The BlockClocked Update Week 1: Introducing BlockClocked

A friend recently introduced me to HoopData.com. It’s a glorious addition to the already phenomenal suite of basketball metric sites out there, and best of all, it’s in a format I can much easier rip to excel for my own nefarious purposes. The easy interface with sorting stats is one thing, but the number and variety of metrics available is incredible. Want to know ho leads the league in FG of players playing over 30 minutes a game shooting from 10-15 feet? Got it.  Want to know what kind of shots your team’s assists are leading to? Got it.

But for me the best thing about this data is that I get to finally track the stat that has been collected for two seasons but not tracked season long. A completely useless stat to everyone but me. Shot attempts blocked. As in, how many times you get rejected in the face.

Now, ask any hoophead and they’ll tell you that getting blocked is not any worse than your average field goal miss. In fact, since most blocks are made around the basket, and a shot around the basket is a high percentage shot, they might even tell you it’s a good attempt. All this is true.

But there’s still something profoundly negative about a guy getting blocked. Having another being physically deny you your attempt at doing what you do for a living is just a disheartening thing. It gives the sads. And that’s what I’m all about. Mocking those with the sads.

Yahoo’s been tracking attempts blocked for two seasons, but wouldn’t track them with their season stats. Most stat guys I’ve talked to say “well, yeah, I could track those, but why?” HoopData is. And so, every week, I’ll be bringing you the top ten players in total times blocked, and total % blocked, courtesy of HoopData.

TOP TEN PLAYERS IN TOTAL ATTEMPTS BLOCKED, AS OF 11.2.09

So as you can see we have some absolutely horrible players here, what with Melo who’s been MVP in the first three games and Arenas, and Bosh and two Rockets who are beating good teams.  But still. Come on, now, fellas! You’re better than that! Gerald Wallace is apparently the king of getting blocked. He’s been top five in each of the past three years in multiple splits.

TOP TEN PLAYERS IN PERCENT OF ATTEMPTS BLOCKED PER 40 MINUTES, AS OF 11.2.09

I’ve got a feeling this might be Boozer’s time. It’ll all come down to whether injury slows down Crash’s persistence and numbers, or if Boozer gets lazy. But with a contract year in sight, I can see Boozer making a push for being the most often blocked guy in the league.

Oster-Tags: blockclocked