• Tradition. Legacy. Clutch. Mental toughness. Playoff experience.
• All NOTHING in the face of a return to the statistical mean.
• The Magic played the way they’re supposed to tonight. They’ve struggled to hit this gear all playoffs. Tonight was the first time the Magic shot the ball the way they’re capable of, where they created the kinds of shots they can create with their passing. They didn’t just accept any shot. They asked themselves, “Can we get a better shot?” and often the answer was yes. Yes, they can.
• There was a three-headed monster of failure for Boston defensively inside tonight. Kendrick Perkins was outclassed, with guys just out-talenting him. Davis was outsmarted, with the Magic whipping his head around and always putting him in the wrong position. And Pierce was outworked. If you watch the replay, most of those super-explosive dunks that the Magic got? Yeah, Pierce was staring at them before they dunked, but unwilling to get posterized. Pierce had trouble with both Hedo and Pietrus tonight,like it was just rough for him to try and defend these young whippersnappers.
• One of the things I love in a defender is a willingness to get burned if he knows he’s doing the right thing. It’s something I love about Battier. He’ll let you nail shot after shot in his eye and go back and play you the same way if he knows that it’s the best way to play you. JJ Redick did that tonight. Allen was bursting a little more off screens, getting shots, and knocking them down. But he didn’t deviate. Didn’t try and cheat on an off the ball screen. Didn’t get frustrated, just did his job and made him work for it. Meanwhile he got off his shooting slump and then made some smart passes to get buckets.
• Rashard Lewis had a bad game and this still ended this way. Nice to have depth.
• Anybody else want to talk about Stephon Marbury coming out of his slump and being a contributor?
• Anybody else want to talk about Glen Davis being a legitimate offensive option?
• I loved what Marvelous said about Courtney Lee tonight. “I think that when Eddie House got in his car to leave his house this morning that Courtney Lee was there guarding him.”
• So much for Orlando fading under the pressure.
• Winning is one thing, but the Magic responded every time the Celtics made a run. Particularly Hedo Turkoglu pretty much just acted like it was a last second shot every possession, and nailed it. I’ve said it a lot. Every possession is sacred in the playoffs, and Hedo acted like it.
• With 9:20 in the third quarter, the Celtics had cut it to three. Hedo comes off a screen and drives left. Davis comes over to try and strip it. He misses, and Davis is so sloppy with the help, he’s badly out of position when Hedo dishes to Lewis for a three.  Next possession, Lewis abuses Davis for the 700,000th time this series, goes right around him for a teardrop.
• Later in the third, around the 4:40 mark, Boston hedges on a screen. Rondo runs all the way from the right corner to the left block to try and intercept a pass to Howard. He even jumps in the air anticipating it. The ball instead goes right back to where he was, to Alston, who immediately makes the extra pass to Hedo. Three. Boom. As Hedo releases, Alston’s momentum carries him to the left wing three point line. Where no one at all is.
• JJ Redick torched Ray Allen for five points in the third. Make no mistake. No double off the ball screens, no trickeration. JJ just beat Jesus.
• Brian Scalabrine is supposed to be the instant-offense, defensive spark guy for Boston. YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID.
• Boston had more rebounds. They won the turnover battle. They had more free throws. And yet. That’s good offense, right there.
• Pietrus went right at Paul Pierce tonight and won the matchup. I mean, right at him.
• If anyone’s wondering why Ray Allens’ wearing a monocle tomorrow, it’s because the Orlando Magic ended up nailing about ten threes in his eye. He had his fair share, but it seems like everytime Ray’s sprang out to close, the shooter connected.

• The LA Lakers are tall and better at basketball than this Rockets squad.
• The end.

If you like to pretend that NBA games have philosophical impact, today’s Rockets-Lakers Game 7 is a smorgasbord.

Don’t believe me? Take  a read of Krolik.

But while Krolik primarily covered much of what Shoals touched on, in terms of how Kobe will be viewed, that is, the goat if he loses, the SGOAT if they win the title, I’d like to touch on the implications if this Lakers team, THIS particular Lakers team wins tomorrow,and then if we extrapolate it out to the championship.

In a way, the Rockets performance up until now has only created a heightened opportunity for crushing disappointment if they lose today. Yes, their performance has been epic, inspiring, and brilliant. For a team to overcome the odds they’re up against solely with effort, heart and team play is the stuff that only happens in the movies. If they win tomorrow, it’ll be the validation of the idea that heart and toughness and intangibles are all real constructs and not just spin words attributed to good fortune.  It means that if you work hard with your teammates and commit yourself to your teammates, you can overcome anything. Conversely, if they lose, what does that say?

It says that talent and height are the only things that are important. All the values that we hold as sacred in sports, effort, hard work, teamwork, heart, all of that? Means bupkiss if you’re able to rip off the Grizzlies. The Lakers won’t have earned this series, they’ll just have been granted what was already afforded them. Superiority based on physica tools and skill. I’m not trying to villify the Lakers this time. But a team that gets blown out in a pivotal Game 4 and then loses wire to wire in a close-out Game 6 to a team without 50% of its payroll? A team that refuses to close out, box out, communicate or work harder than is convenient? That team is greater than a scrappy team with endless heart led by underrated role players? What message does that send?

I’ve long said that there’s a karmic imbalance in the NBA, and the Lakers advancing would be a great example of that. The Lakers winning isn’t karma, it’s inveitable. Death Taxes. Gasol missing a dunk and getting a soft tap back. All part of the same pool.

What if your NBA champions were underwhelming, uninspiring, spoiled and presumptuous? What isf  that team never faced down adversity, never proved itself, just had things go their way and was athletically superior? What lesson does that provide?

These are all answers I fear we’ll have to address after today.

“And then Goliath stomped on David until he was broken and bloody. The End.”

There are plenty of guys in the league who I can’t blame anyone for disliking. And I’m not just talking the usual suspects (Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Kobe, Parker, Kobe, Flopsy Varejao, Kobe, etc.).  I like David West a lot. But he’s got an attitude problem, thuggish antics, and gets a lot of credit based on playing with Paul. Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis have yet to set a legal screen in the playoffs, and yet have the same swagger as Ray Allen, Pierce, and Garnett. Any great player is going to be obnoxious to those that have to face him. You see the same thing with politics.  For the most part, 70% of us can get along with one another in a civilized society, and we recognize one another as decent human beings.  But put one of us with a pin of the opposite animal on it, and all of a sudden we grow distrustful of their intentions, their character, their moral integrity.

Sport is athletic drama, and drama invokes passion, and passion invokes hate. Rarely is it actually hate. It’s sports hate, which is relatively healthy in small doses. A pressure valve for anger, frustration, and grief over the universe’s stubborn refusal to accept that our team is good, and their team is bad. It’s irrational, but then, so is rooting for laundry, as the old (new) saying goes.

But there’s a new one that’s popped up I can’t quite get my brain around. This player, I just can’t see why they’ve earned it. He’s not dominant, just effective. He’s not cocky, smug, or boastful. On the contrary, he behaves with a certain degree of dignity and humility. He doesn’t act like the hosthot guy at work that took your project out from under you because you had to go to your kid’s soccer game, he’s the guy that stays late to help you get it done and then tells the boss what a great job you did. He works hard, he gets paid, he goes home. And yet he’s become some sort of iconic lightning rod for a fanbase so passionate, they will cry havoc if they are denied their tacos. He’s a role player that Lakers fans now thirst to watch suffer, and it’s all just because someone wrote about him as an example in the New York Times.

His name is Shane Battier, and hell doesn’t really follow with him, but a heckuva bad day at the office sure does.

Battier was always regarded as a great a great defender. A rough and tumble, spit and polish, beta male defender who just did his job. Also, kind of a geek. Big on technology, tech editor for HOOP.  But he was largely under the radar. Then the Michael Lewis piece hit, and all of a sudden, he’s a “Kobe-stopper.”

A riddle. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, Amy

There’s a four way intersection, with a $20 bill in the middle. On each path, there’s someone different. The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and a Kobe-Stopper. Guess who gets to the $20? The answer is actually Ron Artest, who ran over Santa Claus and took the $20.

But the other answer would be no one, since they’re all figments of your imagination. That joke was a lot funnier 14 years ago. The point is that no one’s stopping Bryant completely. That’s part of the “2nd best basketball player on earth/former best player on earth” gig. But the objective is to make it difficult,and make him inefficient.Which the Rockets have done so far. And so much of that is Battier. Moving Bryant to the margin, rather than the horizon line is a long term objective It’s a process.  Off the ball it takes bumping, tracking, and shadowing. On the ball it takes constant pressure, swiping, composure, fundamentals, and more bumping. And Battier has done it. If Kobe nails a turnaround, fadeaway, 17 foot jumper with Battier’s hand right in his face? You’ve done all you can do.

But after the Lewis article, Lakers fans, and Kobe for that matter if you look at his behavior in this series, took it personally. How DARE they say anyone could guard Kobe? NO ONE can guard Kobe!

And they’re right. But some guys do it better than others. So they still fail, but they fail less than others do. And while Kobe is sneering at teammates who are constantly letting him down, Battier has become the emotional rock of this team. He’s the spokesperson.  He’s some sort of weird reluctant hero. He didn’t want the gig as leader, but in the absence of the guys that get paid, someone has to. And you see it. Every time Brooks swoops in for a layup or Scola knocks down the midrange, Battier’s clapping, cheering, encouraging. He’s working in every timeout. And that’s the big difference between these two teams.

The Lakers expect to get there and pout when they don’t. The Rockets expect nothing, but kill themselves to get wherever they’re going. We’d do well to take Battier as an example of the kind of player we want our players to be and not an imposter, daring to tug on Superman’s cape. Because the Rockets have forced a Game 7 due primarily to audacity. And while Battier speaks softly, he’s playing with an outright disregard for the script.

Here’s to hoping he can finish the flip.

Because Moore is too busy with his “job” (soft “J”), he could not photoshop me a pic of Ron Artest (with mohawk) onto Jared from Subway. Instead, you get an LOLcat. If anyway wants to send me that funny pic, please do so at Matthew(dot)T(dot)Cornelius(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks.

The crazier Crazy Pills gets, the better the Rox become. Last night, during a postgame wrapup, Monsignor Artest decided that, instead of talking strategy, he would give his advice on which corporate advertising jingles would be the best up in tha club. Take it away, Ron.

“Five Dollar Foot-long’ is one of the best songs,” Artest said. “That’s a hot song. You’ve got the FreeCreditReport.com, and then ‘Five Dollar Foot-long’ comes on. When ‘Five Dollar Foot-long’ comes on, they should play that in the club. They should play all those in the club.”

I will admit that those jokers in the FreeCreditReport commercials make me want to go Mr. Blonde on myself, but couldn’t we get a little old school on this?

So, you just win the biggest game in a decade for the Rockets and you want to start pimping the next mashup album Tru Warier might be spitting out? I honestly feel that you can never count a team out, even on the road, Game 7, in Los Angeles, when someone this amazing is leading you into battle. We are in for a dynamite Sunday.

I wonder if The Rap Up will pimp this jam at the clubs in Houston? I smell a new club sensation.

No, wait, that’s my Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki on Honey Wheat. Gotta go!

Over at Basketball-Statistics.com I have been updating my original statistics for a little while now. Those include Composite Score (CS), Position-Adjusted Classification (PAC), and Value Rating (VR). I have created each of these statistics for a different purpose, and while they will remain perpetual works in progress, I feel that each measurement has some value. Today I’m releasing the final 2008-09 data for every player in the NBA. You can find it all here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=r1lEAryxcq1hiqzsjGpuJAA.

There’s a decent amount of data on that page, so allow me to give a brief explanation of each, starting with Composite Score. For full explanations of everything, you can always go to my web site, Basketball-Statistics.com.

Composite Score

Composite Score is my first original statistic and has been around for the last two years. It is a player rating system that includes data on all players going back to the 2003-04 season. It actually started as just a defensive measure, known as Defensive Composite Score (DCS). Eventually I altered it to include Offensive Composite Score (OCS), and the combination of the two (CS). OCS and DCS are each just combinations of three different metrics.

For DCS, those metrics are Defensive Rating (developed by Dean Oliver and available at Basketball-Reference.com), Counterpart PER (which can be found at 82games.com), and defensive plus-minus (available in many places, including 82games.com). To calculate DCS, I first find a player’s z score in each of those three categories based on their position. I then sum up the z scores and multiply them by -10 to get their DCS. A higher DCS is better, and a DCS of zero is considered average. I also include a player’s DCS percentile rank to give you a better feel of how they compare to the rest of the players in the NBA.

OCS is calculated in the exact same way as DCS, except with the offensive counterparts to the three ratings used for defense. That means that OCS includes Offensive Rating, PER, and offensive plus-minus. Composite Score is simply the sum of a player’s OCS and DCS.

For a more detailed explanation as well as a discussion of CS’s limitations, go to http://basketball-statistics.com/aboutcs.html.

Position-Adjusted Classification

PAC was developed just a few months ago with the purpose of being a scouting tool. Although most people are familiar with the styles of NBA players, PAC provides a snapshot description. This can be useful when trying to find a list of certain players that play a certain way, or when trying to learn about an unfamiliar one.

Like with most of my systems, the way I calculate PAC is quite simple. For each player, I gather their statistics in five categories: Pure Point Rating, Jump Shot %, Rebound Rate, FTA/FGA, and Usage Rate. I then determine if they are high or low in each of these categories based on their position. Depending on how they rate, they are assigned to one of 48 classifications (divided by usage rate: high, medium, or low).

For a more detailed description and a list of limitations, go to http://basketball-statistics.com/howpacworks.html. If you go to http://basketball-statistics.com/whatpaccandoforyou.html, you can read about the potential uses of PAC.

Value Rating

The final statistic I will discuss is called Value Rating. It is a measure of a player’s “value” based on their Composite Score and current salary. To calculate it, I simply subtract a player’s Composite Score rank from their salary rank. For example, Paul Millsap has a very high salary rank (something in the upper 200’s because he is paid so low). However, his Composite Score rank is quite low (one of the best in the league). Because he is paid so little but plays so well, his Value Rating is number one in the NBA. Meanwhile, a player like Allen Iverson, who has a high salary but low performance, has a very low Value Rating. VR is expressed as a percentage. 100% is the best, while 0% is the worst.

Conclusion

As is commonly known, statistics have plenty of limitations. It is practically impossible to replace the value of solid scouting and basketball wisdom. On the other hand, numbers can be used as an objective tool to supplement the knowledge we already have and in some cases help us make decisions. I have developed these statistics because it never hurts to add to your toolbox. With that being said, I understand my numbers aren’t perfect. They’re just another metric to be added to the world of adjusted plus-minus, PER, Win Shares, etc. Feel free to comment with any suggestions, because I’ll be the first to tell you that none of these numbers are without their own weaknesses.

• Terrific clutch shots by the Celtics. Marbury played terrific, definitely made up for all the terrible play he’s had the rest of the year. Davis continued to hit big shots, and even attacked the rim well. He hit jump hooks over Howard when Howard couldn’t hit hooks over him.
• Ray Allen is the greatest modern clutch shooter in the NBA. I’ll take him over Kobe, Wade, eBron, the pack. He’s just the best.
• You know, this Magic team just isn’t ready. They don’t do the little things. And those are the things that win you basketball games. Not stats like shooting, efficiency, rebounding, or basketball things like ball movement, rotations, driving to force the issue or talent. Little things.
• The Celtics do all those things. They are a championship team that does championship things with championship heart.
• I could talk about the Orlando ball movement, about how they didn’t start jacking threes until they were in panic mode following that sequence of events which must not be named, about Lewis being able to abuse Glen Davis every which way but loose, about how Hedo driving to the basket late was a great decision, about Rafer Alston playing huge. But none of it matters, because Glen Davis hit big shots, Ray Allen hit big shots, the Celtics got “turnovers” and “offensive rebounds” and won the game.
• You can only hope that your team has the heart and soul of the Boston Celtics.
• Orlando will have a long summer trying to figure out where that 14 point lead went.
• Every year there’s one playoff series I get really emotionally invested in and then get my heart ripped out of my chest. Last year it was NOLA-SAS. This year, it’s BOS-ORL.

Last night, I was looking at various World Wide Web websites that had information about Nene, because what else would I be doing at 11 pm?  Turns out, he has probably the best bio on NBA.com.  So good, and so utterly bizarre, that I find it prudent to introduce the Nene Trivia Challenge. 

Below, I have presented 10 “facts,” seven that are true, and three that are completely made up.  I am very, very good at making up facts, so this should be a bit of a challenge.  First person who gets these right will be mailed a prize sometime in the next three months.  Seriously.

The rules are as follows:

• one entry per person
• answers will be left in the comments in the following form: “The made up facts are numbers: [ENTER NUMBERS HERE]“
• no research allowed
• contest is open until next Tuesday, May 19

NENE FACTS

1. Favorite actor is Jackie Chan
2. Plays bass guitar
3. Favorite book is “The Da Vinci Code”
4. Has a 7’5″ wingspan
5. Middle name is Rodney
6. Has one testicle
7. Favorite movie is “Left Behind”
8. First sport was track
9. Favorite sports team is FC Barcelona
10. Grew up idolizing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson

You have one week.

• Glen Davis is going to get paid a HUGE contract next year, and then shoot .300. I say this not because I’m bitter, but because we’ve seen it oh so many times. Great shot, kid. Great shot.
• The Celtics shot 53% from the field, shot only one fewer free throw, got 39 from Pierce and Allen, got 21 from Glen freaking Davis, managed to not foul anyone out, and got a way with a world of flops.
• The Magic shot 40% from the field, 19% from the arc, even though they had open looks all night, SVG played Rafer Alston when he was a -14734834347347384374 for the game, did not play Gortat more than 9:32, Howard had foul trouble, Hedo had a wretched night, and Redick was 0-5 from the arc.
• And the Boston Celtics needed a desperation, 18 foot jumper from Tons of Fun to win the game.
• There are two ways to look at this. Either this Boston Celtics team possesses a greatness that cannot be defined, that just finds a way to win, that never gets up and will always get big contributions from role players, and has juevos of titanium steel alloy, or…
• The Orlando Magic gave this one away, and there’s no way what occurs tonight is repeated, the Magic have way too much ammo, and this was the Celtics last night in victory.
• I lean towards the latter.
• The Magic played horrible. I predicted a 15 point Boston win last night and again today, and when the Celtics went up by 9 in the third, I was sure it was over. But Boston let them back in it, because the Magic have too much firepower. Thankfully for the C’s, the triggers were off, and Orlando can’t do anything the easy way.
• SVG gets this loss. No question. He buried this team. He overplayed Rafer Alston, who somehow managed to miss runners, jumpers, three pointers, one handers, two handers, gimmes, tough shots, and granny shots. Yet SVG kept going to him. At what point is SVG going to realize that his best chance to win is Lee, Hedo, Lewis, Gortat and Howard? He lets the Boston bigs double team Howard, then refuses to give Gortat the chance to play cleanup man. He watches Alston kill possessions, with the Celtics giving him shots and him still missing, and yet sticks with him over Anthony Johnson. The pride of coaches in the playoffs just floors me. This one is on you, Stan Van Gundy.
• The Celtics did some neat things to get Allen sprung tonight. He didn’t have a huge night and missed some daggers, but had a pretty good night and kept them honest. They were running pick and pops with him and Pierce, making them decide which poison to drink.
• Perkins did a fantastic job on Howard tonight. The refs let him shove Howard away from the basket, and when they stopped, he just played smart defense and got the stops. Also hit a few drop hooks that should have been in the third row.
• Hedo was horrible tonight, in every conceivable way. The Celtics are in his head a little bit, flashing at him and making him question his dribble.
• Courtney Lee needs to do a better job of not second guessing shots and taking the three. He’s got the trigger. They’re not going to get there in time, kid.
• Glen Davis. Really? That’s the answer?
• I really thought Boston would put away this game more convincingly, but a win’s a win. I like Orlando in Game 5 on the road.
• Pierce looked healthier than I’ve seen him this offseason. He attacked the basket, hit shots, and when he hit the pivot, I wasn’t afraid his knee was going to buckle.
• The Magic have all the pieces of a killer ultra-long, hyper-athletic lineup. Then SVG gets involved and we get Alston-Pietrus-Hedo-Battie-Howard/Gortat lineups. If SVG can learn to harness what’s referred to in some circles as “playing the talented players” then they can win this thing. If he sticks to his guns, the Magic are going home and Boston will lose to Cleveland in 2.5 games. Glen Davis will not be getting that shot versus Cleveland’s D.
• Glen Davis may show up to camp at 300 lbs with all the bacon that new contract is going to buy him.
• And he can throw away all the kids he wants.

• Hi-ho hilarious.
• Ron Artest 4 of 19. So that was pretty bad.
• Von Wafer was only on the floor for a little under 7 minutes. He had almost no impact.
• Other than that… the Rockets kicked the tail off the Lakers, put it in a pot, made stew out of it, and served it to their friends and family.
• The Lakers will win this series, and everyone outside of the Rockets locker room believes that. But if the Lakers don’t wake up and accept that they are going to have to earn this one, it’s going to get dicey.
• Andrew Bynum walked into the Toyota Center tonight knowing he would be facing a team without a single player with his size and raw athleticism. Today should have been his coming out party, finally. He should have validated the droves of writers, experts, and Lakers fans who proclaimed him as the next truly great center. He should have used this lack of a legit opponent to take his place as a monster down low.
• 11:37, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 blocked attempt, 0 blocks, 3 fouls, 0 assists, 0 points. And the legend… continues.
• Pau Gasol finished with thirty points, so that’s awesome. Too bad the vast majority of them came in the fourth quarter when this thing was O-V-E-R.
• Shane Battier had received a ton of criticism from Lakers supporters for all the praise heaped on him by a single New York Times article. He never claimed he was awesome. He just does his job. And he was hammered for being overrated.
• 23 points, 4 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant shot 41% on his way to an ineffective 15 points. All-Star Stats with the No-Stats All-Star defense. For just a day, Battier comes out as the winner.
• The Lakers do not have a single point guard as good as Aaron Brooks. Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar. All of them got outclassed.
• Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, Denver? They’re going to get the weakside block on Brooks almost every time. Brooks has terrific speed, but his release point is so short,he’s going to get erased by teams that actually give a damn about defending inside.
• Of course, the Lakers can usually slide with that kind of interior defense, because they attack, attack, attack at the perimeter. Today, they didn’t care enough to even try. You saw the Rockets doubling, then throwing themselves out of bounds trying to close out on shooters. You saw the Lakers being like “Eh, they don’t have Ming. That should keep them from knocking down wide open three pointers.” … SWISH.
• MACHINE BROKEN. MACHINE NO GUN ALL DAY. MACHINE CRY ALL THE WAY HOME, BOO-HOO.
• 
• Luis Scola has gone from a surprisingly good player, to a shockingly good player, to a really pretty good player, to a great player. That guy’s been overmatched throughout this entire series and has managed to battle it and battle it and get production.

NBA Europa. CATCH THE FEVER!

HT: SHAREBRO GHOSTFACE ZILLAH.