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  1. #1
    Drive for Five! ambchang's Avatar
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    The verdict is in, the zebras, at least in last year’s playoffs, are not biased, and I hope that this can put the conspiracy theories to death.
    I ran a model (similar to the model I ran earlier for the regular season) to predict the number of FTAs a player should get based on the number of perimeter shots, shots in the paint, dunks, tips and 3pters. After the model was run, I decided to take out 3pters and tips, because statistically, these two factors do not show that they are significant.
    What I found was a little surprising, to say the least.
    The teams that “suffer” most from a lack of calls are Phoenix, Cleveland, and LA Clippers. Phoenix could be easily explained by their style of play, but I was surprised by Cleveland as the team that suffered the 2nd most out of all 16 playoff teams, with about 6 less FTs attempted than expected per game, given their style of play, and the presence of one LeBron James.
    Chicago being the top beneficiary of the calls was just as surprising, perhaps it was due to the physical nature of the Miami series, where calls are a frequent occurrence.
    All the teams that faced Phoenix saw their expected FTAs in the negatives, which is not surprising given the no foul policy by Mike D’Antoni, as well as the higher than expected number of layups and dunks from fastbreaks.

    Team GP Dif Total Dif / Game
    CHI 6 34.69343 5.782238378
    WAS 7 38.57245 5.510349997
    MIA 23 116.1622 5.050528628
    SAS 20 56.14845 2.807422328
    DET 23 57.50887 2.500385631
    IND 13 29.37893 2.259917562
    MEM 23 18.21389 0.791908243
    SAC 22 6.738917 0.306314406
    NJN 22 -0.6626 -0.030118141
    DEN 23 -23.4917 -1.021376141
    LAL 23 -26.5326 -1.153591394
    DAL 23 -34.552 -1.50226194
    MIL 20 -44.6722 -2.233608036
    LAC 17 -53.5584 -3.150496763
    CLE 8 -49.2999 -6.162481683
    PHO 13 -124.648 -9.588288725

    From an individual standpoint, I took the players that have less than 5 FTAs, and ranked them according to the difference between actual and predicted FTs, and projected it to 48 minutes. Shockingly, none of the first seven players are what you would qualify as superstars. Dirk Nowitzki, the player often cited as the player that got an unreasonable amount of FTs by Spurs fans, ranked 16th out 126 players, Manu Ginobili, the player who was accused by non-Spurs fan as a flopper, ranked 15th out of the bunch. At the same time, NBA-darling Dwayne Wade ranked a lowly 24th of the bunch, while LeBron James couldn’t even get into the top 40. Remember, players such as Jannero Pargo, David Harrison, and Reggie Evans all finished higher than these superstars, and I doubt that the league wants Chicago, Indiana or Seattle to win the championship, nor can these players bring in significant revenue from their jersey sales.

    Name FTA PFTA Dif Total Dif / 48 min
    David Harrison 12 3.911056 8.088944448 12.52481721
    Reggie Evans 18 2.12208 15.87791999 11.04550956
    Hakim Warrick 14 6.892516 7.107483502 7.933935072
    Ronny Turiaf 6 2.12208 3.877919993 7.445606386
    Dahntay Jones 10 3.092019 6.907981312 7.208328326
    Jannero Pargo 5 2.467067 2.532932876 6.398988319
    Nazr Mohammed 18 6.335407 11.66459263 5.956387727
    Gilbert Arenas 70 41.59818 28.40182008 4.80030762
    Alonzo Mourning 42 20.77198 21.228023 4.528644906
    Derek Anderson 8 2.032398 5.967601611 4.340073899
    Brendan Haywood 25 11.40765 13.59235251 4.209244648
    Chauncey Billups 116 59.19705 56.80294868 3.86195685
    Tyson Chandler 10 1.637111 8.362889333 3.859795077
    Corey Maggette 67 43.57032 23.42967883 3.851454054
    Manu Ginobili 87 54.73124 32.26876177 3.635916819
    Dirk Nowitzki 229 154.6723 74.32771153 3.633126429
    Robert Horry 26 9.690812 16.30918826 3.479293496
    Michael Redd 46 32.57024 13.42975719 3.465743791
    Tim Duncan 131 96.6815 34.31850433 3.341355391
    Jermaine O'Neal 53 38.08046 14.91954075 3.315453499
    Kevin Martin 29 15.92708 13.07292416 3.185281013
    Austin Croshere 18 6.468767 11.53123264 3.162852382
    Maurice Evans 16 9.428389 6.571610883 3.123141806
    Dwyane Wade 250 190.6534 59.34664581 2.970426485
    Anderson Varejao 37 22.62316 14.37683749 2.899530249
    Carmelo Anthony 52 41.4074 10.5925978 2.634428468
    Sasha Vujacic 11 4.406944 6.593055515 2.453229959
    Kirk Hinrich 42 30.23938 11.76062492 2.41243588
    Ben Wallace 66 34.54372 31.45628083 2.34821381
    Vladimir Radmanovic23 11.14572 11.85428024 2.313030291
    Eddie Jones 15 9.328283 5.671717208 2.287751479
    Lamar Odom 45 30.72054 14.27945805 2.18284709
    Vince Carter 108 89.3234 18.6765987 1.992170528
    James Posey 37 13.52076 23.47923926 1.856677899
    Jason Collins 22 10.79411 11.2058896 1.775190431
    Shaquille O'Neal 182 155.8887 26.11133997 1.651310038
    Erick Dampier 44 28.59221 15.40778824 1.629017259
    Sam Cassell 68 54.73173 13.26827395 1.576428588
    Ben Gordon 37 29.08627 7.913729305 1.550444925
    Andres Nocioni 35 27.75331 7.246691815 1.512353074

    So there you have it, this is as scientific as I can get with the available data, and even though I am aware of the short comings of leaving out style of play in the analysis, this is as detailed as I can get. If anybody can supply me with the raw data of individual series (numbers such as FTA, 3pters taken, perimeter shots taken, paint shots taken, tips and dunks broken down by individual players), I am more than happy to run the analysis.

  2. #2
    Mr. Dignity Solid D's Avatar
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    Very interesting statistics. I'll have to absorb these a bit. I see quite a few guys in the list who are adept at drawing contact, whether by their physical nature or their craftiness.

    Very interesting indeed....

  3. #3
    "The ball don't lie." dbestpro's Avatar
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    You must have had input on the BCS. You apply too many assumptions. For instance I can tell you that people who are left handed tend to get fouled more than right handed people. That is just another assumption.There are a lot of reasons why calls go one way or another. Why don't you try to do a model based on aggressiveness and whining. These seem to be the two most prominent factors.

  4. #4
    Since 1979 Das Texan's Avatar
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    biased le.


    just because the refs arent biased doesnt mean they are good....

  5. #5
    Alleged Michigander ChumpDumper's Avatar
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    Anyone seen the referee show on NBAtv? It's mildly interesting.

  6. #6
    Unsigned #1 Draft Pick RonMexico's Avatar
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    Suns' style doesn't just inhibit their ability to get to the line. A lack of inside presence last post-season was a factor too. I think the addition of Amare could change that a little bit this year.

    Nash gets very few calls unfortunately, and I don't know how he has to start flopping to get to the line more (a la Devin Harris/Jason Terry).

  7. #7
    Veteran
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    "referee show"

    Officiating 101? or whatever it's called. I find it entertaining. Ronnie Nunn admitted the ref was in a wrong position to make call, at the end of the Pistons game a couple night ago, and made the wrong call.

  8. #8
    Remember Cherokee Parks The Truth #6's Avatar
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    Does it seem like the refs aren't calling the quick technicals like they were in the first few weeks? I actually liked it because it hinted at having some form of level playing field. Now, it seems like its back to the way things were.

  9. #9
    Based dirk4mvp's Avatar
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    Suns' style doesn't just inhibit their ability to get to the line. A lack of inside presence last post-season was a factor too. I think the addition of Amare could change that a little bit this year.

    Nash gets very few calls unfortunately, and I don't know how he has to start flopping to get to the line more (a la Devin Harris/Jason Terry).

    You're crying and ing pours into other threads as well.

  10. #10
    Believe.
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    What was your level of significance? 5%?

    What were the p-values?

  11. #11
    Drive for Five! ambchang's Avatar
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    You must have had input on the BCS. You apply too many assumptions. For instance I can tell you that people who are left handed tend to get fouled more than right handed people. That is just another assumption.There are a lot of reasons why calls go one way or another. Why don't you try to do a model based on aggressiveness and whining. These seem to be the two most prominent factors.
    There are some assumptions in the model, of course, and the major one is that the relationship is actually linear. I looked at the residual plots and it seems to pretty close, but then again, the model can't be perfect. Again, with a multiple R of .92, I really can't ask for too much more.
    The purpose of the model is to show that whining has little, if anything to do with calls. Jump shot attemps, Dunk attempts and paint attempts explains most of FTAs, and aggressiveness was defined in the dunk attempts and paint attempts. Again, this is an assumption of mine.

  12. #12
    Drive for Five! ambchang's Avatar
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    Suns' style doesn't just inhibit their ability to get to the line. A lack of inside presence last post-season was a factor too. I think the addition of Amare could change that a little bit this year.

    Nash gets very few calls unfortunately, and I don't know how he has to start flopping to get to the line more (a la Devin Harris/Jason Terry).
    Well, the lack of inside presence is explained in the model (attempts in the paint and dunk attempts). The reason the Suns get so much fewer actual attempts than their predicted FTA is because they run a lot. Running creates open layups and dunks (which leads to higher predicted FTAs), but doesn't really give FTAs because people are rarely fouled when they run. (And 1s do happen, but not too often, and I did not incorporate fouled shot attempts because I don't have the data.)

  13. #13
    Drive for Five! ambchang's Avatar
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    What was your level of significance? 5%?

    What were the p-values?
    I had a 95% CI, and I can't recall the P-Values off the top of my head, but they were like 1E-10 or lower. Tips had a 0.98, and 3 pta had something like a 0.2 or something, so I took them off.

  14. #14
    Believe.
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    I had a 95% CI, and I can't recall the P-Values off the top of my head, but they were like 1E-10 or lower. Tips had a 0.98, and 3 pta had something like a 0.2 or something, so I took them off.
    Gotcha. Did you try the square of any of those variables? I'd be interested to know if there's any non-linear significance to any of them. For example, if FTA tends to increase disproportionately with FGA (like if the expected increase in FTA between 3 & 4 FGA is less than the expected increase between 7 & 8 FGA).

    This might be one way of seeing if high-volume shooters tend to get more than their fair share of FTA's.

  15. #15
    Damn You Commies T Park's Avatar
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    The refs havent been good since about 95.



    The refs arent bad Good lord..

  16. #16
    Believe.
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    Referees take a lot of pride in their game too. I'm sure they all talk behind Salavatorre's back "he calls too tight!".., etc.... but they all try to do their best and that's all you can ask for isn't it? Sure some are better than others, just like some players are better than others. Some may hold a grudge for a while...they are human. It's about game management more than getting every single call perfect...especially in the NBA where every call is looked at in slo-mo from every possible angle. The NBA has to be the hardest game in the world to officiate and EVERY TEAM thinks they are getting screwed ALL THE TIME.

    The only time I've seen a blatant screw job was the Spurs getting screwed vs.Dallas last year !

  17. #17
    bandwagon hater
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    I think its not so much who gets more fouls and who gets less, but the reasoning behind the fouls thats in question.

    One guy gets hammered alot and barely gets a call, where another gets a gust of air that ruffles his hair and the refs are quick to jump on it.

    Interesting stat none the less.... I'd be curious to see individual ref stats. possibly Salvatore stats per team.

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