National TV: Stats to Watch — Nov. 2-4, 2021

Tuesday, November 2

Miami (5-1) at Dallas (4-2), 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT

• Luka Doncic ranks second in the league in usage rate (33.9%) and is the only Maverick that has logged at least 100 minutes with a usage rate over 20%. On the other hand, the Heat have three players with usage between 26-29%: Tyler Herro (28.8%), Jimmy Butler (27.5%)
• The Heat rank fourth in the league in fast break points (15.8 per game) and ninth in the league in points off of turnovers (18.7 per game). Their transition play is fueled by Jimmy Butler, who ranks fourth in deflections (4.5 per game) and second in steals (2.8 per game). However, the Mavericks rank fourth in turnover percentage with only 13% of their possessions ending in a turnover.
• Miami’s Tyler Herro and Dallas’ Luka Doncic each average 10 points on pull-up shots per game – tied for fifth-most in the league. Herro’s 55.6% effective field goal percentage is 19 percentage points higher than Doncic’s (36.6%) and ranks seventh among the 53 players that average at least five pull-up shots per game.

New Orleans (1-6) at Phoenix (2-3), 10:00 p.m. ET, TNT

• Chris Paul enters Tuesday’s game needing seven assists to pass Mark Jackson (10,334) for fourth place on the NBA’s all-time assist list, and just eight assists to pass Steve Nash (10,335) for third place.
• New Orleans’ Jonas Valanciunas ranks second in the league in both offensive rebounds (4.7 per game) and second-chance points (5.6 per game). However, the Suns rank third in defensive rebound percentage – corralling 78.0% of all available defensive boards.
• The Pelicans lost four of their last five games, all within 10 points. During the first half, they average 51.6 points, eighth lowest in the league; however, in the fourth quarter, they average 29.4 points which is third highest in the league.

Wednesday, November 3

Atlanta (4-3) at Brooklyn (4-3), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

• Kevin Durant has shot 50% or better from the field in every season dating back to 2012-13. That streak is on pace to extend to nine straight seasons as he is shooting a career-best 58.3% from the field through seven games. Dating back to the 1996-97 season, there has only been one season in which a player posted an effective field goal percentage above 60% while attempting at least 15 shots a game – Durant last season (60.8 eFG% on 17.2 FGA). So far this season he’s at 62.6 eFG% on 18.1 FGA.
• Since Trae Young entered the league in 2018-19, he has 31 games with at least 30 points and 10 assists. That is the second most in the league in that time behind only James Harden with 33 such games.
• Clint Capela ranks seventh in the league in rim protection, holding opponents to 48.9% shooting at the basket while facing an average of 6.7 shots at the rim per game. He may not be tested much against Brooklyn as the Nets average just 20.7 shots inside the restricted area (second-fewest in the league) and shoot just 57.9% on those shots (second-lowest FG% at rim).

Charlotte (5-3) at Golden State (5-1), 10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN

• Among the 47 five-man lineups that have shared the court for at least 25 minutes so far this season, the Hornets’ quintet of Gordon Hayward, Mason Plumlee, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball has the highest net rating at 24.1 in 33 minutes.
• This is a meeting of the two of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the league. The Warriors rank second in 3-pointers made (15.2 per game) and fifth in 3-point percentage (37.8%), while the Hornets rank fourth in 3-pointers made (14.6 per game) and shoot a league-best 41.1% from beyond the arc. Both teams also rank in the top 10 in opponent 3-point percentage with the Warriors allowing the fifth-lowest percentage (30.5%) from 3-point range and the Hornets ninth (32.5%).
• The Warriors lead the NBA in assist percentage with 70.5% of their made field goals coming off an assist – a mark that is 5.6 percentage points higher than any other team in the league. Charlotte ranks fifth with an assist percentage of 62.8%.

Thursday, November 4

Boston (2-5) at Miami (5-1), 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV

• Jaylen Brown leads all players in clutch scoring with 25 points on 10-19 FG (52.6%) and 4-9 3P (44.4%) in 37 clutch minutes over five games. However, the Celtics have gone just 1-4 so far in games featuring clutch time.
• Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Boston’s Jaylen Brown are tied for third in the league in scoring on transition plays. Butler has the edge in efficiency in transition with an effective field goal percentage of 65.2% compared to 57.1% for Brown.
• Boston is the only team in the league with two players ranked in the top 10 in contested shots: Al Horford (2nd, 15.0 per game) and Robert Williams III (13.0 per game). However, Boston allows the 10th-highest effective field goal percentage in the league at 50.1%, while Miami allows the 2nd-lowest at 46.4%.

Houston (1-5) at Phoenix (2-3), 10:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV

• Deandre Ayton ranks second in screen assists (6.4 per game), crating 13.6 points per game for the Suns. Ayton also ranks sixth in the league in scoring as the roll man on pick and roll plays at 4.8 points per game.
• Houston’s Jalen Green ranks fifth among rookies in scoring (13.0 ppg) and minutes played (31.8 mpg), sixth in rebounding (4.0 rpg) and third in assists (3.0).
• The Suns rank second in the league in percentage of points coming off 2-point shots (59.7%) — a mark that is up 7.2 percentage points from a season ago (52.5%, 13th in NBA). The biggest difference has come inside the paint as 46.8% of Phoenix’s points are coming in the paint this season (4th) compared to 39.3% last season (25th).