December 12, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) types on the computer for Twitter during media day at the Golden State Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Of the four major sports leagues, the NBA has embraced has embraced social media the most tightly.  In that spirit, it seems fair to evaluate the influence each team’s social media holds over its audience.  Klout, while not perfect, is the most well known method for measuring such social media impact.

Klout scours social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and measures their data to create a “Klout Score.” Klout scores range from 1 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a broader online social influence. The data below are broken up by NBA division, with measurements taken in June 2011 and May 2013.

A few notes:  Klout has reformulated its algorithms and measurement scales since 2011, so the scores of 2011 are not directly comparable with the scores of 2013.  Also, the scales aren’t linear — in fact, they’re probably closer to something logarithmic — so a score of 89 is actually better than a score of 88 by a good bit more than 1%.

Atlantic Division

Central Division

Southeast Division

Pacific Division

Northwest Division

Southwest Division 

Other team-based notes and trends:

• There is likely a fair bit of playoff bias in measurements taken in June and May; for example, in 2011, the Mavericks and Heat topped the league during their respective runs to the NBA Finals.  Out of the playoffs in 2013, Dallas finished with a score much closer to the league average.
• With a score of 95, Chicago finished with the highest 2013 score; Portland finished last with a mark of 84.
• Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Utah finished in a surprising tie for the sixth-highest score, following five teams from bigger markets with more television exposure: the Bulls, Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, and Heat.

(Photo credit: Bucks Tumblr Page)

Where is the fun in a 27-point lead if you don’t get to use it?

Brandon Jennings hit a three-pointer from the top of the circle with 0.9 seconds left in the first half.  The shot capped a brilliant 38-8 second quarter in which the Bucks smoothly turned defense into rebounds, rebounds into fast breaks, and fast breaks into hitting the open man.  With a game looming in Atlanta tomorrow, Milwaukee’s 58-31 halftime lead gave the Bucks a great (and rare) chance to rest their starters for the second half of a back-to-back.

Then the second half happened.  Portland parlayed Milwaukee’s poor shot selection into a 12-2 run to start the second half.

The Blazers chipped away at the lead by getting hot from long distance.  Wes Matthews led a 50% effort from the Blazers from three-point range by making seven of his 11 threes.  He finished with 28 points.  Portland closed to within seven points in the final two minutes, but could get no closer.

Monta Ellis filled the stat sheet with 21 points (on 18 shots), nine rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals.  After getting to his preferred spots in the first half, he fell in love with the pull-up jumper in the second half at the expense of Milwaukee’s ball movement.

Late in the game, he injured his left wrist but managed to finish the final minutes.  Ellis played 44 minutes and the three blocks equaled a career-high.

Brandon Jennings had seven assists and six turnovers.  As a team, the Bucks only turned the ball over 13 times, but that stat totally misleads.  With the rotation off-kilter due to the absence of Ersan Ilyasova and Luc Mbah a Moute, the Bucks spent the evening bobbling passes and trying to reel the ball back in.

Jennings made 4-of-7 three-pointers and 5-of-13 two-point shots.  He is rapidly approaching a point where his three-point field goal percentage eclipses his overall percentage.  Here’s hoping that he gets back into the “threes and passes” mode that he has used for most of March.  He did have a few nice finishes in the paint: a pass fake layup in transition, a driving lefty layup, and a floater in the lane.  But his strengths clearly lie in his handle and long-distance stroke.

Samuel Dalembert finished with 16 points after getting ten in the game’s first few minutes.  Gustavo Ayon passed the eye test as part of the second-quarter blitzing, but he didn’t play in the second half.

A few tweets

@anaheimamigos Oh we do.

— Pinwheel Empire (@pinwheelempire) March 20, 2013

Marquis bowled a 193 the other day. RT @ericbuenning: When was the last time the Bucks put together a complete game?

— Frank Madden (@brewhoop) March 20, 2013

Tests negative on Ellis left wrist. Expects to play Wed night.

— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) March 20, 2013