Here’s a link to a very interesting article from Michael Lewis that appeared in last weekend’s New York Times Magazine. One of my goals for the year was to learn more about advanced stats, the statistics that are being used to redefine how we view baseball. Lewis was instrumental in bringing these stats to the mainstream with his best seller Moneyball in 2003.
Now he looks at how NBA teams are beginning to look at ways of using advanced stats to better allocate their salary cap dollars. His focus is on the Houston Rockets and Shane Battier, a player who despite an impressive basketball pedigree is viewed by most as barely hanging on to his roster spot. Yet, he not only starts most of the Rockets’ games, but he plays a major role in determining each game’s outcome.
“I hate being out on the floor wasting that time,” he said. “I used to try to talk to people, but then I figured out no one actually liked me very much.”
