I have been looking back at stats for the last 15 games. I believe that two key stats that are not often considered fully are turnovers (opponents points off turnovers) and offensive rebounds (opponent 2nd chance points). These are free possessions for the opponent. If you lose the net of these, you give lesser teams a chance to win.
BOS is best in the league (lowest) in Opp points off turnovers (11.4) and 11th lowest in Opp 2nd chance points (13.1). We are taking care of the ball but giving up a few more ORebs than we probably should. We are a small team, or at least we play small a lot, but we need to watch this. OKC is 2nd lowest in Opp points off turnovers (13.1) and 2nd lowest in Opp 2nd chance points (11.8). They are doing both well.
In terms of net, OKC is +8 overall in terms of points off turnovers + 2nd chance points. BOS is +6.1. CLE is -0.3. Again, this is the last 15 games only. CLE is positive on turnover points but in the hole in terms of 2nd chance points. OKC is 14-1 in the last 15, BOS is 12-3, and CLE is 10-5.
For the Celtics, only Payton Pritchard has played in all 15 games. Our core players have missed a lot of games in this 15 game stretch. OKC and CLE have had players miss games also, but not to the extent that BOS has. Bottom line, I feel we are in good shape. If we continue to take care of the ball and get a little better on giving up offensive rebounds, we are going to have a great shot at the title.
