The "Have Your Random NBA Question Answered" Thread

[john26]

Lack of good players available.

why was there a lack of good players? what happened to other talents

[benji]

These things happen, sometimes there simply isn't the amount of talent there is normally, like the dark days of 1986-1992. Sometimes some players stay longer than expected in college, and others leave earlier.

The only reason you'd find a "bad draft" odd (while not asking similar questions about a "good draft" like 2003 for example) is if you thought there was an even distribution of talent. Since there's no reason to think this, the fact that drafts fluctuate isn't an oddity.

Unless you believe ESPN, which proclaims every draft to be "the strongest ever" until towards the end of the first round when they decide to caution us that "this is a weak class, but next year is the strongest ever."

[Rip32]

So i'm going to feel like a ritard asking this, but what's a Pythag Record? I've been seeing it here and I'm too lazy to go read and see what it is and I know someoen here will give me a simple explanation.

[shadowgrin]

Quick link...
http://www.basketball-reference.com/abo ... #wins_pyth

[benji]

That's weird, I thought they used the revised formula:
(Pts^(Pts+OppPts))^0.27/((Pts^(Pts+OppPts))^0.27)+(OppPts^(Pts+OppPts))^0.27)

Hollinger's method (maybe it's old and he's switched to pythag) was: (PPG - OPPG)*2.7 + 41.

Basically Bill James found you could project a teams winning percentage from their runs scored and allowed. Daryl Morey (yes, that one...or Dean Oliver there's dispute over who did it first I believe) applied this concept to basketball (and football) back in the 80s and many others have refined it. Pythag is used because from season to season it's a better predictor than the actual wins.

There's also the fact that teams regress towards the mean. If a team is like 17-3, with a point differential of just 1.3, it's more likely they finish the season closer to 45-37 than the 70-12 pace they are on. So if they go 28-32 the rest of the way, it's not really a shock. The Lakers during their three-peat at the start of the decade went 14-3 in games decided by five points or less. Yeah, maybe they executed down the stretch every single time, but it's not sustainable. As such in 2003 and 2004, they went 5-4 in these games (and just two shots changing would've turned that into 3-6).

There are times to ignore a full season pythag. Such as when a team makes a mega trade or a star is injured/comes back.

[john26]

i was looking at the chicago bulls season schedule and saw that they had a 10 game losing streak but still made the playoffs. so it got me thinking, has there been any other team than them to make the playoffs on a 10 game losing streak or more?

[benji]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html comes to mind.

[Axel The Great]

What was the lowest draft pick to win ROY?

[benji]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... sma01.html

[|)e8*]

Just wondering. Is there any NBA Champions that failed to make the playoffs the season after they won it?

[shadowgrin]

Celtics '68-'69 championship team failed to make the playoffs the following season.

[Andrew]

The Bulls in 1999 would be another example. Similarly, the Lakers missed the Playoffs in 2005 after making the Finals in 2004. Without looking up all instances of champions and finalists missing the postseason the year after winning it all/making the Finals, I would suggest that very few of them (if any) featured an identical roster to the year before or were without major injuries, at least in the modern era.

[NovU]

No team ever came back from 3 zip deficit in the playoffs series. Which team came closest to make the series interesting in the history of NBA?

[benji]

Blazers vs. Mavericks in 2003 was pretty interesting. Blazers put in Zach Randolph for big minutes after he hadn't played more than 22 minutes in any of the first three games, he tore apart the Mavericks inside and they ran off three straight to force Game Seven.

[Kinggdawg]

Blazers vs. Mavericks in 2003 was pretty interesting. Blazers put in Zach Randolph for big minutes after he hadn't played more than 22 minutes in any of the first three games, he tore apart the Mavericks inside and they ran off three straight to force Game Seven.

Did the mavs win game 7 ?

[Andrew]

Yes. No team to date has come back from an 0-3 deficit.

[buzzy]

Which postseason(s) featured the most sweeps?

[buzzy]

Bring
Up
My
Post

[JaoSming]

silly Buzzy, doesnt even know we have a bump function




lol, I dont think anyone knows we have that, nevertheless use it

[shadowgrin]

Wow, just found out that feature now.


Damn it buzzy, if I wasn't feeling nice today...

The 1989 postseason had 9 sweeps, while 1999 and 1950 had 6 sweeps.
1996, and 1986, 1983 all had 5 sweeps.

If the eventual NBA champion wins the Finals by sweep, then this postseason will also have 5 sweeps.


EDIT: Either Jao is making an ass out us or that feature is only available to the mods.
Also, miscounted 1950.

[JaoSming]

Mods only

[buzzy]

Thanks guys.

Make the feature available for team members, Jao.

[Axel The Great]

Why does Kendrick Perkins never smile?

[Patr1ck]

I don't have that feature.

[Sauru]

Why does Kendrick Perkins never smile?

same reason players like charles oakley dont smile, they are on the court to kick your ass.