Harlan Schreiber

NBA Finals Preview 2016-17

May 30, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Here we are again…Cleveland against Golden State. Last year, we took a look at trends found from other consecutive Finals rematches. We found that, outside of the 1960s Celtics, a rematch usually meant that the previous year’s loser got even. Well, what about three in a row? Making three Finals in a row is not that rare. But having the same Finals teams three years in a row from both conferences? Well, that hasn’t happened before in the NBA. We are in uncharted territory and it is fun to … [Read more...] about NBA Finals Preview 2016-17

Worst Conference Finals Ever?

May 25, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Boy has this been a boring playoffs so far. There have been a few moderately memorable moments. Even worse, the Conference Finals might have been the worst ever in terms of competitiveness. How bad were they? Well, since 1983-84 (when the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams), there have been only two times when the Conference Finals went fewer than 10 total games between the two series. This year, we were one LeBron flu in Game 3 from having two easy sweeps. Moreover, margin of victory … [Read more...] about Worst Conference Finals Ever?

First Round Fall Out, Part 2

May 12, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Fresh off part one of our review of the fallen first round teams, here is part two: 1. Atlanta Hawks: Hard to believe but the Hawks have now made the playoffs ten years in a row. Over that time, Atlanta has done a great job of shifting from a Joe Johnson/Josh Smith team to a Al Horford/Paul Millsap team without any heavy rebuilding/tanking. Alas, these impressive pivots look less promising going forward. Atlanta was 43-39, which doesn’t look terrible but the team SRS of -1.23 was the worst … [Read more...] about First Round Fall Out, Part 2

First Round Fall Out, Part 1

April 26, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

It’s time for our annual review of the fallen…so far three teams have been knocked out of the playoffs. Let’s take a look at each and see where the go from here: 1. Portland Trailblazers: The general perception of the Blazers is that they have really fallen from their solid playoff run of 2015-16. But not much has changed if you look at the general numbers: -2015-16: 44-38 (expected W-L, 43-39), Offense 108.8 (6th), Defense 108.0 (20th) -2016-17: 41-41 (expected W-L, 40-42), Offense … [Read more...] about First Round Fall Out, Part 1

Picking the MVP

April 13, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Who is the 2016-17 NBA MVP? The question is more interesting than in most seasons. There are many different assessments for “value” and, usually, they lead to the same place. Let’s take a look at the basic theories of MVP and see where each of leads us. Who is the best player on the best team? The Warriors were the class of the NBA and Kevin Durant was their best player. Though it is often true that the best player on the best team is the best player in the NBA, this is a lazy way to … [Read more...] about Picking the MVP

NBA and Rest: Is There Science Behind It?

March 24, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The question of resting stars is now boiling in the NBA. We touched on the issue last week and concluded that NBA teams' duty to keep players fresh hasn’t always been properly balanced with their need to keeps fans and networks entertained. Shortly thereafter, Adam Silver passed out a memo to the teams warning that too much rest, without proper notice to the league, could bring back the stiff fines that David Stern used to levy. There were many loud responses. Let’s focus on the responses … [Read more...] about NBA and Rest: Is There Science Behind It?