For the second week in a row, we were presented with a six-pack of stat-stuffing. However, the summation came from just three players. LeBron James, in all his Herculean glory, strung together a trio of triple-doubles in the last week, doing so in three straight games.
With the outburst, James moves past the incomparable Larry Bird for 6th all-time in the stat. Wilt Chamberlain’s 78 is next up in his crosshairs, and James sits 17 back…for now.
Russell Westbrook, not one to be outdone, went for a double-dip over the past seven days and Kyle Lowry got his second of the season.
This week, I developed something called a triple-double score or TDS. Stay with me now, because it’s SUPER complicated. It takes the aggregate of the three categories a player achieved a triple-double in. The higher the number, the better. Points and rebounds are scored at face value, while assists get multiplied by 1.5 since they rely on another player. I haven’t thought this far ahead yet, but if anyone piles up 10 blocks or steals, they’ll probably be worth 1.75x or 2x to account for the rarity. It’s a rudimentary metric, but I’m a rudimentary guy. Overall, I think it gives a decent baseline when trying to measure these games against each other.
As you’ll see above, Lowry’s 10/10/12 isn’t very impressive according to TDS (38) or by rational thought. I went back and retrofitted every triple-double this season. Lowry’s 38 is the second-lowest TDS, only ahead of Westbrook’s 37 (12/10/10) from Halloween.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Westbrook’s also responsible for the highest TDS so far. His 27/18/15 on Dec. 15 was good for 67.5. Before that, James Harden held the mantle. His 35/11/13 eruption on Nov. 9 equaled a TDS of 65.5.
With this week’s pair, Westbrook reached double digits for 2017. James’ trifecta distanced himself from the pack, now riding shotgun on the leaderboard. He’ll probably be able to take the lead on the off chance somebody hits Westbrook with a blue shell. Lowry’s second moved him up a level into a three-way tie for fourth place.
Next: Frank Ntilikina Q&A: Cultural transitions, Kristaps chemistry and PB&J
With his surging stat lines, Westbrook is just a hair below averaging a triple-double, putting up 23.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 9.8 assists for the season. However, Westbrook’s been hitting the marks over the Thunder’s past 16 contests, dating back to Nov. 16. Things are trending up for the Brodie’s chances of averaging a triple-double for the second year in a row.
Quick check-in on Ron Baker…nope, nothing to see here.