Box Grades: Rare free throw stats lift Spurs to 61st win

I must admit that I didn’t have high hopes entering yesterday’s game. After all, both Castle and Wemby were sidelined, and the Spurs weren’t really playing for anything (the chance of them getting the first seed is now officially zero). In contrast, a Portland win tonight would have matched their record with the Clippers, giving them an excellent chance to finish the regular season with an improved position in the play-in. Even so, the shorthanded Spurs came out firing and won each of the first three quarters, showcasing impressive depth and versatility. While I hate to see injuries, especially this late in the season, it is heartening to know that this iteration of the Silver and Black can beat a motivated opponent without two of its best players.

Another piece of good news is that — while the box score for this game was pretty vanilla in some respects — it did produce some highly unusual combinations related to free throws, as you will see below. I’m testing out a slightly modified format for the highlights today; first, I’ll outline the key box score factors that determined the game. Second, I’ll identify any notable rarities contained within the box score. These posts are still new and evolving, so please let me know what you think!

Factors that Decided the Game

• This game was quite balanced in many key areas, and where imbalances existed they were often offsetting.

• Regarding balanced stats, San Antonio had a minor edge in total rebounds (+2), a minor deficit in turnovers (+1), and no advantage or disadvantage in total offensive rebounds. San Antonio did have an edge in ORB% (not pictured here), but again it was mild.

• The Spurs were notably more efficient from the field, including FG% and 3P% margins of +3.7 and +5.5 percentage points, respectively. However, these advantages were offset by Portland’s edge in volume, including FGA and 3PA margins of +5 and +8, respectively. The net result of these competing forces was that San Antonio made one…