khandor’s sports blog

Continuing the series which was started here yesterday on … 

How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year:

Game 2 – at Memphis [Fri Oct 30]

This is a key early game for the Raptors indicating where the team’s talent level actually stands in relation to the mid-lower tier teams in the Western Conference expected to miss the playoffs this season. If the Raptors can win this game on the road against an opponent of this calibre it will be a good sign. If not …  

After opening their schedule at home vs Detroit [Wed Oct 28], Memphis should be highly motivated to play well in this match-up.

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 0-2

FYI and reading pleasure …

An Open Letter to the Memphis Grizzlies
Hilarious Excerpt #1. I even tolerated the insane teasings toward the OJ-Mayo-As-A-Point-Guard fiasco, or as I like to call it, “The Turnover Manifesto.”

Hlarious Excerpt #2. I begged you,  pleaded with you. I used podcasts, blogposts, emails to people who know you, to try and steer you from this course of action. But you wouldn’t listen. And look what you have to show for it.

A seven foot pogo stick with a Twitter account [i.e. Hasheem Thabeet].

Hilarious Line #3. Lots of people question the 6′5” player [i.e. Tyreke Evans] with killer explosiveness with insane ability to get to the rim who also happened to come out of the same program as this year’s Rookie of the Year who was also a point guard and which happens to be located in the same city as your damn franchise ensuring that you would have at least had a player on the squad that someone would know.

Hilarious Line #4. I’d love to tell you that it’s not you, it’s me. But that’s a lie. It’s you.

Hilarious Excerpt #5. I’ll call you when I reach my mother’s.

Bye, Memphis.

———-

Matt Moore is one of the most prodigous writing talents in the literary basketball business today. Would only he be able to drop his penchant for excessively curse-laiden “flavourful” language, on occasion, when his blood pressure is on the rise, he should be a daily read for anyone who follows the NBA game.

Laugh, cry, or vilify, but … at all times … it’s done while bringing a smile to your face. Get to know his name, folks. It says here, he is someone who is going far, in this here game.

Related:

NBA Draft - Live Blogging

There are many different ways to assess the performance of a player or a team, in general, in a basketball game.

One of the simpliest is this:

1. Use a traditional Box Score.

2. Count Rebounds [Reb], Assists [Ast], Steals [Stl], Blocked Shots [BS] and Points Scored [Pts] as “Positives”.

3. Count Missed FGAs [FGA-FGM], Missed FTAs [FTA-FTM], Turnovers [TO] and Personal Fouls [PF] as “Negatives”.

4. Do NOT weight any of the individual statistical categories in an unique way.

5. Add the “Positives” and the “Negatives” together for that specific game.

6. Refer to this “Composite” number as a form of “Simple Plus/Minus” [SPM] which reflects each player’s tangible contribution to that specific game, relative to one another.

7. Compare each player’s and each team’s SPM for this specific game.

———————————

When you take a look at the Box Score for last night’s Raptors vs Grizzlies game, as an example, and examine it in this way, this is what you will find:

There were only 3 players for the Raptors whose raw performance numbers [i.e. SPM] indicate that they made a positive contribution overall to their team’s effort and at least held their own against their counterparts for the Grizzlies:

1. Jamario Moon [+17, MP/28]

2. Jose Calderon [+12, MP/36]

3. Joey Graham [+9, MP/26].

When different NBA Analysts state that there are certain players on the Raptors who are being used incorrectly, or are better basketball players than many casual NBA fans might realize, this is the type of basic statistical evaluation upon which these assessments are based.

Although rudimentary game stats like SPM do not always tell the whole truth about how a player or a team actually performed in a specific match-up, they can certainly be helpful in this regard and allow a casual fan to increase his/her understanding of both Effectiveness & Efficiency in a NBA game.

If you watched last night’s Raptors/Grizzlies contest, either live or on videotape delay … 

Were you able to tell at the time that Moon, Calderon and Graham were the 3 best players for Toronto?

… and that:

1. Andrea Bargnani [0, MP/31]

2. Jake Voskuhl [0, MP/2]

3. Roko Ukic [+1, MP/16]

4. Anthony Parker [+2, MP/40] 

5. Jason Kapono [+4, MP/30]
6. Jermaine O’Neal [+5, MP/32]

might have been their 6 worst?

If not … then maybe next time you will see a few things in a slightly different light.