CubanMustGo
06-03-2007, 03:31 PM
Published today, obviously written before last night's game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/sports/basketball/03score.html?ref=basketball
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Published: June 3, 2007
For years, N.B.A. coaches have tried to achieve optimum productivity from their players, tinkering and toying with various lineups. To find the most effective combinations of players on the court, coaches have played hunches, ridden hot streaks, gone by the book and against it, and searched as high as Yao Ming and as low as Muggsy Bogues for pieces to fit their hardwood puzzles.
Although there has never been a proven formula for winning, there is the Lenovo Stat, a plus-minus rating that shows which players as a group are most productive.
P. J. Carlesimo, an assistant coach with San Antonio, is a firm believer.
“I’ve always been a plus-minus guy,” said Carlesimo, whose Spurs will play Detroit or Cleveland in the N.B.A. finals beginning Thursday. “This particular statistic has been a great tool which has helped us tremendously all year.”
Carlesimo, who has coached the Trail Blazers and the Warriors and at Seton Hall, is well aware that the Lenovo Stat, which calculates point differentials during minutes played for one to five players, favors the Pistons and the Cavaliers over the Spurs in the finals.
Firm believer?
Well, maybe not that firm.
“This is a pretty important statistic, but it’s not the be-all, end-all,” Carlesimo said. “So you can’t overreact.”
The Lenovo Stat, which became accessible to coaches and fans this season at NBA.com, takes its name from the personal computer company that devised the algorithm on which it is based.
“Coaches have been requesting this kind of information for years,” said Steve Hellmuth, the senior vice president for operations and technology for N.B.A. Entertainment. “What’s brand new here is that coaches and fans now have access to this same information.”
A quick look online Friday showed that the Lenovo Stat ranked Detroit as having the best five-man combination in the playoffs, and Cleveland’s was fourth. San Antonio’s top unit was 14th.
During this postseason, the Pistons’ Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have combined to score 503 points while allowing opponents 433 over 15 games, or 246 minutes 29 seconds, giving them a plus-70 rating.
Cleveland’s LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, Donyell Marshall, Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones have produced a plus-28 rating, having scored 81 points as a group while allowing 53.
The Spurs, proving that statistics can sometimes lie, are ranked below the Suns (fifth at plus-26) and the Jazz (seventh at plus-25), two teams the Spurs defeated on their way to the finals.
If Spurs fans are looking for a silver lining, it cannot be found anywhere beneath a dark statistical cloud that seems to favor the Pistons’ winning the championship. Detroit, according to the Lenovo Stat, has the top four-man (Wallace, Billups, Hamilton and Prince, plus-120), three-man (Wallace, Billups and Prince, plus-154), two-man (Billups and Prince, plus-155) and one-man (Billups, plus-120) units in the postseason. {and yet, a team that looked like sh*t in losing four straight to the Cavs, showing that stats don't measure heart or desire yet.}
“In the playoffs, rotations become a little tighter because the games are more meaningful, so the numbers can get a little skewed,” Carlesimo said. “You’re less apt to trust rookies or guys who haven’t played big minutes during the regular season.
“There are other factors that come into play, like blowout victories or garbage time, especially in a smaller amount of games played in the postseason. That’s why I like to look at these numbers over an 82-game season. It gives you a better read.”
Charles Klask, an advance scout for the Orlando Magic, said that while he understood that the Lenovo Stat was not an exact science, “its plus-minus rating allows me to see if there are any irregularities in a team’s rotation.”
“It’s a great tool that can be used by both sides in late-game situations,” Klask added. “If a team needs a score and maybe foul trouble or other factors have prevented them from having their best team out there, they know who their next-best lineup is, or their best duo.”
Klask said Paul Millsap, a top Utah bench player, stood out whenever he was studying the Lenovo Stat. “He’s not the focal point of their offense, he doesn’t score a lot, but he is always a part of two or three of Utah’s best lineups,” Klask said. “As a scout, I would let players know before a game to pay more attention to a player like that.”
Carlesimo, who looks over Lenovo statistics after each game, said the numbers “definitely tell you something.”
“Pop sometimes asks about it,” he said, referring to Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich. “It’s not brain surgery, but it’s a piece of the puzzle. A good piece.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/sports/basketball/03score.html?ref=basketball
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Published: June 3, 2007
For years, N.B.A. coaches have tried to achieve optimum productivity from their players, tinkering and toying with various lineups. To find the most effective combinations of players on the court, coaches have played hunches, ridden hot streaks, gone by the book and against it, and searched as high as Yao Ming and as low as Muggsy Bogues for pieces to fit their hardwood puzzles.
Although there has never been a proven formula for winning, there is the Lenovo Stat, a plus-minus rating that shows which players as a group are most productive.
P. J. Carlesimo, an assistant coach with San Antonio, is a firm believer.
“I’ve always been a plus-minus guy,” said Carlesimo, whose Spurs will play Detroit or Cleveland in the N.B.A. finals beginning Thursday. “This particular statistic has been a great tool which has helped us tremendously all year.”
Carlesimo, who has coached the Trail Blazers and the Warriors and at Seton Hall, is well aware that the Lenovo Stat, which calculates point differentials during minutes played for one to five players, favors the Pistons and the Cavaliers over the Spurs in the finals.
Firm believer?
Well, maybe not that firm.
“This is a pretty important statistic, but it’s not the be-all, end-all,” Carlesimo said. “So you can’t overreact.”
The Lenovo Stat, which became accessible to coaches and fans this season at NBA.com, takes its name from the personal computer company that devised the algorithm on which it is based.
“Coaches have been requesting this kind of information for years,” said Steve Hellmuth, the senior vice president for operations and technology for N.B.A. Entertainment. “What’s brand new here is that coaches and fans now have access to this same information.”
A quick look online Friday showed that the Lenovo Stat ranked Detroit as having the best five-man combination in the playoffs, and Cleveland’s was fourth. San Antonio’s top unit was 14th.
During this postseason, the Pistons’ Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have combined to score 503 points while allowing opponents 433 over 15 games, or 246 minutes 29 seconds, giving them a plus-70 rating.
Cleveland’s LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, Donyell Marshall, Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones have produced a plus-28 rating, having scored 81 points as a group while allowing 53.
The Spurs, proving that statistics can sometimes lie, are ranked below the Suns (fifth at plus-26) and the Jazz (seventh at plus-25), two teams the Spurs defeated on their way to the finals.
If Spurs fans are looking for a silver lining, it cannot be found anywhere beneath a dark statistical cloud that seems to favor the Pistons’ winning the championship. Detroit, according to the Lenovo Stat, has the top four-man (Wallace, Billups, Hamilton and Prince, plus-120), three-man (Wallace, Billups and Prince, plus-154), two-man (Billups and Prince, plus-155) and one-man (Billups, plus-120) units in the postseason. {and yet, a team that looked like sh*t in losing four straight to the Cavs, showing that stats don't measure heart or desire yet.}
“In the playoffs, rotations become a little tighter because the games are more meaningful, so the numbers can get a little skewed,” Carlesimo said. “You’re less apt to trust rookies or guys who haven’t played big minutes during the regular season.
“There are other factors that come into play, like blowout victories or garbage time, especially in a smaller amount of games played in the postseason. That’s why I like to look at these numbers over an 82-game season. It gives you a better read.”
Charles Klask, an advance scout for the Orlando Magic, said that while he understood that the Lenovo Stat was not an exact science, “its plus-minus rating allows me to see if there are any irregularities in a team’s rotation.”
“It’s a great tool that can be used by both sides in late-game situations,” Klask added. “If a team needs a score and maybe foul trouble or other factors have prevented them from having their best team out there, they know who their next-best lineup is, or their best duo.”
Klask said Paul Millsap, a top Utah bench player, stood out whenever he was studying the Lenovo Stat. “He’s not the focal point of their offense, he doesn’t score a lot, but he is always a part of two or three of Utah’s best lineups,” Klask said. “As a scout, I would let players know before a game to pay more attention to a player like that.”
Carlesimo, who looks over Lenovo statistics after each game, said the numbers “definitely tell you something.”
“Pop sometimes asks about it,” he said, referring to Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich. “It’s not brain surgery, but it’s a piece of the puzzle. A good piece.”