RGS
04-27-2003, 10:00 AM
An interesting article on a model developed by Wayne Winston (a professor at Indiana) and Jeff Sagarin.
The players widely considered to be the league's biggest stars, like Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal, are typically the ones who score the most points. But they are not always the ones who give their teams the biggest boost when they step onto the court, partly because many high scorers are only average defenders.
This is not always apparent from traditional statistics. O'Neal blocks a lot of shots and Iverson makes a lot of steals, for instance. All in all, though, opposing teams do not struggle to score when they are on the court.
Instead, the players who made the biggest difference this season included some second-tier stars, like the veteran Scottie Pippen of Portland (the fourth-best player in the National Basketball Association this season, according to Winval) and Richard Hamilton of Detroit (who was fifth). Kevin Garnett of Minnesota, Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas  the German Army veteran  ranked one, two and three.
The system's real value comes in identifying players like Eduardo Najera, a forward who makes the Mavericks a better team when he plays even though his contribution is often invisible in a box score.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/sports/basketball/27COMP.html?pagewanted=print&position=
The players widely considered to be the league's biggest stars, like Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal, are typically the ones who score the most points. But they are not always the ones who give their teams the biggest boost when they step onto the court, partly because many high scorers are only average defenders.
This is not always apparent from traditional statistics. O'Neal blocks a lot of shots and Iverson makes a lot of steals, for instance. All in all, though, opposing teams do not struggle to score when they are on the court.
Instead, the players who made the biggest difference this season included some second-tier stars, like the veteran Scottie Pippen of Portland (the fourth-best player in the National Basketball Association this season, according to Winval) and Richard Hamilton of Detroit (who was fifth). Kevin Garnett of Minnesota, Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas  the German Army veteran  ranked one, two and three.
The system's real value comes in identifying players like Eduardo Najera, a forward who makes the Mavericks a better team when he plays even though his contribution is often invisible in a box score.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/sports/basketball/27COMP.html?pagewanted=print&position=