February 15, 2005

you want to talk about basketball, i talk about basketball

the masses speak, and so i listen.

really? xz wants to talk about basketball?

wonderous things happen when there are large articles in the sunday ny times. they make topics that are abhorrent to you suddenly interesting, and then you want to know more and more! but this is by and large how journalism works, right? otherwise, how would the common man be interested in topiary gardens, toyota fj45 land cruisers, or identifying different types of fish?

and thus we are brought to basketball.

or what’s wrong with basketball, according to the new york times:

The addiction to the dunk is emblematic of the direction in which basketball — like all major pro sports, really — has been heading: less nuance, more explosive force. Greater emphasis on individual heroics and personal acclaim, less on such quaint values as teamwork and sacrifice.
…
Unbelievable as it may seem, you can make millions in today’s N.B.A. without having even one semireliable way to put the ball in the basket — no jump shot, no hook shot, no little 12-foot bank shot. In fact, the entire area between dunking range and the three-point line, what used to be prime real estate for scoring, is now a virtual dead zone. (The three-point shot is the other one of the N.B.A.’s twin addictions, but more on that later.) Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons, last year’s N.B.A. champion, has been just about knighted for his ability to consistently sink the “midrange” jumper, which used to be an entry-level requirement into the N.B.A. — if you couldn’t do that, you had to find another line of work. But not anymore.

remember that rip hamilton, as a result of his shooting prowess, got that big contract from goodyear to wear tire treads. in his head.

The most obvious aspect of basketball, especially at the N.B.A. level, is the extraordinary athleticism of the players. What is less apparent is that the outcome of games, more so than in any other major sport, is determined by a series of social interactions. Basketball coaches have long taught that the ball must be “shared” — passed from player to player until it ends up in the hands of the one with the best possible shot. Players are urged constantly to “talk” on defense — communicate about the alignment and movements of offensive players — and to “give help,” meaning that a defender is not just responsible for the man he is guarding but also for sliding over to help a teammate who has been beaten by his own man. With just 5 players on the court at a time and rosters that consist of just 12 men, N.B.A. teams are intimate groups, extended families almost, and the ones that succeed cover for individual weaknesses and stress their strengths. They play as if they are aware of, and care for, one another. … Few teams play like that anymore because basketball culture in America is broken in ways that go beyond the addiction to dunking or the decline in fundamentals like shooting. … The Olympic basketball tournament amounted to an indictment of U.S. basketball. If you had just watched the games in Athens and knew nothing of basketball history, it would have been reasonable to conclude that the sport had been invented and popularized in, say, Argentina or Italy — and was just starting to catch on in the United States. Other teams passed better, shot more accurately, played better defense. (Foul shooting is generally regarded as a matter of discipline and repetition. With enough practice, most players can become proficient. It’s worth noting that in Athens, the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s team made 76 percent of its foul shots while the men connected on a woeful 67 percent.)

The American men, in defeat, chose to focus on how much better the rest of the world’s players have become and how unfamiliar the U.S. players were with one another and the somewhat different style and rules of international basketball. The larger point, they would not face: after a month together and with the noted basketball teacher Larry Brown of the Detroit Pistons as their coach, they still played as strangers.

much of this was talked about in depth, especially around the olympics last year, notably after the u.s. team’s defeat to the hands of basketball powerhouse (hardly) puerto rico. and to a great extent, it’s all true. there’s no longer a lot of fundamentals being taught properly, and the streetball and-1 mixtape mentality does award flashy plays and thundering dunks over teamwork and good shooting.

as for the other points in the article, they all have some validity. the dunk is hurting the game, or rather the emphasis on the dunk. is it going away? no. the fans love it.

the three pointer is, oddly enough, also hurting the game because people take the three instead of the midrange. it’s that sort of high risk/reward mentality that gives risk analysis people a field day. yet despite the wild claims, if you actually run the statistics you’ll find there’s value to the shot. mark cuban, the owner of the dallas mavericks, has a blog where he posts findings on stuff like this, since he’s fanatical about his team, and also employs statisticians to look at this stuff. (man, i need to get that job!) from a recent post analyzing the three point shot, he looked at the difference in shooting percentages for teams who took the longer 3 point shot (23’9”) straight on versus ones that took the shorter 3 point shot (22’) out of the corners. startlingly, when you look at actual players, it turns out that even though the percentages are much lower than a dunk or a midrange shot, the higher point value can actually make it a better shot, percentage-wise:

In terms of players, Bruce Bowen has attempted the most corner 3s in the NBA, 137 of them, hitting 37.9 percent for an effective FG pct of 57%.

Joe Johnson has made the most from the corner. He has hit 51 pct of his 112 attempts for an Effective FG (EFF FG) pct of 77.68 %! Cutino Mobley and Mike Miller both have EFF FG of greater than 80 pct from the corner. But they all pale compared to the Mayor in Minny. Freddy Hoiberg has taken 31 corner 3s, and hit 21 of them. Thats an EFF FG of greater than 100 pct ! Shaq for a dunk or the Mayor from the corner… The Mayor gets you more!

also of note, the nbdl, which is the nba’s developmental league designed to develop young talent and an effort to address the issue of too many players coming out too young, actually are in the midst of an experiment this year where there is no three point shot until the last five minutes of a game and in overtime. thus all shots are the same point value until crunch time. will this rule ever hit the nba? probably not. but will this help the players? only time will tell.

speaking of the three, my favorite player of all time, reggie miller, announced that he is retiring after this year. he’s the record holder for most three point shots made, currently with 2,508 and counting.

but more than that, i love reggie for being the man who can hit the big shots. the game winner in ‘98 over michael jordan. 25 points in the fourth quarter to win game five of the ‘94 eastern conference playoffs over the knicks. the amazing 39 foot three point shot to force overtime against the nets in ‘02.

and of course, the incredible eight points in the final 8.9 seconds to deliver a stunning 107-105 victory over the knicks in game one of the ‘95 eastern conference semifinals.

pretty amazing for a jump shooter. and even more amazing for a kid who had to wear braces on his legs growing up. and to think that he might not have been the most talented basketball player in his family.

now aren’t you sorry you brought up basketball?

Posted at February 15, 2005 11:34 AM
Comments

test comment

Posted by: e at February 15, 2005 12:38 PM

Hey DJ-
I have no comment (basketball is a sport and sports are icky) but just dropped in to say hi. Email if you want to.

Posted by: SG at February 15, 2005 4:52 PM

no. i like watching you rant and rave. it’s cute.

i think basketball would be better if randomly throughout the game the ball would explode in a spray of hot wax. just, you know, to keep it lively. also, they could release a tiger occassionally.

Posted by: xz at February 16, 2005 10:20 AM

identifying different kinds of fish is inherently interesting. there’s no need for nyt articles. sheesh!

Posted by: mac at February 17, 2005 11:47 AM

i think you and michael should start a blog where all you write about is basketball. it would keep the two of you happy and rest of us safe from this basketball sheeeite! ;)

but seriously, i don’t mind the basketball talk, but don’t get me started on baseball…and golf…omg, whatever you do, please don’t start blogging about golf! yikes.

Posted by: rlv at February 18, 2005 12:53 PM

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