Welcome back to Dinos & Digits, a column where we dive into the box scores and find five interesting or strange Raptors statistics and put them on front street for discussion.
We like to explore a mix of both individual player and team statistics, ranging from raw box score numbers to some interesting and funky advanced metrics. The goal is to present the numbers without too much opinion attached, leaving those debates for the comment section.
OK, let's get down to it. Here are this week's interesting digits:
DeMar DeRozan becomes the fourth Raptor ever voted into an NBA All-Star game as a starter.
He joins Vince Carter (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004), Chris Bosh (2007), and Kyle Lowry (2015, 2016) on that list.
This marks DeRozan’s third All-Star selection and the Raptors’ 16th overall as a franchise.
DeMar DeRozan (28.2 points per game) and Kyle Lowry (22.2 points per game) are the highest-scoring starting backcourt duo in the NBA, averaging a combined 50.4 points per game.
Rounding out the top-five are Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum (49.5), Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley (46.4), Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (45.8), and John Wall and Bradley Beal (45.1).
The Raptors have won a league-leading nine games in which they trailed by at least 10 points at some point.
The Washington Wizards rank second in the NBA in 10-point comeback wins with eight.
DeMar DeRozan leads the Association in third quarter points per game with 10.0 and ranks fourth in first quarter points per game with 8.4.
Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry ranks 3rd in fourth quarter points per contest with 7.8, and 8th in second quarter points with 6.0.
The Raptors’ All-Stars essentially trade the scoring load back and forth each quarter.
Kyle Lowry leads the NBA in completed four-point plays with five.
That comes from six four-point play chances (fouled while making a three-point shot).
All stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com, NBA.com/stats, and NBAMiner.com.