0 comments by justinwillard on 7/14/2014
Adding content to the bottomless pit of the web seems like a fruitless effort sometimes, but with some creativity and insight you can provide information previously not available. For example, every so often the media will discuss players with long consecutive strings of games played, but no one provides a comprehensive list of the current […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/27/2014
Thanks to the internet, there’s a plethora of information available about the NBA draft. We have more observers than ever — more prognosticators who say they can predict the future. Some NBA writers are defined by the draft itself, but which ones perform the best? Which mock drafts are the most accurate? Tabulating the predictions […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/26/2014
As we near the 2014 draft, potentially one of the most unpredictable ever, people are searching for answers, objective truths visible in the haze. A number of prospects have question marks about their ultimate NBA position. For instance, Jabari Parker’s future position has led to some discussion, and it’s unclear from glancing at his measurements […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/20/2014
With the Finals over, now is the time for reflection and historical queries. The NBA Finals date back to 1947 when the league was called the Basketball Association of America. Kawhi Leonard etched his name into history, but the Finals MVP has only existed since 1969. Fortunately, I built a Finals MVP model to predict […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/16/2014
There is some astonishment right now with the San Antonio Spurs winning a title without some MVP-level player. But there shouldn’t be. There is more information than ever. There is an astounding amount, in fact, and if you have access to deep databases there’s information on the position of every single player during every split […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/13/2014
In the nearly fifty years the Finals MVP has been awarded, it has been given to a player on the losing team only once. Oddly enough, as many fans know, this happened during the first year of the award; Jerry West won after a scorching series where he scored 38 a game and barely lost […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/8/2014
In a seven game series, even when you’re certain of how strong each team is, the odds aren’t easy to directly calculate. You have to account for every possibility and the homecourt alternating. However, when you do this, Miami’s chances are bleak. Going into the series, I estimated San Antonio’s strength at +8.7 (they’d beat […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/5/2014
In the media, LeBron’s rival was supposed to be Kobe Bryant. No one expected LeBron to face Tim Duncan and the Spurs for a third time in the Finals, but maybe we should be appreciative. Duncan is regularly labeled as the best power forward ever, but LeBron is on the path to clinching the title […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 6/4/2014
Ever since Michael Jordan retired, the media has been on the lookout for the next Jordan. Unfortunately, this meant young superstars were compared to Jordan’s standards, instead of their own merits. Given his high level of play, virtually everyone was being set up to fail, but even if you matched his absurdly high value you […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 5/31/2014
The Spurs made a surprising change to their starting lineup on Thursday, but it shouldn’t be much of a surprise: Popovich’s signature style is not one tangible thing, but is instead adaptability. He’s flexible and has vastly changed his defensive and offensive philosophies over the years based on his personnel and the trends and strengths […]
0 comments by justinwillard on 5/28/2014
Editors’ note: I’d like to welcome aboard Justin Willard to the Analytics Game team. He’s been writing very interesting, must-read pieces on his own site, ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com. He will now be contributing full-time to the site, so enjoy. — Evan Sidery There’s a divide between NBA fans and the analytics contingent. This divide is being breached […]
