The Underrated Genius Of Shane Battier [Nba]
Deadspin — ... picks apart the Duke legend's unheralded NBA career. It's a long article in the NY Times magazine, but definitely worth a read during your weekend lounging. [NY Times Magazine] ...

"Manu Ginóbili is a statistical freak"
San Antonio Spurs Dynasty — Michael Lewis, the author of "Moneyball," has an interesting piece in the latest New York Times Magazine ("The No-Stats All-Star"). Ostensibly, Lewis is writing about Houston Rockets' forward Shane Battier. But Lewis is really interested in how traditional basketball statistics don't necessarily reveal a player's impact or effect on his fellow players, and how people like Daryl Morey, the Rockets’ general manager, are using stats in new ways to build better teams and better players. The big challenge on any basketball court is to measure the right ...

Michael Lewis and the NBA's No-Stats All-Star
SportsFilter — Michael Lewis and the NBA's No-Stats All-Star : "Here we have a basketball mystery: a player is widely regarded inside the NBA as, at best, a replaceable cog in a machine driven by superstars. And yet every team he has ever played on has acquired some magical ability to win." Moneyball author Michael Lewis returns to familiar ground with the cover story in Sunday's New York Times Magazine . But this time the sport is basketball and the player he describes -- whose skills required entirely new metrics to properly appreciate -- is Shane Battier. ...

Qualified Links
Not Qualified To Comment — Chicago's landmark ordinance may be in trouble, and the results of the battle may affect Wrigley Field. See you later Mike Brown. The way the market works these days, I'm sure someone will take a flyer on him. The Bears lose a leader, but he just couldn't seem to stay healthy. Is Tyrus Thomas really playing that much better lately? TYI thinks not, and makes a convincing argument for getting Amare. Moneyball has finally made it's way to basketball, and it's very interesting to see how it's being used by guys like Shane ...

Case of the Mondays
Friends of the Program — ... We use the same joke as the fat middle-aged data entry clerk in your office when you ask her how her day is going (even though you really don’t care) to bring you our favorite links from the weekend… If I asked you which an NFL kicker got drunk and fought a gas station paper towel dispense, wouldn’t Jeff Reed be your first three guesses. Ahh AI, you play too much! Great write up on Shane Battier by Moneyball and Blind Side author Michael Lewis. Andy Kennedy writes a valentine to his ...

A post-All Star break roster evaluation
The Dream Shake — ... Shane Battier -- Okay, we've all seen the article by now.  None of the information revealed in the article should be surprising to any of us.  No, Battier isn't athletic.  He isn't a great offensive player.  He's not very fast.  He can't jump very high.  He can barely dunk.  And yet....... he's the prototypical "Moneyball" player of the NBA.  So it's unlikely he's going anywhere.  But....... (there's always a "but")... Battier isn't getting any younger.  He'll be 31 next season.  His contract also expires ...

Check Into Tomorrow
freedarko.com — ... , but still, we're left feeling something between flattered and slighted. Plus, they really should've dug a little deeper into the desert ecosystem. Now, onto brighter places, or at least those that thrive and scamper in the fields of discourse, not envy. Michael Lewis's Battier/NBA Moneyball/how Morey works piece has seriously shaken up the basketball world. At least the kind that reads the Times . Some have been blindsided (ha!) by this sudden and gaping window into Morey's methods. But what's really made an impact is the fact that Battier, formerly thought of as that ...

Full Court Press
Blazersedge — ... I'm assuming you already read the NY Times article by Michael Lewis about Shane Battier, but if not here's your link. ...

What does it take to run an NBA organization?
BMac's Blog: The Rants of a Basketball Maven — Over the weekend, the New York Times had an interesting article about Shane Battier, which featured Houston Rockets' General Manager Daryl Morey. Also on Sunday, Steve Kerr was replacing his hand-picked head coach with the Phoenix Suns. Last week, I wrote about " ...

Preview & Chat: The Atlanta Hawks
Forum Blue And Gold — ... Who Is The Lakers Moneyball Player? The thing that has had me thinking the most lately — and had the NBA blogsphere buzzing — is last weekend’s piece in the NY Times Magazine about the statistical steps taken by the Rockets and how they plucked Shane Battier from obscurity to make him a key players. (I’m not sure how a guy recruited to Duke and selected sixth overall ever gets thought of as obscure, but we’ll let that question slide.) ...

Shane Battier and the value of LEGO players
Detroit Bad Boys — ... I’m guessing a lot of you have seen this already (I’ve received no fewer than five emails from readers telling me about it, which I thoroughly appreciate) but here’s Michael Lewis’ fantastic New York Times article about Shane Battier and the use of advanced statistics in the NBA. It’s a must-read for anyone who fancies himself an informed NBA fan. ...

The Reclamation of Connor Atchley's Reputation
Burnt Orange Nation — ... Magazine article on Mike Leach that started the whole pirate thing in the first place, Lewis has a gift for seeking out instances in which someone in sports is exploiting inefficiencies in old ways of doing things and then translating what those people are doing for the layperson.  The article published this weekend was about Shane Battier, Darryl Morey (the GM of the Houston Rockets), and the coming SABRmetric explosion in basketball statistics.  You should absolutely read it if you haven't already. ...

A hypothetical conversation between Daryl Morey and Kiki Vandeweghe
The Dream Shake — ... Morey:  First, I'm not doing any trades unless you take Luther Head.  Second, did you not see Michael Lewis' article on Shane Battier and myself?  Clearly not, for you would have learned that Shane is the most valuable statistical player in the NBA and that I am a genius for recognizing this before anyone else.  Moneyball ain't got shit on me. ...

Good Shots, Bad Shots, and Randomness
ClipperBlog.com Blog for the Los Angeles NBA Clippers Fans — ... Michael Lewis’ piece from the Sunday New York Times on Shane Battier and the Rockets has made the rounds, but I wanted to zero in on a particularly insightful morsel buried deep in the article: ...

Who Are The Steelers 'Glue Guys?'
Behind the Steel Curtain — ... First, if you have the patience, read this article by Michael Lewis from this past weekend in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. You may or may not be a fan of professional basketball - for many of you, my guess would be no. But I presume that many of you read either the ...

A Stats Primer
the Blowtorch — ... I was reading the Internet last night. I only made it about halfway through the Internet when I came upon this article from the New York Times. It was written by a guy who wrote a book about the use of stats (short for "statistics," which is short for "numbers of things that happened") in baseball, but this article is about stats in basketball (proposed new name: statsketball). The piece is centered on Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier (proposed new name: Stattier). ...

Baron Davis to Houston?
SLAM Online — ... ), I sure would love to know which of Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s fancy math formulas convinced him that this could possibly turn out to be a good idea. ...

Thoughts on the Money(Basket)Ball Rockets
The Painted Area — The Michael Lewis piece in New York Times Magazine on how the Rockets organization is attempting to apply the Moneyballmodel of advanced statistical analysis to basketball, personified in the quest to try to quantify the value of Shane Battier, has been the talk of the basketball world for the last few days, and rightly so. It's the brilliant reporting we've come to commonly expect from Lewis, whether he's writing about sports or the meltdown of the economy, and I'm thrilled that he's writing about basketball. ...

A loathing look back: Basketbawful HATES Larry Hughes
this is the city line. — ... Larry Hughes.  But because adding his numerous fantastic digs at the embattled shooting guard would have pushed my already obnoxiously long therapy session into the “No Stats All-Star” lengthosphere, I decided to clip ‘n’ save them, then allow you to savor their flavor in a single post. ...

You Can’t Always Blame Your Problems On DMZ
Cavs: The Blog — ... The effects of Michael Lewis’ article have been wide-ranging, and certainly seems to have more sticking power than when +/- articles started getting run back in 2005 with ...

twitter while we wait
This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS — ... And this Twitter one really seems to be the best one in a while, in that if fills a void–I rail constantly about the death of long form sports journalism–by the way read this–but Twitter could actually help it (or further remove the need for media to bridge the gap between news makers and news consumers–either way). Don’t waste the time reading 15, 400-word stories you can learn about from a few lines in Twitter in a few glances (and then choose to read what you want of the myriad of weblinks) and make more time for reading things ...

Bango!
Bob's Blog - Live from Lewisville — ... is talking to teams about Smyth. The Avs won't ask Smyth to waive his no-trade unless there's a decent deal tabled. Teams are working on their offers now. These are big names that may require big deals for teams to pull the trigger. However, this list of 10 present some powerful possibilities. BTW, Smyth is signed until 2012 – 3 years left for $16 million Jokinen has one year left at 5.5 million CBC’s Trade Deadline primer …. NY Times Magazine story written by Michael Lewis on Shane Battier and NBA Statistics … ...

Danger!
Canis Hoopus — ... , this is how you question a player's worth to his squad.  This is how you cover a team.  Secondly, let's take a quick walk back to the wonderful NY Times article about Shane Battier and Daryl Morey: ...

Live from San Jose
Bob's Blog - Live from Lewisville — ... is the Stars history when they allow our radio show to join them on the road.... 2/14/04 At Pho L 3-2 2/16/04 At Ana L 1-3 2/18/04 At LA W 4-3 3/5/06 At Chi W 7-2 3/7/06 At Edm W 4-3 3/9/06 At Cal L 1-0 3/11/06 At Van W 2-1 3/21/07 At LA W 4-2 3/23/07 At Ana OTL 3-2 3/24/07 At Pho W 4-3 3/27/08 at SJ OTL 3-2 3/29/08 at LA W 7-2 3/30/08 at Ana OTL 3-2 7-3-3 so far.... Linkage: Great NBA reading – Michael Lewis on Shane Battier …long and great: ...

Platoon
ClipperBlog.com Blog for the Los Angeles NBA Clippers Fans — ... Aside from determining how certain players are undervalued, what are some of the practical utilities for all this cool new data?  One answer I heard repeatedly from the panelists and in conversations is applying this information to measure the performance of 5-man units.  A couple of different stat guys told me that, for one, information about 5-man units can be imparted to coaches in a palatable way.  An ornery coach might not want to hear from some data-cruncher that he needs to run fewer isolations sets for Player A out on the wing, but that same coach will likely be much ...

Bruce Bowen: Myth vs. Reality
48 Minutes of Hell — ... But if you are Kobe Bryant, there are two problems: Your options are nearly limitless and although some may be inferior to others, none are really that bad. My description of this style of defense and the problem Kobe poses to it may remind you of something; it is fundamentally the same defensive approach described in Michael Lewis’ much discussed New York Times piece, The No-Stats All-Star. Despite the praise heaped on Shane Battier and his defensive acumen, yesterday’s ...

GameThread: @ Houston
Canis Hoopus — ... , but Yao Ming, Ron Artest and every nerd's favorite, Shane Battier are all still in action. Yao's the scary one here, since the Wolves' interior D is nothing to write home about and he's averaged 22 points, 7 boards and 4.3 blocks against the Wolves this year. ...

Day 148 of 170: The Bulls Have that Playoff Smell
Give Me The Rock — ... Houston (47-25) at Utah (43-26) – I know that Shane Battier is Mr. Super Intangibles and all, but I’d love to see ONE stat that shows he’s an above average player. It’s clear that none of the stats used in fantasy basketball do. ...

Daily FaF Smear (3/30/09)
Fourth And Fifty — ... Rockets:  Everyone in the media has a huge woody for Shane Battier.  We linked to the 3,000 word thesis about SB in the New York Times.  Now some wannabe news source is trying their hand at ...

The Michael Lewis Beat Continues
ESPN.com - TrueHoop — ... , NPR correspondent Scott Horsley uses Michael Lewis' February piece on Shane Battier in the New York Times as a springboard to discuss how compensation on Wall Street rewards bankers and traders for the wrong reasons:  ...

Game Notes: Rockets at Lakers
SLAM Online — ... I want to talk to Shane Battier about the brilliant article Michael Lewis wrote about him in the New York Times Magazine proclaiming Battier as the premiere Kobe Bryant-stopper in the NBA. ...

Celebrating the saavy baller | WEEKEND SPORTS SELECT
HotNonPorn.com — ... Finally, Danny Green is UNC's heart and soul. Ty Lawson is the Tar Heels' motor and Tyler Hansbrough the enforcer, but without Green, there is no championship game for North Carolina. Green has proven to be a smooth, well-rounded player who provides timely shooting and defense for his team. I think he can become a glue guy in the mold of Shane Battier at the next level. ...

The Babble and Statistics
CelticsBlog — ... Back in February, Michael Lewis published the "No-Stats All-Star" in the New York Times, utilizing the Rockets' Shane Battier and Daryl Morey as catalysts for a discussion about the need for statistics more telling than those found in a traditional box score.  That, along with March's more-popular-than-ever ...

Kobe Isn't Afraid of Blazers, But Should He Be?
The Sporting Blog — ... have of supplanting the Lakers in the Western Conference playoffs. I tend to agree; Houston I'd give a puncher's chance if Daryl Morey hadn't "tugged on Superman's cape" through Michael Lewis' Battier profile a few months back. Kobe isn't losing to Houston. Not this year. ...

Speed Read: A Handy LeBron Coronation Program
SPORTSbyBROOKS — ... We Said So) vs. #5 Houston There’s Also a Regression Analysis to Prove Shane Battier Makes the Best Damned Mojitos in Texas ...

Shane Battier And The Rockets Set For Playoffs
Sports Radio Interviews — ... come to a close for the Houston Rockets. They’ll head into the stacked Western Conference playoffs as the #5 seed and will travel to Portland to take on the Blazers in a very intriguing 1st Round match-up. One of the storylines you’ll be hearing plenty of in the coming week(s) is Shane Battier going about his business quietly on defense, doing the little things necessary to help his team win. The former Duke star, who’s been getting much more media attention since Michael Lewis’ piece in the New York Times Magazine on the hidden value of ...

Defensive Player of the Year? Dwight Howard
Ball Don't Lie — ... because he alters so, so much, even if he's 20 feet away from the shot attempt. But guess what? Dwight Howard doesn't average half of 2.9 blocks per game. He averages 2.9 blocks per game. And a steal. And 13.8 rebounds. And his Magic team, featuring a starting lineup that includes two slight small forwards, a rookie shooting guard, and either Jameer Nelson or Rafer Alston at the point, finished first in defensive efficiency this year. Really, Dwight is the no-stats All-Star, but with stats. And he's 23. Yikes.

The most important player in the Rockets/Blazers series: Chuck Hayes
The Dream Shake — ... Then again, if Shane Battier can be a "no stats all star" - why not Chuck? Don't be surprised when you see Chuck Hayes on the floor for extended minutes while frustrating the Blazers to no end when Portland (temporarily) has possession.  Chuck Hayes' game may be ugly, but it is beautifully effective.  Yet another reason why Daryl Morey is a freakin' genius. Chuck Hayes will be a huge factor.  Don't say I didn't warn you, Portland. 

Underrated: Andre Iguodala by Kevin Pelton
Basketball Prospectus — ... also show Iguodala holding opponents 4.7 percent below their normal production--virtually identical to Battier's performance. Again, Iguodala has been slow in getting recognition for his defense, drawing only a single vote for last year's All-Defensive teams. But using the same methods to adjust plus-minus data that Michael Lewis drew upon in his Battier profile , statistical analysis shows Igudoala to be an elite defender. His ...

Wednesday Bullets
ESPN.com - TrueHoop — ... also show Iguodala holding opponents 4.7 percent below their normal production -- virtually identical to Battier's performance. Again, Iguodala has been slow in getting recognition for his defense, drawing only a single vote for last year's All-Defensive teams. But using the same methods to adjust plus-minus data that Michael Lewis drew upon in his Battier profile, statistical analysis shows Igudoala to be an elite defender. His ...

Playoff Prospectus: Two Laughers and a Classic by Kevin Pelton
Basketball Prospectus — ... one-on-one with a head of steam in his favor. He pulled up from just outside the lane and hit the go-ahead basket with 2.2 seconds showing on the clock. The Lakers had enough time to tie or take the lead, and it was no secret where they were going with the basketball. Unexpectedly, Utah played screens straight up and chose to leave Ronnie Brewer one-on-one against Kobe Bryant. Bryant still caught the ball a good two or three steps beyond the three-point line. After the shot, Michael Lewis' Shane Battier profile popped into my head. "Since the 2002-3 season," wrote Lewis, ...

Sunday Morning Astros News and Links
The Crawfish Boxes — ... I think this article on Shane Battier from The New York Times Magazine was already posted on this blog, but if you haven't read it, I recommend you take a look. Even if you're not a huge basketball fan, it's still a tremendous read. ...

Lakers vs. Rockets: Time to revisit the Battier article
ESPNtheMag.com - MagDaily — Remember this? The question is: if you read all the way to the end, do you really believe it anymore? Let us know.

The winner of the Rockets/Lakers series will be the 2009 NBA Champion
The Dream Shake — ... .  Also known as the game featured in Michael Lewis' article on Shane Battier.  Alternatively known as the "f--k you, Rafer!" game where he shanked two free throws at the end.  Again.  Fortunately, Rafer is banished from our fair city and won't play a role in this series.  Yeah, I was at this game.  20 feet away from Kobe when he drained that long 3 at the end.  Ugh.  But there was no Artest in this game.  And no Bynum.  Landry had a MONSTER game of his own. ...

Rockets Already Rallying For Lakers Match-Up
Outside the Boxscore — ... the assembled fans. (Can anyone name the tune they're singing to? It'd be too perfect if it were the Chinese national anthem...) Seeing this, it just struck me that the Rockets have been doing things right for awhile now. Just a classy, heady organization. You just don't hear any quibbles from any of the actions they take. Rick Adelman took over after Van Gundy's firing almost seamlessly. Ron Artest has fit in surprisingly well. Daryl Morey and Shane Battier are groundbreaking, NY Times article worthy. Even the Ewing Theory on McGrady comes from outside the team, and ...

Recognizing true toughness when you see it | DAILY SPORTS SELECT
HotNonPorn.com — ... I've always been a huge Yao Ming fan, and became a big Battier fan recently (although I've always respected him) after reading Michael Lewis' New York Times article. But after watching these two step it up in Game 1 against the Lakers, I'm moved like never before. ...

Playoff Recap: Yao returns to lead Rockets to 100-92 victory over Lakers in Game 1
The Dream Shake — ... There's nothing new for me to say about Shane's defense on Kobe, since some other dude already wrote his own article about it.  So I'll be brief in saying that it was fantastic.  If there is one thing that differs from the way that Shane guards Kobe and the way that every other defender in the league guards Kobe, it is in the amount of separation that Bryant can get on his jump shots.  Battier knows when Bryant is going to shoot.  I don't know how, but it sure looks that way.  Every time Kobe pulls up, he's got five fingers in his ...

If It Bleeds, You Can Kill It
Hardwood Paroxysm — ... I had a conversation with Graydon shortly after the Battier Fuss of ‘09, and he brought up a killer point: the success of that article was the same as dubbing him a “Harvard Man.”  If you attend or graduate from Harvard, you’re sure to hear about it every time you make a mistake.  “There’s that Harvard education at work!”  Likewise, Battier will get an earful every time he commits a defensive mistake or logs a negative +/- .   I mean, he’s Shane Battier.  His middle name is practically +/- .  That is, if cyborgs constructed with ...

Houston Rockets Beat Lakers In Game 1 Thanks To Shane Battier, The No-Stats All-Star
The Critical Fanatic — ... Hmm, we might have  a series after all thanks to Shane Battier’s defensive prowess. You may recall the New York Times piece on Shane Battier in March (The No-Stats All-Star); well, he displayed his value to the Houston Rockets last night in limiting Kobe Bryant’s effectiveness. ...

Kobe's Game 2 and Houston's attempts to "stop" him
Lakers Blog — ... . But in watching the "tape," the following became apparent: (1) Shane Battier's scientific methods for slowing down Kobe Bryant were futile, (2) Bryant respects Ron Artest's defense more than he does Battier's, (3) Chuck Hayes was Houston's most effective Kobe-defender, and (4) the official scorekeeper conjured up a 27 th field goal attempt for No. 24 on a shot that wasn't a shot. (According to the ...

Behind the Box Score, where we're getting some Game 7s
Ball Don't Lie — ... 112 or 113 points per 100 possessions, either first or second in the NBA from beginning until the end (finishing just in back of Portland), and the Triangle tends to get better as the year moves along. So, on May 14th, to have the Rockets hold this team to 95 points per 100 possessions? To hold it to 35.7 percent shooting? Phenomenal. And a lot of that is on the Lakers, as we'll get into, but the first shout-out goes to the men in red. The New York Times told Kobe back in February exactly what Shane Battier(notes) ...

Which College Program Has Produced the Best Current NBA Talent? (A Top 10 List)
Basketball Fiend — ... . But Duke has also put a number of good players in the league. Boozer, who averages a 16.8-10 while shooting 53.6% from the field, will be one of the league’s most sought-after players this offseason. Brand, when healthy, is an All-NBA-level player (career 20-10.1, shooting 50.3% FG). Shane Battier is the kind of player who is extremely valuable to a team, but difficult to quantify with stats . Grant Hill is a six-time All-Star and something of a living legend in the NBA. Corey Maggette is flawed, but has also averaged 20+ points in three of his 10 NBA seasons. Luol Deng and ...

Yao Ming Could Be Out for a Very, Very Long Time
MOUTHPIECE Blog // A Chicago-Addled Sports Blog — ... The Houston Rockets are one of the most oddly comprised teams in the NBA. There’s Tracy McGrady, a one-time superstar secretly (at least to him) moved to the dreaded “second fiddle” role. There’s Shane Battier, the most underrated-turned-overrated player because of a New York Times magazine article. There’s Ron Artest, nicknamed “Crazy Pills,” which says enough. And, of course, there’s Yao Ming, the towering pride of Chinese basketball who remains somewhat of a potential-riddled enigma because of his ...

Morey Must Work His Magic for Rockets
The Baseline — ... . Was that for real? No idea. But it certainly would've marked both an aggressive move in a new direction, as well as a surprising turn away from Battier, so closely linked with Morey's philosophy that it was worth an entire New York Times Magazine article. ...

Bruce Bowen Will Be Missed
Project Spurs - A San Antonio Spurs Blog and Podcast — ... and tells. This allowed Bruce to anticipate his opponents moves and beat them to where they intended to go. In this way, although Bruce was often slower than the offensive player, he was able to defend them because of his anticipation. Basketball is different than other sports because if you master the intangibles of the game, there is always a spot for you on a winning team. Michael Lewis recently wrote an article for the New York Times entitled "The No-Stats All-Star," which greatly explored the intangibles that do not get ...

The 5 Most Reliable GMs in the NBA
Sir Charles In Charge | An NBA Blog — ... Morey was promoted to GM of the Rockets and created the NBA’s most-publicized stat-based front office. (Other front offices in the NBA may use statistical analysis, but no team does it more publicly than the Rockets.) Morey’s tactics are as effective as they are well-publicized. Since taking over as GM in 2007, Morey has promoted Aaron Brooks from the D-League, re-signed Chuck Hayes and Dikembe Mutombo, traded for Carl Landry, hired Rick Adelman, traded table scraps for Ron Artest, championed Shane Battier and signed NBA Finals hero Trevor Ariza to ...

Selected criticisms of Football Outsiders Almanac 2009
Bleed Scarlet — ... , they have lost.3 This stuff is mainstream now; Baseball Prospectus, Football Outsiders, and John Hollinger are featured on ESPN.com. Michael Lewis writes in the New York Times (not to mention, best selling paperbacks). The Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, SI, they are permeating everywhere. Oakland never won a World Series, but Boston won two by adopting their strategies (with the benefit of a much higher payroll). Before George Steinbrenner bloated up the Yankees again at the start of this decade, Joe Torre won by importing pitch-selective ...

Mike Brown’s Defense
Easy Buckets — ... a superstar, or even a popular player for that matter. If Kobe decides to take it to the paint, it’s a guaranteed trip to the foul line unless the defense moves aside and lets him go untouched. The best a defender can do is to contest every shot – by keeping his hands up – and putting his body between the defender and the basket. This way, you try to force players into uncomfortable situations where they rush awkward shots. There was a good article about this idea by Michael Lewis. It details how Shane Battier defended ...

Yet another "How will the Rockets do?" Post.
The Dream Shake — ... Somewhat ironically (actually, not ironic at all), given Morey's stated issues with boxscore stats, proponents of WoW seem to end up advocating basically what Morey advocates: there's a lot more than scoring in a basketball game, and certain players (guys like Iverson, ...

Competition Discussion: Charlotte Bobcats
Bullets Forever — ... .  Lewis himself probably kick-started this movement with his long piece on Shane Battier in February, and it also helps that Houston's GM is a math whiz kid.  In pure moneyball terms, Houston fits. ...

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Houston Rockets- Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Golden State Of Mind — ... who exceeds Artest on the boards and is a much more disciplined shooter.  Ariza's performance in LA should not surprise anyone and was unlikely a result of LA's "system".  He looked similarly good in Orlando before LA stole him away for next to nothing.  Ariza thus joins a team that was 4th in overall defensive efficiency and loaded with players who are simply very good at securing and keeping the ball.  Shane Battier's positive effect has been chronicled elsewhere.  Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes can provide bruises ...

NBA Top 50: Shane Battier (No. 26)
Outside the Boxscore — ... Qualifying statements: 32 ain't nothing to sniff at; a 6 spot jump isn't exactly monumental; and...Shane Battier cannot be your star. Period. Or maybe all that is, as the kind would say it, bunk. Look, for all our refutations and wild gesticulations over the minutes and hours and weeks and months that make up a year, we're generally a bit smarter with the passing of time, when all is said and done. That said, and hopefully done, Michael Lewis' mammoth of a piece for the NY Times The No-Stats All-Star was one of the things that helped move us in that direction ...

The Sports Guy's phone call to Daryl Morey (the secret recording)
The Dream Shake — ... Morey:  Bill, it's secret.  I think you can understand that.  I only share this information with Shane.  And yeah, awesome job going ...

Bill Belichick Actually Went With Odds On Fourth-Down Try
MOUTHPIECE Blog // A Chicago-Addled Sports Blog — ... the numbers any way you like, but it’s pretty hard to come up with a realistic combination of numbers that make punting the better option. At best, you could make it a wash. Any way you slice it, it’s just a situation that shows you can play the odds in every situation at all times, and still come out on the wrong side of them; unless the odds are 100 percent on your side, there’s always a chance the results won’t be in your favor. Just ask Shane Battier about that one.

Tuesday Bullets
ESPN.com - TrueHoop — ... Remember Michael Lewis' famous cover story about Shane Battier? It was huge in my world. People talk about it all the time. It was meaningful peek into a new way of assessing players. Today, two pieces of insight: ...

Points in the Paint
BallerBlogger.com — ... :  “And after a New York Times Magazine article last February depicted the Houston Rockets’ Shane Battier’s use of analytical data to guard Bryant, he went to Grover’s assistant, Mike Procopio, ...