NBA

[bodiddley]

Ah, The Bucks.
What a dopey team.

I was watching the 2nd half of the Suns and Nugs,and noticed this:

In the fourth quarter, the Suns repeatedly used an alignment with a shooter on each baseline, O'Neal at one elbow, Stoudemire at the other elbow and Nash at the top of the key with a live dribble. Nash could use a screen by either O'Neal or Stoudemire. Talk about a nightmare for a defense! This offensive set forces the defense to choose between protecting the paint--thus leaving Nash open for a jumper--or trapping Nash and trying to rotate before he passes to O'Neal or Stoudemire for a dunk. Expect to see a steady diet of this during the playoffs.

The first time they ran this play with both Shaq and Amare setting high screens on either side, I assumed it was a miscommunication and Shaq had set a screen by accident when it was Amare's turn.  Then the Suns went back to this a few times.  Tough to defend.  Nash can go any direction, use either screen, with one or both Bigs rolling to the hoop.  Amare got some dunkage off of this.  Once Shaq drifted to the rim and was left unguarded, getting a pass from Amare.
Suns can run this set with Barbosa and Bell in the corners.  Or even Hill or Giricek spotting up for corner three's. 

A nice new wrinkle that D'Antoni is readying for the playoffs.
Denver couldn't handle it.
Lakers might have the best shot defending this, with a number of mobile Bigs (assuming Bynum and Gasol are back) and good on-ball pressure at the point.

[bodiddley]

Wages of Wins folks on effects of payroll and scoring in the NBofA:

    * Payroll does not explain much of wins in the NBA, MLB, or NFL.  Specifically, payroll only explains 12% of the variation in wins in the NBA.  In baseball explanatory power is 18% while in the NFL it is below 5%.  Relative to these sports, though, performance in the NBA is more consistent.  So why is payroll still unable to explain much of wins?

    * We think the answer lies in how players are evaluated in the NBA.  For more than two decades economists have looked at the link between player salary and various performance statistics.  Scoring totals are the only player statistic that consistently explains player pay. Shooting efficiency, rebounds, steals, and turnovers do not consistently offer much explanatory power.  We updated these studies in our book.  Our story, though, was essentially the same.  Scoring totals are the one statistic that matters most in determining player pay.

    * How much players are paid is not the only decision economists have examined. Ha Hoang and Dan Rascher published a study in Industrial Relations in 1999.  The Hoang and Rascher study looked at the factors that caused a player to be cut from an NBA roster.  The only player statistic these researchers found to matter was scoring.  All other player statistics did not matter.

    * We have looked at the coaches voting for the All-Rookie team and the factors that impact where a college player is drafted.  What matters most? Again, scoring matters more than factors associated with getting possession of the ball (i.e. rebounds, turnovers, and steals).

    * Wins in the NBA, though, are not just about scoring.  Possession factors have a large impact on the outcomes we observe in the NBA. When you look at all the statistics the NBA tracks you find that with these you can explain 95% of the variation in wins.  And when you look at all these statistics you find that you can create a very accurate estimate of the wins each player produces.

From all this what do we conclude? Conventional wisdom in basketball is incorrect.  Players who only score are not as valuable as people think.  Players who do not score much — like Ben Wallace and Dennis Rodman – have a bigger impact on team wins than people seem to think.

Reminds one of Starbury explaining his max contract.
Also, why many think Jamal is valuable.
Of course that's why players want the ball and want to shoot (well money and the fact that it's more fun).  But scoring is glory, and glory gets rewarded.
Zach isn't earning $13M per for defense, now is he?

[jbottle]

Somebody said the "playoffs" had started and I was like "playoffs...you wan't to talk about 'playoffs...'"

[bodiddley]

Thought this was interesting.
(And I realized that I knew very little about ACL's).
From a very good but long NYTimes Magazine piece on girl's sports injuries (focusing mostly on soccer and ACL's):

AN A.C.L. DOES NOT tear so much as it explodes, often during routine athletic maneuvers — landings from jumps, decelerations from sprints — that look innocuous until the athlete crumples to the ground. After the A.C.L. pulls off the femur, it turns into a viscous liquid. The ligament cannot be repaired; it has to be replaced with a graft, which the surgeon usually forms by taking a slice of the patellar tendon below the kneecap or from a hamstring tendon. One reason for the long rehabilitation is that the procedure is really two operations — one at the site of the injury and the other at the donor site, where the tendon is cut.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a ligament in the center of the knee that prevents the shin bone (tibia) from moving forward on the thigh bone (femur).

I've frequently enough sprained my ankles, sometimes severely, playing basketball (and once broke one playing football in high school).  But thankfully have never had a knee injury of any sort.  Never had had any sports surgery either.

[Kam]

Somebody said the "playoffs" had started and I was like "playoffs...you wan't to talk about 'playoffs...'"

This has not been a good springtime for Basketball fanatics.

First the NCAA tourney was boring.  All 4 #1s advance to the Final Four.  The only real excitement was the Kansas comeback.  And now these NBA playoffs where every game has been a blowout or a home-team fait a compli.  Except that first game of the first round where Tim Duincan hit a three to send the game into OT to help the Spurs beat the SUNS...   and perhaps this recent OT game in Utah... i can't remember a worse time to be a watcher of BBALL on TV.

[bodiddley]

I can understand your complaint, as I've turned on more than one game around halftime only to find a blowout in progress (the last Cav-Celt game was pretty extreme).

But there have been some excellent performances:
Paul and West have had some scorching games.
Boozer, Deron, Kobe, etc.
Hawks and Philly.

and some interesting strategies:
Detroit was doubling Turk on the perimeter last game, forcing the ball out of his hands.
D'Antoni changed his game plan and had Diaw as the focal point.

Just seems one team shows up and the other gets pummeled.
Home court has been HUGE, except for the Houston-Utah series.
One thing good about all home wins is that you wind up with a Game 7, which is always exciting.

[bankshot1]

Home court has been HUGE, except for the Houston-Utah series.
One thing good about all home wins is that you wind up with a Game 7, which is always exciting.

given the relatively poor performances of most "away" teams, I half expected Celtics fans to reprise   the "see you Sunday" chant after winning game 5 last night.

[Kam]

KYLE KORVER YOU'RE GUTLESS!

[bodiddley]

A list of the greats:

All-Time Playoff Scoring Leaders
No.   Player                       Points
1.    Michael Jordan          5,987
2.    Kareem                      5,762
3.    Shaquille O'Neal     5,121
4.    Karl Malone            4,761
5.    Jerry West               4,457
6.    Larry Bird                3,897
7.    John Havlicek            3,776
8.    Hakeem Olajuwon  3,755
9.    Magic Johnson          3,701
10.    Scottie Pippen          3,642
11.    Elgin Baylor            3,623
12.    Wilt Chamberlain 3,607
13.    Tim Duncan         3,577
14.    Kobe Bryant          3,465

I know Rip Hamilton just passed Isiah for most playoff points by a Piston, but I forget the number.

[bodiddley]

Geez, Spurs bench has 4 players 35 or older (Finley, KT, Barry, Horry).
No wonder they start Fin and use Ginobili off the bench.
You can't really bring in 3 or 4 middle-aged players.

But Barry's dorky-looking quick release was working.

Odd  that Kobe took one 3-pointer and no FT's.
Hit nearly half his shots.
Didn't see the game.

Seems Oberto is doing little or nothing.
Why not use Kurt?

SA lost two winnable games.
At 1-3 ,they is done.

[bodiddley]

Is it possible that there was a draft in which the second round was better than the first?
(of course Bias, Washburn and Tarpley were all drug casualties)

1986 DRAFT

First Round 1  Clev   Brad Daugherty           North Carolina 2  Bos    Len Bias                 Maryland 3  GS     Chris Washburn           North Carolina State 4  Ind    Chuck Person             Auburn 5  NY    Kenny Walker             Kentucky 6  Phoe   William Bedford          Memphis State 7  Dall   Roy Tarpley              Michigan 8* Clev   Ron Harper               Miami (OH) 9  Chi    Brad Sellers             Ohio State 10 SA     Johnny Dawkins           Duke 11 Det    John Salley              Georgia Tech 12 Wash   John Williams            Louisiana State 13 NJ     Dwayne Washington        Syracuse 14 Port   Walter Berry             St. John's 15 Utah   Dell Curry               Virginia Tech 16 Den    Mo Martin                St. Joseph's 17 Sac    Harold Pressley          Villanova 18 Den    Mark Alarie              Duke 19 Atl    Billy Thompson           Louisville 20 Hous   Buck Johnson             Alabama 21 Wash   Anthony Jones            Nevada-Las Vegas 22 Mil    Scott Skiles             Michigan State 23 LAL    Ken Barlow               Notre Dame 24 Port   Arvidas Sabonis          None (Soviet Union) Second Round 1  Dall   Mark Price               Georgia Tech[/b] 2  Ind    Greg Drelling            Kansas 3  Det    Dennis Rodman            SE Oklahoma State 4  Chi    Larry Krystkowiak        Montana 5  Clev   Johnny Newman            Richmond 6  Sea    Nate McMillan            North Carolina State 7  Phoe   Joe Ward                 Georgia 8  Atl    Cedric Henderson         Georgia 9  SA     Kevin Duckworth          Eastern Illinois 10 Sac    Johnny Rogers            California-Irvine 11 Dall   Milt Wagner              Louisville 12 Wash   Steve Mitchell           Alabama-Birmingham 13 Port   Parragiotis Fasoulas     North Carolina State 14 Sea    Lemone Lampley           DePaul 15 Phoe   Rafael Addison           Syracuse 16 Atl    Augusto Binelli          None (Italy) 17 Den    Otis Smith               Jacksonville 18 Atl    Ron Kellogg              Kansas 19 Hous   Dave Feitl               Texas-El Paso 20 Phil   David Wingate            Georgetown 21 Mil    Keith Smith              Loyola Marymount 22 Phoe   Jeff Hornacek            Iowa State 23 NY    Michael Jackson          Georgetown especially if you add in Third Round pick 13 Port   Drazen Petrovic          Zagreb (Yugoslavia)

[bosox18d]

Congrats to the rapist and his boys on reaching the finals.Here in L.A. thousands of young boys and girls wear the rapists jersey.The NBA it's Fantastic!!!!!!

[Dzimas]

Better than those thugs from San Antonio.  I am very glad to see the Spurs denied this trip.  A Lakers-Celtics match-up brings up memories of old, but my how the faces have changed.  Ray Allen is one of my favorite players in the NBA.

[Biz]

Congrats to the rapist and his boys on reaching the finals.Here in L.A. thousands of young boys and girls wear the rapists jersey.The NBA it's Fantastic!!!!!!

It's not innocent until proven guilty where you live?

[bosox18d]

Money buys happiness and"justice".He's a real role model for kids to look up to or adults.