NYT: Lewis: The No-Stats All-Star
BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog —
NYT: Lewis: The No-Stats All-Star The virus that infected professional baseball in the 1990s, the use of statistics to find new and better ways to value players and strategies, has found its way into every major sport. In its spirit of inquiry, this subculture inside professional basketball is no different from the subculture inside baseball or football or darts. The difference in basketball is that it happens to be the sport that is most like life. Pa’s got things for you to do!
The Death of the Box Score, and Jason Thompson
Sactown Royalty —
... The New York Times picked either the best or worst weekend to published Michael Lewis' beautiful treatment of Daryl Morey and the 'moneyball' of the NBA. With All-Star Weekend and the impending trade deadline, there was the opportunity for it to slip by without much notice. ...
He’s So Valuable: Shane Battier
The Big Lead —
Shane Battier: There is a formula to help you fully understand Shane Battier’s dominance, but the Houston Rockets won’t share it with anyone. Battier, you may have forgotten, was a ridiculously accomplished high school player, and won a title at Duke, too. “I remember trying to add some flair to his game,” [his AAU coach] says, “but it was like teaching a classical dancer to do hip-hop. I came to the conclusion he didn’t have the ego for it.” Terrific profile. (New York Times Magazine)
Weekend Recap
Amphibious Sports Duo —
... Catfish pointed out this article in NY Times Magazine by Michael Lewis, who wrote Moneyball in case you did not know, on Shane Battier and the NBA. [NYTimes.com] ...
Boris and Battier
Queen City Hoops —
... The No-Stats All-Star from the NY Times is a must-read...for all fans. I was tempted to say that it was a must for stats heads, but every fan of basketball would be served to read this. I may be slightly biased, as Shane Battier was my favorite player to watch when I was at Duke, but so be it. Read it and then come back... ...
Rockets GM Daryl Morey "Re-Thinking" the Game
Sports Business Radio blogs —
Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has joined me on Sports Business Radio before. He's in the mold of Oakland A's GM Billy Beane and Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. He uses stats and quantative analysis to put his roster together and gauge a player.
He's one of the brightest young GM's in the NBA.
Terrific article in yesterday's New York Times magazine about Morey's approach.
Why I look at the numbers
Five Hole Fanatics —
Michael Lewis, author of the seminal book "Moneyball", penned a piece on under-appreciated basketball player Shane Battier for the NY Times recently. It's a long, involved 8 pager that discusses the "new stats" movement in major sports in general, and provides a few quotables on why I - and some of the more numerically inclined bloggers upon whom I rely on so much - employ seemingly foreign and arcane figures and percentages for discussion and analysis of the sport. A taste: ...
President's Day Link Dump
Rufus on Fire —
It's late on President's Day, I've been in an office working all day, and the NBA is taking the Monday off. Seems like the perfect time for a link dump.
1) If you haven't read the Michael Lewis piece on Shane Battier and basketball's statistical revolution, you're missing out.
2) Bonnell gives us a simple rundown of the Bobcats' options regarding Felton.
3) Bobcats Baseline responds to Bonnell, with the oh so apropos observation that it must suck for Bonnell to know that his audience, by and large, will reject any argument that has to do ...
Morning Link Dump - Stacy Keibler, Bonds, Battier, Moneyball, OJ, Marshawn, Sager
TheScore.com Blog —
Obligatory Sports Babe Good morning everyone, hope you all enjoyed your traditional Family Day consumption of champagne and hash. Today we've got Stacy Keibler, who's showed up on Busted Coverage in their list of the top ten hot (sports) chicks with must have collectables. Pats Special Teamer Testifies Against Bonds New England Patriots special teams captain Larry Izzo is going to testify for the prosecution in the perjury trial of Barry Bonds-- admitting that Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson gave him performance enhancing drugs, as well as a schedule of how to use them. He is the only NFL player scheduled to ...
Tuesday Bolts - 2.17.09
Daily Thunder.com —
Along with Tyson Chandler, OKC is also reportedly after Marquis Daniels: “Hornets center Tyson Chandler is one of three players “who might be on the verge of joining the Thunder,” according to The Oklahoman. The Hornets are one of the NBA’s many teams trying to avoid the luxury tax, as SN’s Sean Deveney reported last week, and Oklahoma City is reportedly offering Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and one of its five first-round picks over the next two seasons, according to ESPN.com. Wilcox ($6.75 million) and Smith ($4.8 million) have deals that expire after this season. Chandler is set to make $11.85 million in 2009-10 and holds a player ...
The No Stats All Star
Waggle Room —
The No Stats All Star
Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, wrote a lengthy but fantastic piece about former Dukie and current Houston Rocket Shane Battier. As the title suggests, Battier is a player that almost no one in the league respects, but somehow makes any team that he plays for much better. Michael Lewis explores why and, in the process, shows how Moneyball has made ...
Diner Morning News
The National Football Post » Hot News and Rumors —
Diner Morning News FROM MICHAEL LOMBARDI: February 18 th , 2009 QUOTE:“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.” ~ Albert Einstein ...
Gerb, Pog, and Pearlman
The Goose's Roost —
... Habs. With Kovalev sitting at home and more trades imminent, it will be really intriguing to see how they respond. They play Washington tonight, but we'll give you the full rundown of "important games" later on. - I'm pretty sure Time Warner customers have Center Ice free this week. If not, I have no idea why I watched the Bruins/Canes game in HD last night. It was awesome, and you should check it out tonight for yourself. - I'm a big fan of Michael Lewis, and he wrote a monster article about Shane Battier you should check out. - You should ...
What's Vince Carter Worth?
ESPN.com - TrueHoop —
Oh man. These next few hours are going to be fascinating. After learning, from Chad Ford and J.A. Adande's reporting, and a flurry of phone calls, that the Spurs, Rockets, and Blazers are reportedly in the hunt for Vince Carter, I fell asleep last night thining about the Net with the big contract. One point you can't deny: The Spurs, Rockets, and Blazers are three of the stat-geekiest teams out there. If they're the ones lining up to pay Carter's massive salary in his waning years, they must see something special. When it comes to statistics, there are two kinds of teams: Teams that have started building their own ...
Morning Rounds, February 19th
The Sports Complex —
Alright, I know it’s trading deadline day, and I know the hilarity of the Tyson Chandler non-trade is through the roof, but this Shane Battier back-and-forth is getting out of control and I’m chiming in. For those who don’t know, last Sunday Michael Lewis penned an article entitled The No-Stats All-Stars for the Grey Lady’s Magazine edition. In it, he argued that Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, is re-imaging the way we view basketball. Instead of relying on scouts and traditional stats, he’s trying to micro-focus on numbers to determine worth. It’s been seen, ...
Kyle Lowry Moves On
The Sports Complex —
Lowry (in the track suit), back in high school Tid Silary.com, though I’m guessing it’s a CDHS photo The highlight of yesterday’s trade deadline was a three-way trade between the Magic, Rockets, and Memphis Grizzles, a trade headlined by PG/playground ...
Bryan and me: philosophical differences
RaptorBlog.com —
When Bryan Colangelo was hired to be the Raptors' President and GM three years ago, most Raptors fans were ecstatic. His pedigree was such that before his hiring was officially announced many of us didn't believe it was possible that the Raptors could actually attract somebody that highly-regarded to run this sad-sack franchise. Even at the time, I didn't entirely "get" his team-building strategies but I didn't sweat it because it was pretty difficult to question the results. He had shaped the Phoenix Suns into one of the best teams in the NBA and unquestionably one of the most exciting. Who cares if the Suns were out-rebounded by their opponents in each of his ...
Wayne Winston: Mark Cuban's Stats Expert Isn't Bashful, Part 3
ESPN.com - TrueHoop —
Wayne Winston is a professor at Indiana University and for the last nine years he has been Mark Cuban's stat guru for the Dallas Mavericks. Winston's recently published book "Mathletics," explains much of his work -- complete with formulas and spreadsheets. The first few posts have generated a lot of discussion, and an apology to Troy Murphy, on TrueHoop, Wayne Winston's personal website, and the foremost basketball analytics discussion board. In this installment, Winston begins by discussing Tim Thomas and Danilo Gallinari. Here's an example of a guy I think is really ...
Reading…”The Art of a Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan’s Tour of the NBA” by Chris Ballard
Both Teams Played Hard —
Chris Ballard’s The Art of a Beautiful Game represents the art of beautiful sportswriting.
It’s one of the better basketball books I have ever read, and part of its allure is that it is broken down into compartmentalized, stand-alone chapters, each of which details a different aspect of the game. No matter who you are, at least three or four of them will be compelling to you.
Some readers will be struck by the opening piece on “Killer Instinct” that psychoanalyzes Kobe Bryant. Others will no-doubt love the anatomical breakdown of LeBron that catalogs the reasons why his alien-like exoskeleton and other physical ...
