Minnesota/LA Lakers Series Notes Yes the T'Wolves took it 4-1, but the games were closer than that suggests, and one player stood out on the Physicality front (and no it wasn't Gobert, Rudy's dominant game 5 performance notwithstanding) Player Physicality Stats Per 36 Minute stats Player Wins Net Wins RPR Wins L2+ Net Wins LeBron James 140 +66 63.3 24.7 6.4 +11.6 Rudy Gobert 110 +22 65.7 27.7 5.0 +5.5 Anthony Edwards 119 +15 51.2 20.9 3.7 +2.6 Mike Conley 43 +4 29.2 12.9 0.6 +1.2 Luka Doncic 151 +6 60.4 26.1 2.4 +1.0 Julius Randle 111 +5 52.6 21.1 6.3 +1.0

Pacers/Thunder Game 3 Notes Another thrilling game! Could T.J. McConnell lead ALL players in "Playing Hard Wins" despite only playing 15 minutes? Yes! Factor Winner Edge Top Players Physicality INDIANA +30 wins, +13 Level 2+ Force plays, +81 RPR Shai (110 RPR, 38 Wins), Siakam (83, 30 W), Turner (74, 22 W) Playing Hard INDIANA +12 wins, +29 plays McConnell (9 Wins), Haliburton (8 W), Holmgren (8 W)   Physicality = "Player vs Opposing Player contact plays"   Playing Hard = distinct from physicality, "non contact/light contact effort plays"

NBA CONFERENCE FINALS We will be covering both IND-NYK and MIN-OKC for Physicality and other new features! - IND 130, NYK 121 - Game 4 Physicality Report Another close contest in physicality wins, but Indiana's sheer volume told the story. The Pacers logged 83 more physicality plays and edged New York 138-133 in physicality wins, riding a tidal wave of collisions, boxouts, chucks, and vertical challenges to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. IND-NYK SERIES ..."physicality suffered" Player xRPR* Plays Agn Wins Agn L2+ Agn Falls Brunson 460.5 522 137 39 34 Haliburton 256.8 305 76 23 11 Our series long theme -- the Knicks have not put enough "physicality suffered" on Haliburton -- played out with Tyrese posting a 32 Pts, 15 Ast, 12 Reb, 4 Stl, 0 T/O masterpiece. Brunson rates #1 in most physicality suffered among all players, Haliburton ranks #7. Does it help to get through a game/series without a lot of punishing hits? YOU decide... - NYK 106, IND 100 - Game 3 Physicality Report Game three delivered on every front - physicality, intensity, and turning points that swung with every possession. Neither team blinked, and by the end, the numbers told the story: 126-124 in physicality wins, nearly identical RPR ratings, and a near dead heat in Level 2+ Force plays. For the second time in the series, it was a draw in the physicality war, but the Knicks got the win and game four looms... NEW YORK KNICKS Player RPR* Plays Wins L L2+ Falls KD Towns 82.0 98 25 7 15 2 6 Karl-Anthony Towns had the huge fourth quarter (11 wins), but was also making things happen in Q2 (7 wins), as he went on to the lead the team in all physicality categories as predicted in the bounceback from the poor game two. He remains the king of the "Level 2+ Force play" as well. - IND 114, NYK 109 - Game 2 Physicality Report Signature moments told the tale. Siakam absorbed punishment and kept attacking, leading both in RPR and falls suffered. Jalen Brunson, battered again, gave New York a fighting chance through sheer will. Mitch Robinson's early-quarter dominance clashed beautifully with Tony Bradley's unlikely second-unit answer -- a low-key Game 2 hero for Indiana. And amidst the chaos, Tyrese Haliburton's light physical toll stands out in stark contrast to Brunson's beatings. INDIANA PACERS Player RPR* Plays Wins L L2+ Falls KD Siakam 91.8 111 30 4 9 12 2 Pascal Siakam Once again the star player on offense for the Pacers was the star on physicality too. Funny how that works! Siakam has led in RPR for Indiana both games and had game high wins while enduring the most 'level 2+ force plays' on physicality suffered (and 12 falls). Brilliant game for Pascal to help IND get up 2-0. - IND 138, NYK 135 - Game 1 Physicality Report This was quite the opening game of what may be a long series. Physicality high (although not as rough in the high force moments as NYK-BOS game 5), Indiana's intensity almost never seems to drop... INDIANA PACERS Player RPR* Plays Wins L L2+ Falls KD Nesmith 71.2 119 21 5 3 16 8 Aaron Nesmith Must be considered the player of the game for his incredible shooting late to get the Pacers back within striking distance. The physicality side though also positions him as the star, leading all players in 'physical plays' while enduring collosal physicality suffered (and a game high 16 falls), and expending immense energy putting physical wear on Brunson in particular, which may pay dividends as the series progresses. - OKC 114, MIN 88 - Game 1 Physicality Report "Yes the shotmaking was a big factor (MIN 29% on 3s, OKC 52%), as perhaps were referee effects (14 FTs for Shai with foul trouble on McDaniels), but OKC also won the physicality. When you have all three of those working, you won't lose."

KNICKS/CELTICS Game 5 Notes Another thrilling game! Extremely physical until it was out of hand, and BOSTON once again the physicality winner on the night. One player shone above the rest... BOSTON CELTICS Player Physicality Stats Player RPR* Plays Wins L/D L2+ Falls KD Brown 102.2 109 30 2 15 11 6 Jaylen Brown with the INSANE physicality game! A triple digit RPR with over 100 physical plays, 30 physicality wins and led both teams in every positive category. At the same time he was subjected to an ENORMOUS physicality suffered score. Look no further for the toughest, highest physicality Celtic! We could fill up the whole Signature Moments with Brown clips... ...the "Signature Physicality Moment" play of the game! Q3 (10:43) Brown with a Physicality, Playing Hard, and High IQ play all in one Brunson pushes off to get space for catch Hart misses on screen Brown fights back in front of Brunson bumps him hard ball loose Brunson falls Brown going for loose ball bumped by Brunson full out dive to save back inbounds to Kornet. Brown then gets up and draws the fastbreak shooting foul on Brunson at the other end.

DEN-OKC Game Five Team Physicality 4th Quarter Summary Winner: Oklahoma City NUGGETS/THUNDER Game Five 4th Quarter Notes The physicality was quite close for the quarter, largely because Jokic was EXTREMELY PHYSICAL, but the Thunder had more physicality wins, more level 2+ force plays, and a more balanced physicality profile across their players. DENVER NUGGETS Player RPR* Plays Wins L/D L2+ Falls K/D Jokic 43.0 48 13 1 5 0 3 Nikola Jokic played the whole second half, showing signs of exhaustion by the end, but still performing amazing feats. HUGE single quarter numbers for physicality, and doling out much more than he received, with 13 physicality wins, 5 level 2+ force plays, and 3 knockdowns.

KNICKS/CELTICS Game 4 Notes Another thrilling game! What do the physicality numbers say? They say that NEW YORK was the clear cut physicality winner in this one, setting a tone right from the first possession that this wouldn't be a repeat of game three... Team RPR* Pts Wins L/D L2+ Falls K/D Boston 288.5 328 100 21 25 21 26 New York 381.5 383 138 24 35 26 21 Header notes: RPR = "Roland Physicality Rating" (in development) Plays = Physicality Plays (adjusted by level of force) Wins = a Physicality play that is deemed a 'win' L/D = Losses/Defeats (non-intentional fouls and soft plays) L2+ = level 2 or higher force physicality plays Falls = player hits the ground KD = Knockdowns: causes opponent to hit the ground Net Pts = 'results over process' calculation ...a sample "Signature Physicality Moment" Q2 (8:55) Intense physicality both ways Payne grabs Jrue, Horford sets long duration screen in return, but Payne fights to get his hand on the ball, Kornet hard screen on Bridges, Mitch bumps Brown to derail his drive, Towns gives a shoulder to Kornet as he moves down the lane, but then Kornet screens Towns and Horford drains the open three.

KNICKS/CELTICS Game TWO Another thrilling game! What do the physicality numbers say? Click the header above for the full story. Physicality MVP: JOSH HART When the game turned tense, Josh Hart turned relentless. In the final five minutes of regulation, Hart led all players in RPR (19.0) and delivered 7 clutch-time physicality wins -- more than any Celtic. He had 3 falls, knocked down an opponent, and tallied 14 contact plays. ...a sample "Signature Physicality Moment" Q4 (10:25) Bridges is awakened and unleashes fury Mikal gets banged dribbling by Tatum, no call and is visibly upset with refs as the Celtics runout for an open 3pt fastbreak make... and an angry Bridges, who subsequently begins his offensive assault (14 Q4 points scored).

KNICKS/CELTICS Game ONE The "Physicality Wins" leaders are below... New York Boston 25 - Jalen Brunson 23 - Josh Hart 19 - Karl Anthony Towns 12 - OG Anunoby 10 - Mikal Bridges 19 - Jrue Holiday 19 - Al Horford 14 - Payton Pritchard 14 - Jaylen Brown 13 - Jayson Tatum ...a sample "Signature Physicality Moment" Q3 (7:07) Jrue Holiday draws angry Towns charge: Towns, already frustrated by a no call when he was hacked on a drive by Horford on the previous possession, winds up with the free throw line post mismatch on Jrue, who on the second overly physical bump by angry KAT, falls and draws the charge. (Towns' 4th foul) Click the headline for Full Game One NEW YORK vs BOSTON player stats. What were the top Signature Physicality Plays? Who was the Physicality MVP? Which team had the Physicality edge and what was the difference in physicalty between the first and second half? the answers are here...

NBA Physicality: Now vs Then To try and understand how the game may have changed through the years we recently charted twenty playoff games from the 1990's for the same falls and knockdowns data we compiled for the complete 2024 playoffs...

2024 NBA Playoffs "Falls & Knockdowns" Our game charting team has collectively watched all the playoff games, recording such novel data points as Player Falls and Knockdowns, along with relevant context and nuance. A clean, relatively objective physicality rating can be constructed with Falls+Knockdowns per 36 Minutes... Most Physical Least Physical 12.3 - Daniel Gafford 12.0 - Lu Dort 11.9 - Joel Embiid 11.8 - Devin Booker 11.4 - Kyle Lowry 11.1 - Jalen Suggs 10.7 - Aaron Nesmith  9.7 - Khris Middleton  9.6 - Tyrese Maxey  8.9 - Isaiah Hartenstein 1.8 - D'Angelo Russell 1.8 - Tobias Harris 1.9 - Sam Hauser 2.0 - Rui Hachimura 2.9 - Cason Wallace 3.0 - Tim Hardaway Jr. 3.0 - Aaron Gordon 3.0 - Austin Reaves 3.0 - Christian Braun 3.1 - Ben Sheppard See the full stats for every player, the top ten leaderboards in a variety of categories, and more in this groundbreaking series. Which player gets a foul call the most when he falls? the answer is...