Archive for November, 2008
The Problem with Defensive Stats
The statistic I’ve developed (which can be found at http://basketball-statistics.com/cs.html) was originally just supposed to be about defense. Composite Score was in fact originally called Defensive Composite Score. The reason I focused on defense is because it’s still the holy grail of statistics. There are plenty of good rating systems out there […]
11-27-08 Recap
Magic beat Wizards: I’m not sure if it was a case of the Magic keeping their foot on the pedal or a case of the Wizards being lazy, but Orlando gained a big lead early in the second half and the game pretty much ended right there … Shooting 46.9% and playing great defense (Washington […]
Thanksgiving Day Predictions
No recaps today because of the holiday, but I’ll make picks for tonight’s games….
Picks
Orlando at Washington: Magic
New Orleans at Denver: Nuggets
Prediction Record: 128-64
11-25-08 Recap
Wizards beat Warriors: In Ed Tapscott’s debut as head coach, the Wizards came through with a pretty convincing win … Golden State scored 100 points, but that’s deceptive because the game was played at a fast pace. Their offensive efficiency was actually below average … It was also the debut for Jamal Crawford in […]
11-24-08 Recap
Magic beat Bucks: Besides building a ten-point deficit in the first quarter, the Bucks played pretty well throughout this game … Still playing without Michael Redd, Milwaukee got plenty of scoring from Richard Jefferson. Unfortunately, Jefferson has had a down year, sporting a below average PER of 13.67 coming into tonight’s contest … The […]
11-23-08 Recap
Celtics beat Raptors: Not normally a great offensive team, the Celtics put on quite a show on the road against a pretty good team. They shot 61.6% for the game, including 10-17 on three-pointers. If they could have turned the ball over a little less (18 in the game), their point total could […]
11-20-08 Recap
Celtics beat Pistons: Boston cruised to an easy victory in this rematch of last year’s playoffs. Perhaps Detroit was still celebrating their win from the previous night over Cleveland … Offensively, there were no standout performers on the Pistons. Only one player scored more than 13 points. That was Allen Iverson, who […]
11-19-08 Recap
Hawks beat Wizards: Atlanta needed a strong finish to hold off the one-win Wizards. It’s great that they ended the slump, but some people may have hoped for a larger margin of victory … Caron Butler was stellar for the Wizards, and he committed just one turnover all game despite carrying the offensive load […]
11-18-08 Recap
Pacers beat Hawks: Playing without Josh Smith, the Hawks suddenly find themselves in a four-game losing streak after a perfect six games to start the season … Joe Johnson was great in this one but got little support. Actually, Joe Johnson has been great in more than just this one. Coming into tonight, […]
11-17-08 Recap
Rockets beat Thunder: Considering how good I think the Rockets are and how bad the Thunder have been (they’re now 1-10), this game was not nearly as lopsided as I thought it would be … Luis Scola was first on the Rockets in points, first in field goal attempts, and second in minutes played. […]