Is 10 points a rout?

[sportschick]

AP referred to the Utah's win over Denver as a "rout." The Jazz won by 10.

I really don't think of a 10-point win in basketball as a rout. Does anybody else?

Jazz 114, Nuggets 104
DENVER — Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer returned to Utah’s lineup and helped the Jazz rout the Denver Nuggets 114-104 on Friday night.
The Jazz, seeking its first division title since 2000, beat the Nuggets for the sixth straight time and increased its lead over second-place Denver to a whopping 9 games.
Williams scored 26 points and dished out 14 assists. The Jazz’s top assist man, Williams strained his left groin in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge game All-Star weekend and missed one game.
Boozer, Utah’s leading scorer and rebounder returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a hairline fracture in his left leg. He scored 10 points in 12 carefully managed minutes.

 

[Ellis Redding]

No, it's not. Although I'd say 15 points would be.

 

[spnited]

Considering the Jazz were up 23 late in the third quarter, yes this was a rout.
The final score in not always indicative of the game.

EDIT: To fix that biggest lead was 23, not 30 ... but still a rout

 

[HandsomeHarley]

Methinks the AP writer already had that part of the story written before the fourth quarter and never thought to change it.

 

[Oz]

Game wasn't near as close as the score would indicate, which the writer should have noted for clarity.

 

[Ellis Redding]

Considering the Jazz were up 30 in the third quarter, yes this was a rout.

If this is the case, I agree with spnited.

30-point lead at any point is a rout, unless the team has a legitimate chance at a comeback at the end.

Yes, but that wasn't explained in the capsule. Under normal circumstances, I don't consider a 10-point victory a rout.

 

[miroba71]

At my previous paper, one of our HS football teams lost by 19, and I wrote "rout" in the headline. The AD called and complained that I called it a "rout." Typically annoying self-esteem crap. So it was close for three quarters and the other team pulled away. It was still a rout.

But to answer the original question, 10 points in basketball isn't a rout.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I thought this thread was about a high school game and parents bitching about it.

 

[BYH]

At my previous paper, one of our HS football teams lost by 19, and I wrote "rout" in the headline. The AD called and complained that I called it a "rout." Typically annoying self-esteem crap. So it was close for three quarters and the other team pulled away. It was still a rout.

I can top that. A few years ago, I wrote for a weekly an advance about a men's hoops team in a low-level D-I conference. Called one of the upcoming opponents a bottom-feeder because it was in dead last ****ing place. Well, the coach of the bottom-feeding team was from the area, and his dad still lived here. Got a two-page letter from daddy tearing me a new asshole because I'd called his son's team a bottom-feeder and telling me I didn't know anything about the league I was covering. I wrote back that his son's team was in last place so I was accurate in calling them a bottom-feeder. I also noted that I'd followed the league for more than a decade as a fan and writer, so I took great offense to the inference I didn't know what I was doing.

This guy was a big wig in the community, so I let my editor look at the letter before I sent it off. She looked at it and said you should change this, this, this, this and where you called him that. So I never sent it. Still wish I had. All I can do now is root against sonny's team, and you can bet I was the only guy outside the state of Connecticut who wanted UConn to win its first round game last March.

 

[dawgpounddiehard]

Game wasn't near as close as the score would indicate, which the writer should have noted for clarity.

Yeah. I mean, Jesus AP, what is wrong with "beat"?

 

[slappy4428]

A one-point game turning into 10, no.
A 23-point game turning into 10, yes.
Depends whether its coming or going.

 

[Taylee]

A one-point game turning into 10, no.
A 23-point game turning into 10, yes.
Depends whether its coming or going.

So with that logic, if a team is leading by three points through three quarters then wins by 23 it's a close game, right?
You go with the final score. In this case, use "beat" then explain that one team was leading by 23 before the other closed the gap.

 

[Lugnuts]

10 is sort of a magical number in the game of basketball. Whenever I watch a game, I base it upon the number 10. How far are they from a 10-point game? Can this team pull to a 10-point lead?

I used to think I was the only one who watched basketball this way until I heard coaches say in huddles during timeouts, "If we can get it to 10, we'll be okay."

As such, in my mind, 10 can never be a rout. Rout is a very strong word. 10 is a benchmark.

And with the 3-point line and timeouts... 10 points can be made up in about... 10 seconds. So no, it's never a rout.

Just my take.

 

[scribe21]

15-20 points a rout. Anything more, a blowout. ... If team was ahead by 23 and won by 10, they held on or held off a late rally. ...

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I actually caught the end of this game. The Nuggets got it down to nine and had chances to get closer. The announcers didn't declare the game over until about a minute left, when someone (I didn't have my glasses on, I couldn't tell) hit an open layup.

In that context, I wouldn't call it a rout.

 

[slappy4428]

A one-point game turning into 10, no.
A 23-point game turning into 10, yes.
Depends whether its coming or going.

So with that logic, if a team is leading by three points through three quarters then wins by 23 it's a close game, right?
You go with the final score. In this case, use "beat" then explain that one team was leading by 23 before the other closed the gap.

OK, I concede the first point.
But if the same 23-point lead is cut to 10 with by the winning team's bench against the losing team's starters, is it still a close game?

 

[boots]

A one-point game turning into 10, no.
A 23-point game turning into 10, yes.
Depends whether its coming or going.

So with that logic, if a team is leading by three points through three quarters then wins by 23 it's a close game, right?
You go with the final score. In this case, use "beat" then explain that one team was leading by 23 before the other closed the gap.

OK, I concede the first point.
But if the same 23-point lead is cut to 10 with by the winning team's bench against the losing team's starters, is it still a close game?

Slappy, I think you have it twisted. I think you mean if the 23-point lead by the winning team is cut to 10 against the loser's starters. At any rate, you know the difference between a rout and a close game. The above would be a rout.

 

[IGotQuestions]

I say under no circumstance is a 10-point win a rout, even if the losing team was down 20, 23 or 35 points and cut it to 10 in the last 5 minutes of the game or whatever. Because if a team was able to cut such a large deficit, then it did not get routed.

 

[boots]

I say under no circumstance is a 10-point win a rout, even if the losing team was down 20, 23 or 35 points and cut it to 10 in the last 5 minutes of the game or whatever. Because if a team was able to cut such a large deficit, then it did not get routed.

I've seen games where teams were up by 30 and the opposing team cut it to 10. I called it rout because the comeback came against a third-unit team and the play was very sloppy. Even during the comeback, the team with the lead was in command.

 

[dawgpounddiehard]

A one-point game turning into 10, no.
A 23-point game turning into 10, yes.
Depends whether its coming or going.

So with that logic, if a team is leading by three points through three quarters then wins by 23 it's a close game, right?
You go with the final score. In this case, use "beat" then explain that one team was leading by 23 before the other closed the gap.

Exactly. Why is this even an issue? If the AP morons used "beat" then went on to describe one team was leading by 23, that lets the reader decide if he or she thinks it was a rout.