Updating the 100/100 Club From 2016-2023
In my December 31, 2015 article The 100-100 Club Revisited, I updated the membership roster through the 2014-15 season for the exclusive club of pro basketball players who have tallied at least 100 steals and at least 100 blocked shots in the same season. I first examined this subject in the April 2022 issue of Basketball Digest, and then I discussed it again at NBCSports.com in 2006 (subsequently updated at 20 Second Timeout to include the 2006-07 season). I also keep track of the 200-100 Club (200 steals and 100 blocked shots in the same season), the 100-200 Club (100 steals and 200 blocked shots in the same season), and the Top 10 Club (players who ranked in the top 10 in both steals per game and blocked shots per game in the same season).
From the 2015-2016 season through the 2022-23 season, six players recorded a total of 10 100-100 Club seasons. Paul Millsap (2016), Draymond Green (2016, 2017), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2017, 2018) are the 100-100 Club's three newest members. Andre Drummond joined the club in 2014, and made three more appearances (2016, 2018, 2019) since 2015. Nerlens Noel joined the 100-100 Club in 2015, and he qualified again in 2016. Anthony Davis also joined the 100-100 Club in 2015, and he made his second appearance in 2018.
Drummond is the last NBA player to reach the 100-100 milestone. The 2020
and 2021 seasons were shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, but even after
the NBA schedule returned to normal in 2022 no players posted 100-100
seasons in 2022 or 2023.
The 100-100 Club has 61 members, with 30 of those players accomplishing the feat just once. Julius Erving and Hakeem Olajuwon hold the record with 12 such seasons. The rest of the all-time top 10 includes Kevin Garnett (eight 100-100 seasons), Sam Lacey (seven),
David Robinson (seven), Ben Wallace (seven), Bobby Jones (six), George
Gervin (five), Vlade Divac (five) and Shawn Marion (five).
The 200-100 Club and 100-200 Club did not gain new members since 2015. The 200-100 Club has four members: Michael Jordan (twice), Julius Erving, Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen. The 100-200 Club has 14 members; the only players with at least two 100-200 seasons are Olajuwon (11), David Robinson (seven), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (three), Ben Wallace (three), Terry Tyler (two), Patrick Ewing (two), Andrei Kirilenko (two), and Josh Smith (two).
In 2018-19, Drummond became the 10th member of the Top 10 Club, ranking eighth in steals per game and eighth in blocked shots per game. Drummond ranked third in steals per game and ninth in blocked shots per game in 2019-20.
Erving holds the record with six Top 10 Club seasons, two more than Olajuwon had. Bobby Jones (two), Ben Wallace (two), and Andre Drummond (two) are the only other players with more than one Top 10 Club season.
Labels: Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, Nerlens Noel, Paul Millsap
posted by David Friedman @ 9:47 PM
Cleveland Versus Atlanta Preview
Eastern Conference Second Round
#1 Cleveland (57-25) vs. #4 Atlanta (48-34)
Season series: Cleveland, 3-0
Atlanta can win if…Jeff Teague neutralizes Kyrie Irving, the Hawks prevent the Cavaliers from dominating the boards and LeBron James is slowed down by defense by committee (and/or the mysterious malaise that can inexplicably afflict him at any time after the first round of the playoffs). The Hawks are a somewhat puzzling team. They were not as dominant in the 2015-16 regular season as they were in they were in the 2014-15 regular season and they do not have a superstar player but they have a lot of really good players, including current or former All-Stars Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. Horford struggled in the first round versus Boston, Korver is a great shooter but is not good at creating his own shot, Teague seems to be the team's most important player yet Atlanta advanced despite his .395 field goal shooting versus Boston and Millsap had a bizarre series with four points in one game and then 45 points two games later. All of those players are going to have to be better and more consistent for the Hawks to have a chance against Cleveland.
Cleveland will win because…LeBron James rarely loses playoff series against outmatched teams. The Cavaliers have matchup advantages across the board in this series except for coaching and the center position. Mike "Gregg Popovich, Jr." Budenholzer will coach rings around Tyronn Lue, but the Cavaliers are still better off in that regard now than they were in this round last year when then-assistant coach Lue stopped then-Cleveland Coach David Blatt from calling a timeout that the Cavaliers did not have, which could have resulted in a disastrous technical foul.
Horford should have an advantage against whoever Cleveland plays at center. If any of the games are close enough for strategy and matchup decisions to matter, Budenholzer is going to have the advantage over Lue.
The big questions, as always with the Cavaliers, revolve around James. How will Atlanta guard him and how aggressive will James be? If the Hawks can get away with single coverage on James because James settles for long jumpers, then the Hawks have a chance provided that the quartet of players mentioned above are efficient offensively. If James plays up to his capabilities, the Hawks are obviously in trouble.
Irving was sensational in the first round as Cleveland swept Detroit. He led Cleveland in scoring (27.5 ppg), he shot .471 from the field and he only committed six turnovers.
Kevin Love ranked third on the Cavaliers in scoring versus Detroit (18.8 ppg) and he led the team in rebounding (12.0 rpg) but he shot just .410 from the field and his defense is always questionable.
Other things to consider: Many--if not all--of the teams that had any realistic chance to be competitive against the Cavaliers in a seven game series may be out of the picture soon. Injuries took out the L.A. Clippers and could potentially take out the Golden State Warriors, while the Spurs-Thunder series will eliminate a legit championship contender that is better than any team Cleveland will prior to the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are snacking on light Eastern Conference fare. TNT's Charles Barkley mentioned the possibility that Cleveland will not lose a game before the start of the NBA Finals. While that seems unlikely (Cleveland will lose at least one road game in this round and/or the Eastern Conference Finals), Cleveland obviously has a very favorable return path to the NBA Finals.
Timofey Mozgov, a key contributor to Cleveland's playoff run last
year, has completely disappeared from Lue's rotation, playing just 14
minutes versus Detroit and not appearing at all in two of the four
games. Tristan Thompson, who took over Mozgov's starting center role,
averaged 3.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg against Detroit, hurting James' chances of
winning Executive of the Year; all sarcasm aside, this is the coaching staff and roster
that James handpicked, so the self-proclaimed "Best Player on the
Planet" has no valid excuses or complaints if the Cavaliers do not win
the championship.
Labels: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Jeff Teague, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Paul Millsap
posted by David Friedman @ 2:39 PM
Atlanta Hawks Seek to Win Championship Without a Superstar
Most NBA championship teams--and all NBA dynasties that have won at least three titles--are led by one or two of the 10 best players in the league. The 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks are built on a different model; they do not have one true superstar but they have several very good players. In my first piece for
The Roar, where I am now a weekly columnist, I compare the Hawks to the 1979 SuperSonics and the 2004 Pistons, two teams that won titles without having a superstar player.
Here is the link to that article:
Atlanta Hawks Seek to Win Championship Without a SuperstarLabels: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Seattle Supersonics
posted by David Friedman @ 10:52 AM
