 2.6 seconds left against PHO in Game 2 of the WCS
- 1999, hit game-winning FT's with 5.3 seconds left against HOU in Game 1 of Round 1
LeBron James
Highlights:
- 2009, hit game-winner at the buzzer against ORL in Game 2 of the ECF
- 2007, hit game-winner with 2 seconds left against DET in Game 6 of the ECF
- 2006, hit game-winner with 1 second left against WAS in Game 5 of Round 1
Manu Ginobili
Dwyane Wade
Highlights:
- 2004, hit game-winner with 1 second left against NOR in Game 1 of Round 1
Player Comparison
Edit: Was able to find more missing games (6 total) for Kobe for both 2000 and 2001, so added those statistics in.
Edit: Fixed calculation error in Kobe's numbers. Also split up the raw data into individual files by player for sake of readability.
Edit: Added Ginobili to the mix. The poll was also reset since I added him as an option. The results before adding him were:
1) Kobe Byrant - 22 votes (55%)
2) LeBron James - 12 votes (30%)
3) Dwyane Wade - 6 votes (15%)
Edit (04/21/2011): Found some more footage from Kobe's early years (2000, 2001), and added a missing game-winner from the 2000 playoffs.
Anyway...
I used 82games.com definition of clutch play, which is defined as: 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points. I'm not certain if I interpreted this the right way, so I should point out that some of the games ended up having a double-digit margin of victory. However, every last game that I took statistics for was within 5 points at some point in the final 5 minutes.
Statistics are accumilated starting at the 5 minute mark in the 4th quarter when the game is within 5 points. Note that games are not always within 5 points at the 5 minute mark, so there are times where I started compiling stats at the 3 minute mark, for example. That is why I kept track of the minutes when doing these statistics.
I was as careful as possible compiling these numbers, but mistakes do happen. If you find something that is not accurate then let me know and I will make the correction after verifying. I used primarily the ESPN play-by-play and in situations where those were unavailable I used the ones from NBA.com. So that there will be no questions as to the integrity of these statistics you can view the raw data here:
Kobe Bryant - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/kobe_clutch_stats.txt
LeBron James - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/lebro ... _stats.txt
Manu Ginobili - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/ginob ... _stats.txt
Dwyane Wade - http://www.dolem.com/sites/lakers/wade_clutch_stats.txt
It's worth noting that Kobe's stats are not even close to complete. I can't find a good chunk of game logs for the Lakers prior to 2002 (which would encompass most of the 3-peat era) so if anyone knows where I can find these please let me know so that I can finish this off. If there aren't any and someone is willing to compile this data from watching those games (that would be tedious, no doubt) then that would be excellent. Also, I don't have the play-by-play for 1 Lakers games in 2002 where the game was close: Game 2 of the WCS (SAS). Again, if you know where I can find this game let me know.
That said, here's what these guys have done in the playoffs...
Kobe Bryant
Highlights:
- 2008, hit game-winner with 23 seconds left against SAS in Game 1 of the WCF
- 2006, hit game-winner at the buzzer against PHO in Game 4 of Round 1
- 2002, hit game-winner with 5 seconds left against SAS in Game 4 of the WCS
- 2000, hit game-winner with 5.9 seconds left against IND in Game 4 of the NBA Finals
- 2000, hit game-winner with 2.6 seconds left against PHO in Game 2 of the WCS
- 1999, hit game-winning FT's with 5.3 seconds left against HOU in Game 1 of Round 1
Code: Select all
Year Age G MIN PTS TS% REB AST STL BLK TOV OPP WIN%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 31 13 3.9 5.4 .556 0.6 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.2 .631
2009 30 10 4.7 5.2 .604 0.6 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.3 .652
2008 29 14 4.1 4.6 .618 0.8 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2 .689
2007 28 3 4.3 4.3 .468 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .744
2006 27 5 4.1 5.8 .651 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 .659
2004 25 10 4.6 3.1 .382 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.2 .652
2003 24 5 4.7 5.4 .586 1.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.4 .677
2002 23 13 4.1 4.3 .641 0.5 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.1 .671
2001 22 4 4.7 2.8 .619 0.8 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.3 .668
2000 21 5 4.8 4.6 .701 0.6 1.0 0.2 0.4 0.4 .646
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Averages 82 4.3 4.6 .574 0.6 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.2 .662LeBron James
Highlights:
- 2009, hit game-winner at the buzzer against ORL in Game 2 of the ECF
- 2007, hit game-winner with 2 seconds left against DET in Game 6 of the ECF
- 2006, hit game-winner with 1 second left against WAS in Game 5 of Round 1
Code: Select all
Year Age G MIN PTS TS% REB AST STL BLK TOV OPP WIN%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 25 5 4.9 7.0 .713 1.6 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.8 .555
2009 24 6 5.0 6.8 .640 0.7 1.3 0.1 0.0 0.8 .589
2008 23 8 4.4 3.3 .417 1.3 1.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 .664
2007 22 13 4.6 4.1 .565 0.8 1.2 0.2 0.0 0.2 .588
2006 21 8 5.0 6.1 .611 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.0 0.9 .646
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Averages 40 4.6 4.9 .580 0.9 1.1 0.3 0.1 0.6 .604Manu Ginobili
Code: Select all
Year Age G MIN PTS TS% REB AST STL BLK TOV OPP WIN%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 32 6 4.6 4.2 .624 0.3 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 .661
2008 30 7 4.4 3.3 .633 0.7 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.1 .682
2007 29 11 3.3 3.8 .717 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.5 .631
2006 28 8 5.0 3.6 .538 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.4 .634
2005 27 12 4.7 4.0 .667 0.7 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.3 .661
2004 26 5 4.9 2.8 .585 1.8 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.2 .646
2003 25 15 4.7 1.4 .619 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 .618
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Averages 64 4.5 3.2 .630 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.3 .647Dwyane Wade
Highlights:
- 2004, hit game-winner with 1 second left against NOR in Game 1 of Round 1
Code: Select all
Year Age G MIN PTS TS% REB AST STL BLK TOV OPP WIN%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 28 2 4.0 1.5 .521 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 .610
2009 27 1 4.9 3.0 .999 1.0 2.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 .573
2007 25 3 5.0 5.0 .447 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 .598
2006 24 12 4.4 4.9 .596 1.0 0.6 0.3 0.0 0.3 .652
2005 23 7 4.5 3.0 .363 0.7 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.4 .573
2004 22 9 3.9 2.7 .707 0.7 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.2 .621
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Averages 34 4.3 3.7 .539 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.4 .613Player Comparison
Code: Select all
Player G MIN PTS TS% REB AST STL BLK TOV OPP WIN%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kobe Bryant 82 4.3 4.6 .574 0.6 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.2 .662
Manu Ginobili 64 4.5 3.2 .630 0.8 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.3 .647
LeBron James 40 4.6 4.9 .580 0.9 1.1 0.3 0.1 0.6 .604
Dwyane Wade 34 4.3 3.7 .539 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.4 .613Edit: Was able to find more missing games (6 total) for Kobe for both 2000 and 2001, so added those statistics in.
Edit: Fixed calculation error in Kobe's numbers. Also split up the raw data into individual files by player for sake of readability.
Edit: Added Ginobili to the mix. The poll was also reset since I added him as an option. The results before adding him were:
1) Kobe Byrant - 22 votes (55%)
2) LeBron James - 12 votes (30%)
3) Dwyane Wade - 6 votes (15%)
Edit (04/21/2011): Found some more footage from Kobe's early years (2000, 2001), and added a missing game-winner from the 2000 playoffs.
