Continuing the quest to bridge the gap, another edition in the Hardwood Paroxysm series of Understanding Advanced Stats
A new statistical category rarely makes it’s way into the mainstream, the box score. But that’s what +/- did relatively recently. This easily misunderstood stat can be useful if cited properly. Sadly, it gets misused more often than not.
Really transcendent players tend to have overall pluses simply because they are that good, but in the normal course of events really good players can often end up with a negative or about even +/-. This is due to teammates, not an individual, in most cases. One cannot simply look at a box score and assume that because a particular player had a negative +/- that they had a poor game; they may have won their matchup fairly handily, but if most of the teammates he was on the floor with at the time had a bad game it reflects poorly on everyone.
+/- is best used a couple of ways that we’ll explore here, in large sample sizes, in lineups, and in individual matchups, but only if you are looking specifically at that matchup alone and not in the context of a box score.
Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns have had a rough year (even though they have found a rhythm of late). Â The standard box score from a recent close loss to the Golden State Warriors leaves Nash looking like he got smoked, even though we know he’s one of those transcendent players with the sixth-best season-long +/- as of March 6.
Nash’s opponents’ box score tells us little more about what really happened except that Curry had a nice, if short stint.
From these stats it would appear that Robinson outplayed Nash. Let’s look closer, at PopcornMachine‘s Game Flow from that particular tilt. Note: If you mouse-over a particular player’s stint you get specifics. I’ve Photoshopped in several players’ stints in order to be more succinct
What we find is that it wasn’t so much that Curry was really good, or Nash really bad, as that David Lee had a spectacular first quarter stint. Curry wouldn’t play again after the first Q. Go ahead and mouse over the rest of Nash’s, and Curry’s replacement, Nate Robinson’s, stints  to get a better feel for how the game unfolded in the backcourt.
Alternately,  before we move on, you can check the stint by the man who’s job it was to be guarding Lee, assuming Gentry had the Suns playing man-D, Channing Frye (something you can confirm by checking mySynergySports or watching a replay). Frye would finish the game at a mere -1, so you can see how one can be deceived by a simple box score +/- stat, when in fact Frye was largely responsible for the early big deficit that Nash and Co. spent the rest of the game making up. The standard box may have you believing that Lee and Frye got in a personal shootout, however, by checking the PopcornMachine box score, and clicking on the specific players, we find that Frye got hot himself later in the contest helping to redeem that heinous first Q and rebound his game-long +/-.
In looking at the game flow, that graphed line between the two teams, we see that as the flow began to favor Nash and the Suns in the second half, Warriors coach Mark Jackson began experimenting with lineups to try and slow the comeback roll.
As we close this session, you can get a head start on a future post by checking at 82Games to see how these twoteams’ lineups have stacked up playing together on the season, another of the fruitful and less suspect uses of the +/- stat.
In closing I would caution you to always be wary of small sample size numbers all by themselves. Until next time, happy advanced statting.
It’s not a question of whether or not Stephen Curry should take time off to heal his ankle.
He should. He must.
After six games (five of which Curry participated in), he’s sprained his ankle in three different games. Two of which were non-contact sprains – which makes it all the scarier. After being hampered by that same right ankle last year, what he chooses to do doesn’t just decide this season; it sets the foundation for how the rest of his career will play out. A prolonged absence from Curry would place a roadblock in front of the Warriors and what should’ve been, but they have to keep the future in mind. Too many talents have been removed from the game due to their competitive spirit despite nagging injuries – a spirit that’s lauded in the short term, but one that rings a premature death knell for their careers in the long term.
The problem here is obvious: Curry is rushing back and it’s killing his ankle, whether he feels ready to play or not. In less than two weeks, he’s sprained his ankle three times. He’s been able to tough it out and play five of the six Warriors games thus far, but he’s left almost no time for the ankle to even begin the healing process.
The factors we found to predict ankle sprains are dorsiflexion range of motion, postural sway, and perhaps proprioception. These findings should be considered preliminary. Dorsiflexion range of motion appears to be the best predictor to date considering the strength of the results and the quality of the respective studies. Perhaps the key for prediction of ankle sprains is the interaction of variables such as range of motion, proprioceptive factors, and postural sway.
via Do voluntary strength, proprioception, range of motion, or postural sway predict occurrence of lateral ankle sprain?| M de Noronha, K.M. Refshauge, R.D. Herbert, and S.L. Kilbreath
Curry’s range of motion is compromised due to the pain of moving his ankle. That lack of range significantly increases the likelihood of a future ankle sprain, according to several studies.
More from the study, conducted by the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney, quoted above:
Two studies reported the strength of the association of ankle range of motion. Pope et al6(quality score 5) reported that subjects with the most inflexible ankles (34° of dorsiflexion range) had nearly five times the risk of suffering an ankle sprain as subjects with average flexibility (45° of dorsiflexion range).
Calling the recurring issues “re-aggravations†is putting it lightly. Every time he rolls the ankle, more muscles around the ankle weaken. Sensory nerve fibers begin to dull. Curry’s proprioception — the subconscious sense of his own ankle in relation to the rest of his body – diminishes, which means he may not have a good reading on how much energy he needs to exert to perform an action. As a result, his right ankle doesn’t respond the way the rest of his body does. And on the potential fast break late in the third quarter in San Antonio, it rolls — seemingly of its own volition.
While many of these ankle injury studies (and there are many of them) revolve around sports-related injuries, the bulk of the data comes from ordinary folk who just happen to stay active. They don’t key in on world-class athletes that carry the pressure of performing at the highest level on a regular basis, which could easily change the findings. But predicting ankle sprains is one thing. Healing a chronic issue is another. Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution.
In a 2009 study from the University of Hong Kong, researchers clarified the debate between the use of surgery to treat serious ankle injuries. While some findings in 2000 stated that surgical treatment led to better results in the healing process, the same research group changed their stance two years later, claiming that there wasn’t enough conclusive information to make such a claim.
Lynch and Renstrom [130] commented that surgical treatment to ankle lateral complex may induce some serious, though infrequent complications. Functional conservative treatment was free of complications, and did not produce late symptoms than surgical repair and casting, therefore, there was a growing consensus to treat grade III sprains firstly with conservative functional treatment. If such treatment failed to enhance ankle function after a considerable period of time, surgical repair could be performed.
via Understanding acute ankle ligamentous sprain injury in sports | Daniel TP Fong, Yue-Yan Chan, Kam-Ming Mok, Patrick S.H. Yung, and Kai-Ming Chan
Can Curry’s trail of bad luck be traced to his surgery in May of last year? There’s no way of knowing, but there’s also no reason to distrust Curry’s trainers and consultants. The inconclusiveness of the studies only further muddies Steph’s already ambiguous plan of action.
But there are a few things for certain. Curry has to sit out. There are methods of retraining the body and regaining proprioception. And there are non-surgical methods to help aid the healing and strengthening process. It’s instinctive to want to return as soon as possible. Great athletes and competitors wouldn’t be who they are without that instinct. But Curry shouldn’t tempt fate. It has already done enough damage.
Medical journals were retrieved using the PubMed.org database.
It’s not that we don’t love the high-marquee contenders squaring off on a Christmas Day marathon. We do. We really do.
But where the NBA is really at is last night. 12 games, one League Pass free preview, and a whole lot of faces.
Which faces, you ask? Well, that’s why Connor “Coner” Huchton and myself have combined forces to conveniently categorize all faces into two Affleck/Damon categories.
In a game where the entirety of Golden State (population: millions) seemed to play well, Stephen Curry looked the best. We’ve come to expect 21 points on a given night from Curry, but 12 assists and seven rebounds against one of the league’s best defenses goes beyond the typical Curry game. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Curry’s sterling defense against reigning MVP point guard Derrick Rose coupled with seven (yes, you read that correctly) steals. Curry left the game late in the 4th quarter with another ankle injury, but the injury appeared (thankfully)Â less than severe. Injury or no injury, Golden State’s triumphant win largely belonged to Curry. -Connor Huchton
Eric Gordon isn’t worried about getting traded from a contender to a possible lottery team. The change of scenery doesn’t phase him. Send him to New Orleans, and he’ll play the role of franchise player, however temporary. Need a primary scorer, and he’s ready. Need someone to look mildly unenthused in an introductory press conference, and he’s ready. And when New Orleans needed a game-winning shot, he was ready. That final pull-up jumper wasn’t quite Chris Paul, but it sure was Eric Gordon. -CH
Lemon Face: Kevin Martin
You know what’s worse than trade rumors? Being involved in a voided trade. Sure, Luis Scola has handled it well, but I’m not sure the same can be said for Kevin Martin. He’s been out of sync since “preseason” (two games and a whole lot of confusion), and looked terrible against the Magic. Hopefully this is just a cold streak and nothing else, but until that breaks, Martin might want to search for that jumper. 1-10 FG from one of the league’s most efficient players? I don’t understand what’s happening. -CH
Don’t you dare call him B.J. That Mullens is long gone. This? This is BYRON MULLENS. And he will pick and pop you into oblivion if you don’t respect him. Those career high 10 points that just sunk the Bucks? That’s just the start. Beware of Byron. -NS
What’s worst: losing to the Nets, at home, after going up 21 in the second quarter… turning the ball over down 5 with 17 seconds left and completely forgetting to foul… or complaining about your touches after the first game of the season? I’ll give you a hint: none of them is the worst, because the Wizards are the worst. Come back, Jan Vesely. -NS
When Spencer “Rondo” Hawes took the court on Monday night, we all knew what to expect: A severe triple-double threat, a true offensive threat. Wait a second, that totally wasn’t what we expected. But somehow, that’s what we got. Though he fell short one assist of triple-double, I’m sure this is only a sign of things to come. Spencer Hawes: Dynamic Scorer, Passer, and Rebounder. -CH
Lemon Face: Lamar Odom
Lamar wins the questionable pleasure of a second straight Lemon Face, and boy, is he earning them. Two games in, Odom is averaging an ejection for every 2 made field goals, is sporting a negative PER, and worse of all, he still isn’t Tyson Chandler. Pretty much the only positive thing one can say about him is that by coming off the bench, he’s still eligible for 6th man of the year. -NS
Ricky Rubio can’t play in the pros. Never mind the way he sees things that nobody else sees, and then he feeds those things with a no-look bounce pass. Never mind the way every single second with him on the court is an adventure, how the crowd is on its toes for the entire duration of his stay. Never mind that dreamy face. Nope. Ricky Rubio can’t play in the pros. -NS
Michael Beasley didn’t play his worst game. Sure, 24 points on 27 shots is bad by most measures, but he wasn’t a complete hinderance to the ‘Wolves. At times, he even contributed admirably. But damaging the flow of a now beautiful, Rubio-led offense is not easily forgiven. Don’t shoot those odd fade-aways with two guys on you, Beasley. Rubio is here, and he’s determined to get you a better shot than that. -CH
This is the Hibbert we saw to start last season, and the Hibbert whose absence we lamented once January came along. 16 points, 14 boards and 3 blocks. Swift decisions, a soft touch, a defensive presence. He even scored on the pick-and-roll! All we can do is hope we get to keep watching this guy, because a good Hibbert transcends international borders and languages. -NS
I imagined it would be a glorious, Stephen Jackson-y return when the Bucks came to Charlotte for their first game of the season. The notorious Captain Jack was returning to the team that traded him, and I expected to see a virtuoso performance from the Captain upon his return. Instead, we got an oddly unenthused, out-of-sync performance from Jackson, a 1-5 shooting effort in 17 minutes that left me asking when the Stephen Jackson I expected would check into the game. -CH
Lion Face: Kyle Lowry
This is Kyle Lowry’s year. I can feel it in the basketball winds all around me. By March, maybe we won’t be so surprised when he plays so well and keeps his offense afloat. But for now, 20 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds from the esteemed Mr. Lowry is a reason to be excited. Get excited, everyone. Kyle Lowry is back to being a great basketball player. -CH
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exzZVkmogzg caption={That's so Lowry}]
Lemon Face: The Detroit Pistons’ Offense
So far, the Pistons have the lowest single-game scoring total in the NBA. Sure, pace adjustments rank them slightly above the Grizzlies, but second-to-last is not exactly an achievement to be proud of. When the only player on your team to shoot above 50% is Jonas Jerebko (love ya, Jonas) and your roster has such offensive luminaries as Greg Monroe and.. uhm… more Greg Monroe, something is very very wrong. -NS
For all the talk of Boris Diaw’s seemingly endless weight gains and famous nonchalance, he can still play well when he finds a rhythm. And on Monday, Diaw found that rhythm. A near triple double (9 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists) is one thing, but serving as the de-facto point center(?) and essentially running the offense for large periods of time is another. Carmelo Anthony who? This is Boris Diaw’s game. -CH
Lemon Face: Antawn Jamison
We’re not sure when this happened, but some time along the way, Antawn Jamison turned into the worst. And it hurts quite a bit. Just like you don’t want your role model father to be caught for tax fraud, so does it pain us to watch the “consummate professional†slack on defense and chuck his way towards 6 for 20 nights. Soneone should get this guy to a contender – not because he “deserves†it, as was the case when Cleveland salvaged him from Washington, but because watching him in the lottery stains what’s still left of our good will. -NS
I had the chance to go catch Team USA’s final exhibition on American soil before they head off to Turkey for the 2010 FIBA World Championship starting on August 28. As expected, the US boys rolled over the French in Madison Square Garden, winning 86-55, although they didn’t look particularly good on offense or defense early and were deadlocked with France at 16-16 after one quarter.
It was just an exhibition, but it still offered a little insight into what we might be might see from Team USA in Turkey. Here’s a few thoughts from Madison Square Garden.
The team started off sloppy early in the first quarter, at one point turning the ball over on two consecutive possessions, mishandling easy passes in semi-transition. Unforced errors like that shouldn’t be happening with Rajon Rondo and Chauncey Billups on the floor (although it was more KD and Iggy’s fault, respectively, in these two specific instances). As for the starters, I think what we saw today will likely be the same group we see starting the first game in Turkey: Rajon, Chauncey, Iggy, Durant and Tyson Chandler. Chauncey’s vet savvy and shooting make him a good fit at the two, Durant and Tyson are locks, and Iggy/Gay seems like essentially a coin-flip as both bring some much-need athleticism/slashing to the wing, but Iggy does play a little more D, so I would take him. Rajon/Rose could go either way, too, I suppose, but Rajon has the experience, and that seems like the go-to tiebreaker for USA coaches.
Speaking of Rondo … On Saturday, Rajon mentioned that he had not yet gotten the chance to return a phone call to chat with his new teammate Shaq, but when asked if he’s looking forward to running the break with the big fella, he said “hopefully he can keep up with me … I’ll wait for him.” He also expressed that playing for Team USA was a change since, compared to guys like Steph Curry, Eric Gordon and Jeff Green, he’s “like a veteran,” he said. “On my team, I’m the young guy so it’s a different look.”
The play of the day went to one of those young’ns. Steph Curry forced a nice steal around half court by playing pesky D then was able to tip toe the sideline to keep it inbounds, immediately whipping a behind-the-back dribble to get by two defenders and pushing it up the floor. He was far from done, however, freezing a defender in transition around the elbow with a sharp crossover and getting all the way to the cup. Rather than take a contested layup, he dumped it off to Rudy Gay for a power dunk. The sequence was MSG-approved and marked one of the many dunks that sent the near-capacity-eventually (started about half full and then filled up most of the way) crowd into a frenzy.
Rondo had a pretty nice play of his own, however, Rondo-ing his way by a France defender for a sweeping, easy lay-in. It was impressive, sure, but at this point I almost expect one of those per game. Unconfirmed reports lead me to believe that the French kids watching at home are calling the play “Le Rondo’d.”
Rudy Gay wasn’t gonna let the little guys have all the fun and added to the highlight reel with back-to-back breakaway dunks early in the fourth. The first, a Harold Miner-esque, leaning reverse two-hander, gets a 9 out of 10 from me, while the second, more of a 270-degree, spinning one handed reverse, deserves a solid 8 out of 10 on the in-game dunk-o-meter. Iggy added a nice power windmill dunk of his own on a first-half breakaway. I was well aware of MSG’s affinity for dunks, but it seems that patriotic dunks are that much sweeter.
Eric Gordon barely saw the floor early (93 seconds in the first half ), but got some run in the second (about 12 minutes) as, presumably, Coach K and company wanted one final look at the kid. He hit two treys and added one other bucket, but my gut tells me he’ll be the last man cut from Team USA. Steph Curry just seemed to be a little more ingrained in the rotation from the two games I saw this weekend, bringing the ball up on occasion and spacing the floor with his shooting. And if it’s just shooting they care about keeping, Danny Granger also did this yesterday — although I never actually thought Granger had a chance of getting cut anyway unless his finger was actually injured. (It’s not. He’s fine.)
Nando De Colo of France (a player who the Spurs own the rights to and RC Buford, according to Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs, has called the best point guard currently playing in France) hit a nice trey right in front of the press box during the first half. He easily has the best name of anyone who was in Madison Square on Sunday.
Last season’s dish was the mystifying pairing of nearly identical undersized guards, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry – two great cuts that simply don’t go together.
“I was watching Court TV and I found a loophole in your case. I’m gonna talk to the judge about a writ of Habeas Corpus. I’ll put the SYSTEM on trial.” – Jim Carrey, Cable Guy.
Something really weird happened during the final game of the Warriors and Blazers regular season on Wednesday night. A basketball game was happening while a competition committee hearing broke out.
The situation was fairly simple: Don Nelson was being forced to play injured members of his team. When Devean George fouled out with just under four minutes to go in the game, Don Nelson wanted to keep him in the game and accept the applicable technical foul that came with doing such a thing. He’d already done it earlier in the season when Stephen Curry fouled out of a game and was allowed to keep playing. But during that game, the Warriors didn’t have eligible players in uniform sitting on the bench.
Before we go any further, watch the video I cut together from the game.
Here are some of my thoughts, reactions and things of note from this video:
- Nellie tried to let referee Phil Robinson know initially that Chris Hunter wasn’t going to come into the game. He wanted to keep Devean George in and take the technical foul. However, Eddie F. Rush takes control of the situation and explains to the Warriors coaching staff that the three eligible players (Anthony Morrow, Chris Hunter and Ronny Turiaf) were going to have to play before that could happen. In his mind and in the minds of the NBA rules, these guys should be playing in the game. Although I wanted to disagree with the referees (and did), they were ultimately correct. The Warriors tried to skate by the last game of the season without signing anymore players despite the fact that they were chock-full of injuries.
- It was brutal seeing Chris Hunter dragging his leg up and down the court. I know the Warriors were caught up in the moment a bit and didn’t really know how to approach it but I would have kept him on defense and never had him try to cross halfcourt. Especially when Chris Hunter gets knocked down on the blocking foul and is trying to get up, you know that had to have Nellie seething at this situation.
- At the 2:11 mark, I love that Nellie screams, “you’re supposed to know the rules.” It does actually seem like the refs were following the rules even though for the safety of the players involved there could be an exception made.
- Once Hunter is taken out of the game for good and Devean George is once again denied entry like a group of guys at a Vegas night club, I love the strategy that Nellie implements. Put Turiaf in, let him commit a foul right away and pull him from the game. Then when there’s a stoppage of play after Morrow goes in, pull him from the game too so that Devean George HAS to be allowed to come back in.
- For those of us that have chastised Nellie this season and the past couple seasons for not caring about his job, it’s nice to see how disturbed he was by this whole incident. He genuinely hated having to put Chris Hunter, Ronny Turiaf and Anthony Morrow into this game. He was worried for their health and safety as if he was a concerned parent.
- How about that blocked shot by Hunter?!?
- Everyone that was watching this game and not a Blazers fan was rooting for a Devean George game-winner. It would have sparked a crap hurricane throughout the media world.
- I think we’ll see this rule revisited with the competition committee in some way. Maybe it won’t be changed because after all, Nellie and the Warriors were fudging the injury report a bit. However, there has to be a way for a coach to be able to avoid bringing in his injured players.
- Stephen Curry goes OFF. 26 points in the second half for him and he scored 11 of the Warriors final 14 points to win this game. He capped off a fantastic rookie season with a 42-point effort. He’s in the same zone that I felt Allan Houston was in when he played. I can’t remember a single jumper that either player has ever missed in their careers. As far as I’m concerned, Curry and Houston have never missed a jump shot before.
- I don’t know how you could possibly not love Nellie after watching that video.
Don’t get all worked up, this post has nothing to do with HP.
The last few seasons have felt like we were simply adorning an already established base with additional decorations. Kevin Durant. Derrick Rose. A few re-alignments: Brand goes to Philly, Baron goes to LA, the Lakers re-establish themselves as the best franchise in basketball. There was movement at the top, but no major shifts in the NBA globe, so to speak.
The continents were the same, we just had population shifts, if you think about it.
Now, though, we’re looking at a re-alignment of the way this NBA Universe works. It’s not unexpected or unheard of, it occurs fairly regularly, just as the 2004 class established itself over a two year period, we’re seeing a different kind of shift, and the time period of last June through this upcoming August should leave us with some violent changes, if not any variations on the overall theme: LAKERS WIN.
The upcoming free agency has a lot to do with it; even if two of the big three stay where they’re at (LeBron, Wade, Bosh), that still leaves a mountain of players looking for greener pastures in an uncertain environment loaded with money and a looming CBA restructuring. The development of some players has to do with it in part. We watch Kevin Durant and obviously see this middle-child of excellence, so to speak. But there’s also the possibility of Oden bouncing back (again), and players like Luc Richard Mbah A Moute and Andrew Bogut coming into their own roles, Dwight Howard being the dominant center, and Derrick Rose entering the top levels. There’s some fade going on as well, with Baron Davis being the least relevant he maybe has ever been, Iverson close to fading out due to his family’s health problems, McGrady looking like a shell of himself, the uncertainty Yao, and Elton Brand being nothing more than a footnote.
But this draft class has more to do with it than any of us thought. A class many regarded as “terrible,” has turned out to be sensational. Seemingly every game you see a player that makes an impact. It’s managed to not only be top-heavy, but deep.
Evans is a revelation, and even if his ROY is challenged by Collison/Curry, he’s still had more of an overall impact on his team than either one. He’s a complete player, effective on both sides of the ball, and a constant threat that has the ball in his hands all the time, and with a worse core than either one. After all, the Hornets aren’t talking about trading CP3 this summer, and the Warriors… well, let’s just leave that wasps’ nest be, shall we?
But this isn’t to say those two haven’t been phenomenal. Curry has stunned me with his passing acuity. I thought he’d fail at this level, being primarily a shooting guard with low vertical, watching his shot be blocked at every turn and getting beat up by larger players. In that respect, maybe it’s a blessing that he landed on terrible Golden State. The freewheeling style plays to his strengths, but it also keeps him out of physical situations which could impact him. His passing is leaps and bound s above what I anticipated, and he’s looking like instant-offense, even in the context of a “add water and mix” offensive system. Collison? Collison is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. The turnovers are horrendous, no doubt. But his speed and shooting touch simply shred the other team. Watching him, I look like I’m trying to deal with some sort of epileptic seizure-inducing film. It’s almost painful to see how good this kid is, baseline to baseline.
This is before we get to Casspi’s playmaking ability, Harden’s fit in OKC, Serge Ibaka being the big we all thought OKC needed, Ty Lawson breaking the sound barrier on a regular basis, DeMar DeRozan flying through the air, Brandon Jennings being part of a possibly playoff-bound Bucks, Jeff Teague adding significant minutes, Taj Gibson being better than anyone expected, Beaubois looking like a potential DPOY in four years, Marcus Thornton, Jonas Jerebko, Jonny Flynn, Hansbrough when healthy, or Eric Maynor.
And don’t even get me started on Blair.
The Thunder may be shifting what we look at as “how to build through the draft.” I’ve argued that Presti may be taking Pritchard’s prototype and improving on it, simply by not improving on the team with veterans. The Nets and Knicks: one of them will come out of this summer with tremendous potential for contention. The Magic have shook the previously held ideas about what a defensive team looks like. And the Celtics have set an impossible quandary with “Should you sell out your future for a thirty second shot at glory?” question.
We’re in a new era, and the future is more uncertain than ever. There’s a lot of fear (CBA) to go along with the excitement (new paradigms on contention-building), but we’re remiss if we don’t take a second to absorb the whole amount of change we’ve seen in this sport. We have a New King, a potential new Dynasty (LA), and new pillars of greatness (Durant, Rose, potentially Evans if he doesn’t fall), and in a year, a new CBA. The times they are a changin’.
Which corresponds with some other changes I want to touch on, that are phenomenally cool.
I haven’t really talked much about it, but I think it’s worth mentioning the awesome work being done by Kurt Helin at one of my other shops, PBT. Kurt ran the best Lakers blog on the planet for 5 years, and has brought the same high level of discussion and style to NBC sports. That Helin has been granted that kind of an opportunity shows that quality is being rewarded, and that we will probably be able to see more and more blog authors producing terrific content with an actual voice through major portals in the future. Throw in Mahoney and Krolik being the young guns laying in their usual brilliance in shorter doses, and you have a hell of a team over there. Plus, I get to get called a moron 25 times every weekend,which is pretty fun. (Side note: Paroxi-Wife: “I do not think I like Lakers fans. They are mean to you.” Me: “I’m mean to them, honey. I’m mean to them.” Also funny? Five days a week we’re “biased towards LA” and on the weekend we’re “nothing but a bunch of Laker-haters.”)
Bethlehem Shoals returned to FanHouse, and I have to say, as a longtime reader of FD, I think the style at FH fits him amazingly well (and SN has found a prolific replacement). I write over at FH as well, and can tell you that it’s stunning to be able to have my work next to Tom Ziller, Bethlehem Shoals, Brett Pollakoff, Matt Watson,Will Brinson, Rob Peterson, Chris Tomasson, and Tim Povtak. It’s an incredible lineup over there, and instead of waiting until I’m gone for whatever reason, I think it’s important to note now how much I think of their work. There’s a balance at FH that’s difficult to duplicate. Matt Watson doesn’t get nearly enough credit publicly for the job he’s done there, balancing a new style, format, and approach with the blog-style that made FanHouse famous. So just know, Watson kills it. And there has to be kudos to FanHouse for bringing in Shoals to do what he does, riff on the NBA in a style that at once cuts to the heart of the matter and flies wildly over your head. And having he and Ziller next to each other is like teaming LeBron and Wade. You’re just in awe.
This is before we get to the great work being done at SBNation.com, which is building a new type of portal with what I feel is one of if not the best content integration I’ve seen from any network-type site on the planet. They have a tremendous crew over there, featuring Mike Prada, and Andrew Sharp, and with Seth Pollack managing the NBA blogs, that’s a simply fierce alignment of team-centric work.
This is also before we talk about all the great young talent out there. John Krolik and Rob Mahoney freelancing various places. Holly MacKenzie who continues to be one of the most marketable personalities in the blogosphere, and it has very little to do with her being a woman. Jared Wade, Zach Harper, both of whom you’ll recognize from this site andothers. It’s been just a little over a year since I started to read those two, and I’m constantly blown away by both their talent, and ability to connect with people (read: I am insanely jealous of their popularity).
This is before we start to talk about the TrueHoop Network, and how much it’s grown under Henry and Kevin, and all the bloggers they’ve brought on board. THN provides content you really can’t get elsewhere, an attempt to bring insight, humor, and a passion for the game into every post. We’re doing something which hasn’t been before in NBA circles, bringing blog-coverage to a major platform affiliation and working to combine the two. It’s an incredible opportunity, and given the support, you’re seeing great work out of everyone in the network, particularly Kyle Weidie, Rahat, and Graydon, Tim, and the new guys, just to name a few (and to leave out a ton of great talent). That HP is a part of that, I’m pretty grateful, and excited for our future.
Finally, there’s been a new change, announced today, that I want to cover. Ball Don’t Lie has been a daily part of my blog-life since its inception, and I was thrilled when Dwyer was given his chance to kill it daily there, and even more thrilled when they brought in Skeets to run the blog-version of pick and roll with him. Skeets has been a valued supporter of this blog and a solid bro since I met him. That he and Tas are getting the opportunity they’ve worked so hard for is more heartwarming than that show I watched about the one-legged puppy getting adopted. They built a product, not just a name, and they’re taking what they’ve built, this original creation, to the next level. Cheers, mates.
Which brings me to the interim editor, Trey Kerby ,who you may recognize from such films as “The Morning Bell” and “Chill Out, Juwan Howard.” I consider myself lucky to call Trey, one of the funniest, goofiest, most-awesomest bros around a friend, and I’m thrilled for this opportunity for him. I know he’ll do great things, be it in the short-term or the long-term. It’s an amazing opportunity, one Trey and I used to talk about after some epic BDL live-chats back in the day. Seeing him succeed is just good vibes. Plus, we get more Brad Miller (I have suggested multiple times this morning that the blog be renamed ‘Brad Don’t Lie’ to no avail).
Being a part of this community is incredible, and unless specifically limited by something legally in the future, I won’t stop linking to great work, wherever I see it. The internet’s big enough for all this great talent to have a home, a readership, a subscription, and in a time of uncertainty in every walk of life, it’s good to know there will always be voices to entertain us, to inform us, to shed a little light on things like Danny Granger’s batcave or how much Vince Carter sucks.
To make a long story short (TOO LATE), the internet is awesome. Embrace the future, people. Go read some blogs.
 
