does pre-season matter?

[Leonard Curse]

hi guys seeing the lack of reading material i thought i might as well slip this in here. anyhow i was wondering if theres any sites that could show us preseason W/L % and the end season results.

because from what i remember these past yrs ive seen the lakers dominate the pre season and i saw an interesting statistic on the lakers preseason/championship correlation, of course now i cant find anything on it.

do any of you guys recall the spurs/lakers preseason/championship stats?? i dont think the spurs are affected by the preseason as much as the lakers are somehow.

sounds dumb i know but let me know what you recall :wakeup

[lefty]

It's only October

[duncan228]

NBA.com with a piece on this yesterday.


Believe it or don't, but stats say preseason is valuable (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/john_schuhmann/10/21/numbers-game-preseason-trends/index.html)
John Schuhmann
NBA.com

Preseason is not meaningless. Let's just get that straight. It certainly has more meaning for some teams than it does for others, but it no way should preseason wins, losses or stats be dismissed.

To update this story from a year ago (http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/john_schuhmann/10/15/ng.preseason/index.html): In the past six seasons (2004-05 through 2009-10), 11 teams have gone through the preseason either undefeated or with just one loss. All 11 have made the playoffs. In the same time, eight teams have won just one game - or haven't won any - in the preseason. Only one of the eight, the 2007-08 Cavs, made it to the playoffs.

With just two more days left in the preseason, it's clear that fans of the Grizzlies (who are 7-0 with one game left) should feel pretty good about their team's chance to make the postseason for the first time in five seasons.

The correlation between preseason and regular-season success goes beyond wins and losses. Last year's numbers show a fairly strong correlation between preseason efficiency and regular-season efficiency.

Keep Reading... (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/john_schuhmann/10/21/numbers-game-preseason-trends/index.html)

[D-rob fan]

As an estimator of player efficiency, it's probably valuable. As an estimator of team efficiency I think it doesn't help at all. It depends on the coach whether they like the preseason to evaluate unknown players (ie. Spurs) or they like the preseason to get their players into shape (ie. Magic). I remember the spurs having one preseason where they went 1-6. Can't remember which though.

[Libri]

According to that article, Orlando has the best defense and offense in preseason. We will see if it holds up during the regular season.

[mazerrackham]

preseason is a good indicator of teams that are making improvements. If a team was a failure last year, and made improvements into the next year's preseason, then it likely has merit. The correlation between preseason and regular season lessens for teams that made it to the playoffs last year, however.

[Leonard Curse]

thanks duncan228!!!!!!!!

yeah we def look better than last year and thats without splitter so i think our preseason is a lil tainted.

[TJastal]

If preseason matters (and i believe it surely does)

The utah jazz will be a damn powerhouse. 8-0 and that's without Deron Williams and Okur, who have hardly played yet.

I thought the rockets would take the next step to challenge the elite but I stand corrected. Jefferson is healthy and the utah jazz look ready to take the next step.

[Leonard Curse]

yeah i was wishing we had al jefferson when they were trying to trade him, i knew hed be a great under the radar pickup for them. once i heard bell wanted to join the jazz as well thats when i got scared.

sure as shit Raja bell looks as fierce as ever!!i know the spurs tried but pop really needs to put some additional effort in obtaining these kinds of players. were wasting time and money with penney/hairston/and gee.

obviously he wants veterans so he should dish out some cash & go straight for those type of players ala battier/bell/afflalo/ariza it saves alot of time and bullshit us fans have to go through haha

[tav1]

Forgive the self-pimping.

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/spurs-stats-nba-preseason-predict-regular-season/

And Zach tackled the subject here: http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2010/10/13/do-these-preseason-games-matter/

[sexinthatsx]

If preseason matter, Miami Heat sure isn't looking too hot...

edit: matters

[The Truth #6]

I remember back in the mid 80s during the Dark Ages when we would go 5-0 in preseason and then promptly shit the bed in the regular season. I don't think it means anything, especially if Pop is a coach who likes to start slow.

[mosdef17]

Refer to Manu drawing up game winning play against the Clippers, don't know that Gary Neals name would be called by a player drawing up a play if it mattered :)

[DeadlyDynasty]

Preseason is valuable for the young guys and FA acquisitions...other than that the vets have no obligation to really try, so it means jack shit tbh.

[spurs10]

I went to one pre-season game and no starters played in the 4th quarter. I don't think it was very revealing of how the regular season is going to be. Pop was clearly observing players to see what they had. However the starters looked damn good, when they played.

[DJ Mbenga]

all preseason truly is is an opportunity for your bench to play somebody else than the the starters at practice.

[Oh, Gee!!]

it should matter for the guys trying to make the team, and for the older guys to get some (but very limited) time playing against opponents. The actual win-loss record is meaningless, but the practice aspect is helpful. I think this is true for football as well.

[Obstructed_View]

Preseason matters if you disregard it and start a veteran that sucks instead of the young player that outplayed him for the job.