In our Times column published last Sunday, we wrote about how Mike Zarren of the Boston Celtics organization uses statistical analysis to help with personnel and strategic decisions.
Here’s one paragraph toward the end:
Zarren is also responsible for the Celtics’ basketball-related technology and uses a service that delivers video footage tagged with statistical information. With just a few mouse clicks, he can call up every clip in which LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers has touched the ball at the top of the key and see whether he went left or right, was double-teamed or not, passed or shot — and, if the latter, whether he missed, scored or was fouled. So if the Celtics dampen James’s scoring the next time they play a high-stakes game against the Cavs, Zarren might be entitled to a smidgen of credit.
In his first two playoff games against the Celtics, James has shot 2-for-18 and 6-for-24, with 12 and 21 points respectively. His season average was 30 points. Knowing Zarren a bit, I am sure he is not crowing about his contribution to the Celtics’ defensive success against James.
But maybe, just maybe, some kid somewhere in America this morning has decided to spend a little less time working on his jump shot and a bit more time working on his math skills.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
This reminds me of some analysis done in early 1983 by Marshall Lipton, an unnoted professor at MIT. He discovered a correlation between the relative activity of the Van Allen radiation belt and the win-loss record of the Boston Celtics. His conclusion: when the belt is in a state of flux, the Celtics always lose. Of course, more celebrated credits for the bashful professor include once being accused of fathering a child with Carla Lozupone Tortelli LeBec.
To Cory:
Please do not watch NBA basketball, then… Nothing is more useless than haters of NBA basketball hating on NBA basketball. Please enjoy whatever other things in life you enjoy (besides hating).
If you don’t like high-level basketball played by the world’s best athletes, then perhaps basketball just isn’t the sport for you. I’m sure the curling nation will embrace you with open arms.
I side with Cory. The NBA game is garbage this era. Ticket sales are down, TV viewership is down, and the game IS declining from a talent US standpoint. Foreign players play better pro ball than US players.
In response to comment 11: Please watch this summer’s Olympic basektball contests and then tell me if you still think “Foreign players play better pro ball than US players”.
In response to #12, answer will likely be YES THEY DO! Check this out:
- Basketball World Championship results:
2002 1 Yugoslavia 2 Argentina 3 Germany
2006 1 Spain 2 Greece 3 USA
- Olympics game:
2000 1 USA 2 France 3 Lithuania
2004 1 Argentina 2 Italy 3 United States
Cohesive team units that care a lot more about international play can beat lazily constructed all-star teams with no team concept? Shocking.
Pretty much every NBA playoff team could win an international event. If all these international players could beat NBA players on a regular basis, they’d be in the NBA.
Maybe he should’ve had some stats on what happens when the defence sags off Rondo and allows 5 to guard 4?
Wrt: – Basketball World Championship results:
2002 1 Yugoslavia 2 Argentina 3 Germany
2006 1 Spain 2 Greece 3 USA
- Olympics game:
2000 1 USA 2 France 3 Lithuania
2004 1 Argentina 2 Italy 3 United States
Right, so let’s use a 3-2-1 method of assigning points. Gold medal is 3 points etc. Websites will do this during the Olympics, for example.
USA 5
Argentina 5
Everyone else