Basketball Statistics Blog

Basketball Statistician's Digest:
Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics: Can John Hollinger Be Trusted?

From Pacman Jonesin By Drew Decker
Download source here: ' Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics: Can John Hollinger Be Trusted? '

"... I’m going to break from the regular format this afternoon and briefly wade into the shark-infested waters of statistical analysis. Yes, I know that only fervent members of PETA are more rabid than stat geeks but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. ..."

"... My biggest gripe with statistics concerns the sport of basketball. Wunderkind GM Daryl Morey can seemingly do no wrong in the eyes of all but the most casual NBA observer.
John Hollinger, ESPN’s resident mad scientist, and his beloved PER (Player Efficiency Rating) is considered to be an expert in statistical analysis. My question is why? ..."

"... Now, I love Carly Landry as a player. His soft touch around the basket, work ethic and ability to come up with offensive rebounds (and loose balls) are incredibly valuable attributes. However, at that time no sane person could argue that Landry was even one of the top 100 players in the NBA. Hollinger stuck to his guns though…and his formula. What, pray tell, is the magical PER formula? Glad you asked…here you go: ..."

"... Back on July 18th I started reading an interesting blog post about the inefficiencies of basketball stats…and just finished it a few minutes ago. The word long doesn’t do the post justice.
That said, it was an insightful article that delved into a number of carefully thought out statistics/methods to better measure a player’s true impact. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of them answered the most important questions:
1) Can a guy play and
2) Does he make his teammates better? ..."

"... Data manipulation isn’t a viable alternative as far as I’m concerned. Sharks be damned. I’m going to come out and say it: NBA basketball isn’t conducive to statistical analysis.
Just remember this post six months from now when Hollinger is extolling the virtues of Trevor Ariza and telling you that he’s the best player in the league. He’s not and it isn’t even close. ..."

Read more in Pacman Jonesin

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: 'Comportamientos que influyen en el rendimiento deportivo de jugadores de baloncesto desde el punto de vista de los entrenadores' por Juan Tomás Escudero López, Gloria Balagué Gea y Alexandre García-Mas

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