Is it possible to use thin slicing (as detailed in Gladwell’s Blink) to make better bets about the outcome of NBA basketball games? The most important factors would appear to be FG%, turnover rate, offensive rebounding rate, and free throw attempts. (via truehoop)
Quick overview of increased use of statistics in pro basketball, i.e. the moneyballing of the NBA. More NBA stats madness at 82games.com.
The T’Wolves are all about Wally Szczerbiak this year. I’m not a Wally fan…I think he’s selfish like Kobe and not nearly so good. The Wolves should be more concerned with Garnett…he was not in peak form last year.
A list of the NBA’s most overrated players, including Karl Malone, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing. (via truehoop)
Larry Brown wanted Stephon Marbury off the Olympic team in Athens. Marbury is the most overrated player in the NBA…there ain’t no “Marbury” in “team”. I wouldn’t have him on my team even if he played for free.
Charley Rosen’s picks for all-time best NBA shooting guards. Not surprisingly, Jordan tops the list.
Over on TrueHoop, Henry Abbott notes something interesting about Ray Allen’s just-signed contract with the Seattle Sonics:
Though the average yearly salary of the contract is $16 million, the starting salary for Allen has not yet been worked out. Allen’s side has given the Sonics the freedom to structure the deal however they choose in order to allow the team to surround Allen with talent, possibly by re-signing some of their own free agents or entering the free-agent market and signing top quality players.
Although I’m sure it freaks out the agents and laywers, that concession gives Ray Allen and the Sonics a much better shot at success.
I’ve always wondered why so-called “franchise” players on pro teams in leagues with salary caps (particularly in the NBA, where the number of players per team is so small) don’t do this type of thing more often. Well, besides the fact that their agents, who presumably work on commission, won’t let them. You get a guy like Kevin Garnett, who wants to win multiple championships, give him $3-4 million less per year than he could get on the open market (so he’s still making millions per year and much more in endorsements) on the condition that the #2-5 guys on the squad are also making below market level by a mil or two, and then spend that money on the bench or on a #3 guy who would be a #2 guy anywhere else in the league. Garnett wins championships, everyone on the team wins championships, everyone’s endorsements go up, the team makes more money, and the profile of everyone involved is raised (higher profile = increased future earnings potential). Of course it would never work, but what if it did?
A basketball fan couldn’t wait until next year, so he’s documenting 2005-6 Bulls season with NBA Live 2005. Looks like the Bulls lost their home opener.
The anti-white racism of the NBA. “The NBA is not a league for black, white, red, blue, or green people. It is a league for winners.”
Ben Wallace, superstardom, selling out, and race in sports. “As racist as it really is, the fact that white people can walk around the Palace in fake black Afro wigs without black folks taking offense is a testament to the power of racial ‘go beyond’ that he has single-handedly generated.”
Characterizing NBA players by their counterparts down at the local gym or park. Damon Jones of the Miami Heat is “The Guy Who Has a Friend Who’s Really Good”.
