Obscure NBA Stats

February 13, 2007 in Sports with 0 Comments

I’m an NBA junkie. I love watching games. I love going to games. I love to find trends as to why teams win or lose. Recently I wanted to figure out statistically why the Phoenix Suns have lost the few games that they have this year. What I found surprised me.

Since the Suns are thought of as primarily a jump shooting team, I assumed that when they lost they weren’t making shots. That’s not really the case. They shoot 50% in games they win, and 48.5% in games that they lose. Even more surprising is that they make 0.5 more 3 pointers in losses than wins. On top of that, they average 111.4 points in wins, and 110.2 points in losses. Statistically speaking, they shoot just as well whether they win or lose.

So why do they lose? Here are a couple stats that may be telling. In losses, they average 1.8 more turnovers, 2.8 less assists, 2.3 less steals, and 6.7 more fouls. What that tells me is that when they lose they’re not passing the ball as well, nor are they as focused on the defensive end.

So how do you beat the Suns? Force them to play more of a one or two man game when they have the ball, and force them to play defense. How to do that? I don’t know. That’s why I’m not an NBA coach.

Hey Marquis, We don’t miss you.

February 7, 2007 in Sports with 0 Comments

For the past three seasons, Marquis Daniels played for the Dallas Mavericks. When Don Nelson was coach he played a fairly prominent role, and many times ended up in the starting lineup. I heard a lot of people talking about how good of a player Daniels was, and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t getting as much playing time under Avery Johnson last year. We now know why.

In addition to his playing time and production going down, he has had a number of off the court problems. Earlier this year, he was with Stephen Jackson when they had an altercation outside of a night club in which Jackson ended up firing a gun. This week he was involved in another altercation with a bar manager. The manager ended up with a fractured jaw and a severed earlobe.

Avery would never put up with this kind of behavior on or off the court. Maybe that’s why he didn’t give him as much of a role last year. For whatever reason it was, I’m glad he’s gone.

Marketing gone wrong, or are they getting their money’s worth?

February 5, 2007 in Current Events with 0 Comments

In case you missed it, the city of Boston was in a frenzy last week over a bomb scare. People reported electronic devices spotted throughout the area, including on overpasses and bridges. The city thought that these were bombs that were planted as part of a terrorist plot. It turns out, however, that is an advertising campaign for the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force which airs on the Cartoon Network. I’ve never watched the show, but I know it has a pretty devoted audience and is, in general, irreverent.

The AP is reporting today that Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of Cartoon Network, and the marketing agency that came up with the idea have agreed to pay $2 million to the city of Boston and Homeland Security. In my estimation, they are getting their money’s worth. Companies pay more than $2 million to get thirty seconds of airtime on the Super Bowl. Many of these commercials are quickly forgotten, but most of the time I don’t think it’s worth the money they spend. Cartoon Network, however, has had people talking about this campaign, and I know that they will getter higher ratings for the show as a result.

I’m not suggesting that creating a bomb scare is a good advertising technique. If that was the intention from the beginning, than I cannot support it. However, I don’t believe that the marketing agency, nor Cartoon Network had any malicious intent. They were just looking for a creative way to get attention for their show, and they found it. I think the city of Boston over-reacted. There were about nine other cities where they had the same devices located throughout the city, but none of these cities had any sort of bomb scare. You can see from the pictures below that they were crude looking devices, but not really scary looking.

My main point is that it is really difficult to find your voice in the media today. With cable and satellite providers offering 400+ channels, being able to stand out and get attention can be really difficult. Cartoon Network has succeeded in a HUGE way with this campaign. I don’t think they will mind shelling out the cash.

My final question is, how can churches learn from this? What are some inexpensive ways we can creatively get attention in our communities . . . hopefully without creating a bomb scare?
Suspicious Device 2Suspicious Device

3 Suns + 2 Spurs + 1 Maverick = Dirk 4 MVP

February 4, 2007 in Sports with 0 Comments

The All-Star voting was finished the past Thursday, and the coaches voted Dirk Nowitzki in as the only Dallas Maverick All-Star. The five NBA All-Star starters are selected by fan vote, which mean the Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the rest of the Houston Rockets will get too many votes because of the 1 billion people voting in China. The coaches in the NBA select the seven reserve players, but coaches cannot vote for their own players. Carol Boozer and Yao Ming both won’t play for the Western Conference due to injury, so David Stern will select two replacements.

The biggest snub, outside of Carmelo Anthony, was Josh Howard not being selected. If David Stern doesn’t choose Josh to replace either Yao or Boozer, there will be only one player representing the team that currently has the best record in the NBA. ONE PLAYER! Last year the Detroit Pistons were the team with best record, and they had four players chosen to the team. FOUR!!! The Phoenix Suns, who currently have the SECOND BEST record in the NBA are sending three players. THREE PLAYERS!!! The San Antonio Spurs, who currently have the THIRD BEST record in the NBA are sending two players.

So what’s the big deal? I am thoroughly convinced that Dirk Nowitzki is hands down the front-runner for the MVP this year. He has to be. There is no way you could defend Steve Nash being this year’s MVP anymore. It took the Phoenix Suns three All-Star players to come close to accomplishing what the Dallas Mavericks have done with only one. The Spurs are currently seven games behind Dallas and they are working with two all-stars. If Dirk does not win the MVP this year, something is wrong.

David Stern. Please do the right thing. Put Josh Howard and Mehmet Okur on the team.

Tech Tip: Thinking About Upgrading to Vista? Make Sure Your Computer is Ready.

February 1, 2007 in Tech with 0 Comments

The long awaited new version of Windows is finally out. Are you thinking about upgrading to it? Make sure your computer is ready first. Microsoft has an Upgrade Advisor available on their website. Download and run it before you drop $100+ for the OS.

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