Tag: Boston Celtics

Spurs have best NBA Finals win-loss record of any team

San Antonio has won four titles in the Gregg Popovich/Tim Duncan era after failing to advance deeper than the conference finals in the team’s previous history.

Those championships rank the team fourth, trailing only the Boston Celtics (17), Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (16) and Chicago Bulls (six) among all NBA franchises.

But the Spurs do hold one NBA record as the franchise’s 16-6 record in NBA Finals games is the highest winning percentage in the league’s history.

Here’s a look at how the franchise rank in terms of winning percentage. The number inside parenthesis indicates the number of NBA titles a franchise has won.

San Antonio Spurs (4)                                                                                16-6    .727

Chicago Bulls (6)                                                                                         24-11   .686

Baltimore Bullets (1)                                                                                    4-2      .667   X                  

Milwaukee Bucks (1)                                                                                     7-4     .636

Boston Celtics (17)                                                                                     74-48   .607

Rochester/Kansas City/Sacramento Kings  (1)                                  4-3     .571 

Fort Wayne/Detroit Pistons (3)                                                             22-18   .550

Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (3)              17-14   .548

Houston Rockets (2)                                                                                    12-11   .522

Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers  (16)                                                85-83   .503

Seattle/Oklahoma City Thunder (1)                                                        9-9      .500

Dallas Mavericks (1)                                                                                       6-6      .500

Miami Heat (1)                                                                                                  6-6      .500    

Syracuse/Philadelphia 76ers (3)                                                            24-29  .453

St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1)                                                                       11-14    .440

New York Knicks (2)                                                                                     20-28   .417

Portland Trail Blazers (1)                                                                              7-10    .412

Phoenix Suns                                                                                                      4-8       .333

Utah Jazz                                                                                                              4-8       .333

Indiana Pacers                                                                                                   2-4        .333

Washington Capitals                                                                                       2-4         .333

Washington Wizards  (1)                                                                               5-15       .250            

New Jersey Nets                                                                                               2-8          .200

Chicago Stags                                                                                                     1-4          .200 X

Orlando Magic                                                                                                   1-8          .111

Cleveland Cavaliers                                                                                        0-4          .000

Note – Buffalo/San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Bobcats have never appeared in an NBA Finals.

X – indicates defunct franchise.

Source: Express-News research  

Note – X indicates defunct franchises

Shaq vows to ‘handle’ Barkley on upcoming NBA broadcasts

Shaquille O’Neal is as anxious to see the end of the NBA lockout as anybody else.

O’Neal will move on to his new career as analyst for TNT after his retirement earlier this year from the Boston Celtics.

In his new role, O’Neal told the New York Times he will be able to snatch airtime in the broadcasts from the bombastic Charles Barkley.

“I’m going to get all the airtime,” O’Neal told the Times. “I’m going to handle him like I’ve always handled him. I’m going to knock him out if I have to.”

We think that O’Neal is jesting, but considering his spirited rivalry with “The Round Mound of Rebound” earlier in his career we can’t be sure.

Here’s a You Tube video of one of Barkley’s confrontations when he was playing with Houston Rockets and O’Neal was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rondo enjoying his extended vacation from NBA

Rajon Rondo’s season was cut short last season with a gruesome dislocated left elbow sustained during the Celtics’ playoff series loss to Miami.

The lockout has that he believes will have him readyto return to the Celtics’ lineup once the lockout ends.

“This has been the best summer of my life, really,’’Rondo told the Boston Globe. ”Lockout or not, I’m still going to enjoy my life and do what I do best.’’

Rondo told the Globe he’s not considering playing overseas and will be ready once play begins.

“I hope there’s a season,’’ he said. “I’m looking forward to it and everyone around the league is, even the fans.

“It’s just an extended vacation as far as trying to continue to train and get better. It’s more time for me to work on my game, and that’s how I try to face it in the next couple of weeks or months or whatever we have.

“Right now my focus is to play with the Celtics.’’

The break is coming at a good time for Rondo. And it’s obvious that he can afford an extended work stoppage much more than most workers at the TD Garden who are dealing with fewer work opportunities with the lockout.