Coach K must be angling for another raise, because the cyclical Lakers rumor has reared its ugly head again, almost five years to the day after their last dalliance.  Did anyone anywhere at any point in this silly rumor’s life cycle believe for a split-second that Coach K might actually take that job?  Last we checked, the Lakers had a pretty darn good coach (you know, he of the ten rings) and they’re not exactly coming off a down time in franchise history (you know, 65 wins and a world title).  Furthermore, the Duke coach is a competitor if nothing else, and he’s been getting his butt kicked all over Tobacco Road by that other school six miles down 15-501 since Huckleberry Roy came to town (3-7 since 2004-05).  Coach K ain’t going nowhere until he proves that his blue-blooded program hasn’t been overtaken by his bitter rival, and the way things are going lately, he’ll need another ring himself (at the college level) to ensure that.  (h/t 850 the Buzz).

We only throw this up because we’re certifiable stat nerds, but as we were watching the Celtics-Lakers game tonight, we started wondering if we were witnessing a possibly historic comeback when LA had cut the Boston lead to 2 with 0:34 remaining.  Only seven minutes earlier (at the 7:40 mark), the Cs had been enjoying a seemingly insurmountable 24-point lead.

Nelson Wasn’t Worried

This got us thinking – harkening back to the piece we did a while ago on the Kansas-UNC game where we discussed when it is statistically appropriate to call a game over (thanks, Billy Packer), just how worried should Boston fans have been?

According to the handy Bill James Lead Calculator,

Boston’s lead was as airtight as Vanessa Bryant’s pre post-nuptial agreement.   In other words, no cause for worry, Beantowners.  Even the Assassin Known as Kobe Bryant’s Ego can’t overcome 10:1 odds.

Note:  it would be nice if one of the NBA commenters verified this, but we believe the largest 4th quarter comeback in NBA playoff history was in 2002 when Boston came back from 21 down at the start of the quarter to beat the Nets 94-90. But James would call that lead only 48% safe in comparison.