{"id":79646,"date":"2024-05-31T11:47:45","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T15:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=79646"},"modified":"2024-05-31T11:49:15","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T15:49:15","slug":"5-historical-stats-that-favor-the-celtics-in-the-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/31\/5-historical-stats-that-favor-the-celtics-in-the-nba-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Historical Stats That Favor The Celtics In The NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks <\/span>are set<\/span> to face off in the NBA finals. <\/a><\/span>With almost<\/span> a week before the first game tips off <\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> time to start analyzing this exciting matchup. One interesting thing to do is see which team has the historical advantage through various stats. While researching historical stats <\/span>that correlate<\/span> with winning a title it’s\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span> Celtics have several <\/span>advantages<\/span>. <\/span>Let\u2019s<\/span> dive into five historical stats that favor the Celtics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5 Historical Stats That Favor The Celtics In The NBA Finals<\/h2>\n

1. The 40\/20 Rule<\/span><\/h3>\n

The 40\/20 rule<\/a> coined by legendary head coach Phil Jackson<\/a> states to win an NBA title <\/span>teams<\/span> must win their 40th game before they lose their 20th game. Notably, over the past 44 years <\/span>all<\/span> but three<\/a> champions have followed the 40\/20 rule. <\/span>The 1995 Rockets, 2004 Pistons, and 2006 Heat <\/span>are the lone expectations<\/span>.<\/span> The Celtics fit the 40\/20 rule as they only have 20 total losses <\/span>including<\/span> the playoffs. When the Celtics reached their 40th win they had just 12 losses. The Celtics posted a 64-18 record in the regular season and have a 12-2 record in the playoffs <\/span>giving<\/span> them a combined 76-20 record. On the flip side, the Mavericks<\/a> had 24 wins <\/span>at the time of<\/span> their 20th loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Top 4 Net Rating of All Time<\/span><\/h3>\n

One stat <\/span>that has been<\/span> discussed a lot with the Celtics is their historic net rating. The <\/span>Celtics’<\/span> 11.6 net rating<\/a> is the fourth-highest of all time. Only the 1996, 1997 Bulls, and the 2017 Warriors have higher net ratings. Excluding the Celtics <\/span>eight\u00a0<\/span>out of the top 10 teams with the highest net rating went on to win a championship. Outside of the previously mentioned great teams <\/span>this<\/span> list includes <\/span>teams such as<\/span> the 1972 Lakers, the 1971 Bucks, and the 2008 Celtics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Highest net rating of all-time:<\/p>\n

13.4 \u2014 ’96 Bulls
\n12.0 \u2014 ’97 Bulls
\n11.6 \u2014 ’17 Warriors
\n11.6 \u2014 ’24 Celtics<\/p>\n

The first three were Champions. pic.twitter.com\/8g5u48XO69<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 StatMuse (@statmuse) March 5, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n