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Steve Nash for the Hall?

Henry Abbott – of TrueHoop – linked to an article on Wednesday that argued Steve Nash might be considered by some a Hall-of-Fame player, but a full examination of his career reveals a different story.
The article led me to think about where Nash ranks relative to current Hall-of-Fame players. Complete data on NBA players only extends back to 1977-78.  Looking at all point guards who entered the league since 1977, only three are currently in the Hall-of-Fame: Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and John Stockton.  Of course, other point guards might someday be selected.  So I expanded my search to all point guards who

Miami Fails to Build on Flash

The three most productive players in the Eastern Conference last season were LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Dwyane “Flash” Wade.  James and Howard met in the Eastern Conference Finals, and there is a chance that will happen again in 2010 (although Boston might have more to say about that this year).  The Miami Heat and Wade, though, were bounced in the first round in 2009.  When we look at the team’s Wins Produced, we can see why the Heat struggled.
Table One: The Miami Heat in 2008-09
From Table One we see that Wade produced 22.2 wins last season.  The other 17 players employed by the Heat in 2008-09 produced 19.9 wins.  In contrast, LeBron’s teammates produced 36.8 wins while the Orlando Magic received 36.3 wins from all players not named Howard. 

NCAA Men’s Basketball and Competitive Balance

The following is from Stacey Brook (co-author of The Wages of Wins) and was originally posted at Hawkonomics:
You don’t hear a lot about it but the NCAA is currently being sued by former college football and basketball players over caps on scholarship amounts. The immediate concern is over possible antitrust damages to athletes in many NCAA sports since 2002. But the second concern is that, in the future, some teams would not be able to compete with higher scholarship costs. “It really comes down to competitive balance,” Matt Mitten, who heads Marquette’s National Sports Law Institute, told USA Today.

Is this the Year a Charlotte Basketball Team – and MJ – Return to the Playoffs?

One could argue that Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player ever.  So it was not a surprise when he was elected to the Hall-of-Fame.   His speech, though, was somewhat surprising to Adrian Wojnarowski; who emphasized the tone Jordan adopted in his acceptance speech.  Jordan’s speech revealed that he’s primarily motivated by every person who has ever slighted him.  In essence, MJ is motivated by spite.

Portland Misses and Misses and… Wins Again

Yes, much of this post is a re-run. 
But I am posting this story again because last week, 53 ESPN.com experts were asked to pick the top team in the Western Conference.  The overwhelming favorite – with 41 votes – was the LA Lakers.  Ten votes went to San Antonio Spurs while the Mavericks and Nuggets each received one vote.  And the Portland Trail Blazers – the team that finished second in the Western Conference last year in efficiency differential (offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency) – did not receive a single vote.  Yes, even Henry Abbott – a long-time fan of the Trail Blazers – did not give his beloved Blazers a vote.

Chicago Hope

The Chicago Bulls finished the 2008-09 season by taking the Boston Celtics – the defending NBA champions — to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.  Such a performance likely gave fans of the Bulls hope for the future.
Since the Chicago-Boston series ended, though, little has happened.  In the draft Chicago added James Johnson and Taj Gibson. Both Johnson and Gibson appear to play power forward, or the same position as Tyrus Thomas (and perhaps Joakim Noah).  So it’s unclear how much either rookie will play (or if they are an upgrade over what the Bulls currently have).
Gordon vs. Pargo

Revising Expectations Upwards in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks finished with a 50-32 mark in Don Nelson’s final season as head coach.  That season marked the 7th consecutive season the Bucks finished with at least 50 wins.  One suspects that Nelson takes some credit for this record.  And although Wins Produced mostly credits Sidney Moncrief for Milwaukee’s success in the 1980s (a point made a few days ago), Nelson’s perspective is bolstered by the fact that Bucks have only have only reached 50 wins once in the 22 years since he left town. 

A Few Stories on a Sunday

Although it may not be obvious, most columns posted here have a coherent theme.  Today, though, I thought I would just comment on a few stories I have seen this past week.
Immigration Policy and Competitive Balance
Chris Cook of Financial Times makes an interesting connection – see Top clubs triumph on an uneven pitch — between immigration policy in Great Britain and competitive balance in the English Premier League.   Specifically, Cook argues that immigration restrictions in England have harmful effects in soccer.  The argument draws upon research we noted in The Wages of Wins. 

No Longer Miller Time in Philadelphia

Andre Miller came to the Philadelphia 76ers –via the Allen Iverson trade — in December of 2006.  At the time of the trade, the Sixers were 5-19. With “the Answer” departing Philadelphia, the future looked bleak in Philadelphia. Across the remainder of the season, though, the Sixers were 30-28 (a mark predicted in this forum).
The next season – as E. James Beale noted in the Philadelphia City Paper – the media expected the Sixers to be very bad.  After all, Iverson had left.  Sure the team managed to play 0.500 ball without Iverson.  But such evidence, prior to the 2007-08 season, was ignored.

Stephen Jackson Wants a Better Team

Stephen Jackson stated the following a few days ago: “It’s just things are in the air right now. I really can’t get too much into it right now, but I’m just looking to go somewhere where I can go and win a championship.”
Translation: Jackson doesn’t think the Golden State Warriors are very good and he wants to be traded to a contender.
Evaluating Jackson
Jackson averaged 20.7 points per game last year, a mark that led Golden State.  If all one cared about was scoring, then Jackson would be considered a very good player.