The good guys
Their adversaries
Nuggets vs Blazers I: "Good vs evil and other egregious overstatements."
Welcome back sports fans! This season has yet to begin and I'm already sick of the Portland Trailblazers. This is the team who eliminated Denver from the playoffs last year after having played them in two of the final four regular season games and as if that wasn't enough, they are also the team Denver had to face in half of their pre-season games this year.
Truth be told, they are my second favorite team in the league (a distant second mind you) but it's pretty difficult to continue admiring their team and their knowledgeable/witty fan-base after what transpired in the playoffs last season; that is to say there is no bad blood, just unfinished business and a bad taste left in the collective mouth of all Nuggets fans.
As a dutiful and unapologetic homer, I'm going to do my best to forget any of that nonsense ever occurred and move on to the matter at hand, siting their most recent regular season match-up instead.
When last these two teams squared off in game 80 of last season the Nuggets (lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from 3 players led by the since-departed Isaiah Thomas +20. Only one player for Denver was in the red for that match-up, Jared Vanderbilt, as the Nuggets lost 108-115 in the PNW, perhaps a sign of things to come. Lets do something about this, shall we?
In that game, the actively-forfeiting Nuggets started/exclusively-utilized a hodge-poge of second & third team players, yet up until the waning moments of the fourth period, the game was still very much in doubt. I didn't like the strategy as it seemed to be tantamount to paralysis by analysis for a team who had failed to reach the post-season for many successive years-prior, in attempting to manipulate the standings with so much at stake (mostly momentum IMHO) but it ended up not mattering much either way in the grand scheme of things. Gary Harris led the way for the Nuggets with 18 points while Damian Lillard contributed 30/6/5 for the victorious 'Blazers.
As for this game, Denver returns all contributing members from last season. The entire effectual squad. So long Donovan Mitchell-trade flotsam and jetsam, Lyles/Lydon. You'll be missed I.T. & Big Tom. In tact is the Nuggets' incredibly promising and young nucleus and they have added ridiculously rare but raw, red-shirt rookie MPJ and the veritable Swiss Army knife that is Jerami Grant into the fold, by way of a trade with OKC, in exchange for Denver's first round pick in 2020.
Portland on the other hand has transformed quite a bit in comparison, particularly in the front-court, with Juka still recovering from that unfortunate leg injury (get will soon big dude) and with Harkless/Al Aminu exiting via free agency. In their place will be the underrated (or at least under-mentioned) acquisition Hassan Whiteside, who will play in a twin towers lineup alongside the versatile (if unlikable) big man Zack "Hack" Collins. That is a ton of rim protection and athleticism up front but one must wonder if they will be exploitable against small-ball lineups that are the rule as opposed to the exception in today's NBA.
Rodney "Mount" Hood, (not to be confused with Rodney Tap-dancing Mott) who's fresh legs and inexplicable accuracy turned out to be the difference maker in last year's playoff series (I tried my best guys & dolls, it was unavoidable) joins the starting lineup as well but as always, it is the small-school, All-Star, multi-hyphenated back-court tandem of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who will dictate the fortunes for this season's iteration of a redoubtable Blazers squad. I prognosticate Portland to again secure the 3rd spot in the asinine AF Western conference this year, ahead of both LA teams.
I'll go ahead and post my predictions here so we can see if they hold up to the test of time in any meaningful manner
#1 Denver
#2 Utah
#3 Portland
#4 LA Clippers
#5 LA Lakers
#6 Houston
#7 San Antonio
#8 Golden State
#9 Who the fuck cares? Not whomever finishes ninth, that's for certain.
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Here are some numbers you can use (team with advantage in bold: statistical data from 2018-'19)
PDX gives up 110.5 PPG by their opponents on average, to Denver's 106.7
PDX averages 114.7 PPG offensively to Denver's 110.7
This results in a net rating for PDX of +4.2 and +4.0 for Denver
PDX is 0-0 at home while Denver is 0-0 away from the friendly confines of The Pepsi Can.
In terms of conference record, PDX is 0-0 to Denver's 0-0 mark which is important only in as much as understanding the strength of schedule involved, as the Western Conference is as much if not more than ever, the stiffer competition
Denver is 1st in the Western Conference standings, 0 games ahead of the Blazers while PDX currently resides in 1st place in the Western Conference, 0 games out.
When it comes to the other meaningful statistical box-score production the comparison is as follows:
PDX: RPG 48.0 APG 23.0 SPG 6.7 BPG 5.0 FG% 46.7 3% 35.9 FT% 81.4
DEN: RPG 46.4 APG 27.4 SPG 7.7 BPG 4.4 FG% 46.6 3% 35.1 FT% 75.5
These numbers are in many ways meaningless this early in the season and as anyone who reads my piece knows, I don't believe any statistic or even a complex, predictive conglomeration of statistics are nearly as accurate in indicating actual results as are the unquantifiable variables of "Mo & flow™" (momentum and the ability to find the zone.)
There are of course many other intangible variables at play including match-ups. Styles make fights as they say. For example, it is likely that there will be a bit of a honeymoon phase for the Blazers as they get acquainted with the twin tower lineup while Denver returns all integral players and has only gilded their wealth of talent in adding MPJ, Grant and later (presumably) Cancar and Bol, to the mix.
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For this young Nuggets group, Big Honey is a legit MVP candidate and an emerging superstar, while Murray is coming into his own as Robin to The Joker's Batman (I'm not certain how that works either) while Millsap/Harris provide secondary options when things get problematic on offense; simultaneously carrying the bulk of the defensive burden and Barton is the much needed secondary ball handler/play-maker for when things go awry and a natural scorer/creator. The Nuggets boast one of the deepest benches in the league if not the deepest, which should prove to be an enormous advantage in the era of "load management" (gag!)
Joker does NOT sit around watching Pokemon and eating Serbian goldfish for hours on end, contrary to what casual fans (and bitter Embiid crazies) would like you to believe. Don't judge this particular mystery novel by it's tattered cover. Nikola is a finely tuned athlete, capable of going toe to toe with the best of them for as long as is necessary, as the quadruple overtime playoff game vs Portland in which he played 65 minutes last season, is irrefutable evidence of. The man cares about one thing only and that is winning.
Ok two things... deriding officials being the other. Let's make that four actually. Dancing (poorly/datedly) and hurling children into the sky. I guess he also likes horses and fish stew. He cares a lot come to think of it, just not about 3D's or indeed any statistic other than W's.
It can not be overstated what an advantage it is to have two creators in P&R sets, as the Nuggets enjoy in Jokic/Murray, a seven footer who played PG as a youth and a 6'4 PG who played C as a youth, who are able to swap roles seamlessly. Murray is widely regarded as the best screen-setter on the team while it's well documented what a virtuoso Big Honey is in terms of distribution.
Got it? Or as the immortal Syd Barrett might say, "Have you got it yet?" Do yourself a favor and click that link which illustrates his tragic brilliance as succinctly as can be displayed without listening to his innovative music. It goes without saying, you should of course explore that too, particularly Pink Floyd's '67 Debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and his final solo album from '70, "Barrett."
I've also recently made a compilation of all of Pink Floyd's essential studio works, including solo projects of all five members, all in chronological order from '65-2017 which you can check out here.
Prediction: Denver (lap) 117-Portland 113
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If you are viewing the pre-game version of the TPM piece and you enjoy gonzo-basketball reporting, I invite you to please join me after the game where the same link will lead you to the post-game version. In it, all of the disjointed/unsightly blanks below will be filled, complete with data/analysis and more snark than "Snarknado VI: Snakenado", which I'm told is about a pessimistic, albino, black mamba who emerges from micro-bursts to torment the people of Los Angeles with shady tweets.
There be monsters; shameless, personal plug alert, posted by permission of Denver Stiffs: If you are in the market for clothing, featuring the four major Denver sports franchises as well as CU, please open the following link: Unique, hard to find, one of a kind and custom gear of your favorite team in a new tab to see if there is anything you are interested in. You don't have to order from the link of course if you are in the Denver Metro area, as I'm more than happy to meet up with you (please refrain from bringing rotten tomatoes), drastically lowering the cost, as Poshmark takes a healthy cut as well as shipping & handling. Thanks in advance!
Also, my DIY music production and videos can be heard/seen here if you don't value your ear-balls & eye-drums.
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And now what none of you come here for; how about some basketball nerdery?!?!
(After these messages... Er Nicknames)
Denver Nuggets Roster
Coach: Michael "Post" Malone
| Name | POS | Age | HT | WT | College | Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Will "The People's Champion" Barton 5 | SG | 28 | 6' 6" | 190 lbs | Memphis | $12,776,786 |
 |
"Mutant" Malik Beasley 25 | SG | 22 | 6' 5" | 195 lbs | Florida State | $2,731,714 |
 |
Bol "Bilbo Baggins" Bol 10 | C | 19 | 7' 2" | 220 lbs | Oregon | -- |
 |
Vlatko "Slovenian Cyborg" Cancar 31 | SF | 22 | 6' 8" | 210 lbs | Slovenia | $898,310 |
 |
Torrey "FUCKING" Craig 3 | SF | 28 | 6' 7" | 215 lbs | USC Upstate | $2,000,000 |
 |
PJ "Bol" Dozier 35 | PG | 22 | 6' 6" | 205 lbs | South Carolina | -- |
 |
Jerami "The Co-Host" Grant 9 | SF | 25 | 6' 9" | 220 lbs | Syracuse | $9,346,153 |
 |
"Just" Gary Harris 14 | SG | 25 | 6' 4" | 210 lbs | Michigan State | $17,839,286 |
 |
Juancho "The Mouthful" Hernangomez 41 | PF | 24 | 6' 9" | 230 lbs | España | $3,321,030 |
 |
Nikola "Big Honey" Jokic (AKA Joker) 15 | C | 24 | 7' 0" | 250 lbs | Sř̩bija | $27,504,630 |
 |
Paul "The Anchorman" Millsap 4 | PF | 34 | 6' 8" | 246 lbs | Louisiana Tech | $30,350,000 |
 |
Monte "Ratio" Morris 11 | PG | 24 | 6' 3" | 175 lbs | Iowa State | $1,588,231 |
 |
Jamal "The Blue Arrow" Murray 27 | PG | 22 | 6' 4" | 207 lbs | Kentucky | $4,444,746 |
 |
Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee 24 | PF | 29 | 6' 11" | 235 lbs | Duke | $14,041,096 |
 |
Michael "Half Man / Other Half, Also Man... Basically, All Man" Porter Jr. 1 | PF | 21 | 6' 10" | 210 lbs | Missouri | $3,389,400 |
 |
Jarred "The Amalgamated Version Of A Dude I Once Bought Weed From On Haight Ashbury" Vanderbilt 8 | PF | 20 | 6' 9" | 214 lbs | Kentucky | $1,416,852 |
Portland Trailblazers Roster
Coach: Terry "Butters" Stotts
| Name | POS | Age | HT | WT | College | Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Kent "No longer Plays More, But The Pay's More" Bazemore" 24 | PG | 30 | 6' 5" | 200 lbs | Old Dominion | $19,269,662 |
 |
"Holy" Moses Brown 4 | C | 20 | 7' 1" | 245 lbs | UCLA | -- |
 |
Zach "Hack" Collins 33 | PF | 21 | 7' 0" | 235 lbs | Gonzaga | $4,240,200 |
 |
"Seriously?" Pau Gasol 16 | PF | 39 | 7' 0" | 250 lbs | -- | $1,620,564 |
 |
Mario "Take Your Eye Off Of Him And" Hezonja 44 | SF | 24 | 6' 8" | 220 lbs | -- | $1,737,145 |
 |
"Flailin" Jaylen Hoard 6 | SF | 20 | 6' 9" | 210 lbs | Wake Forest | -- |
 |
Rodney "Mount" Hood 5 | SG | 27 | 6' 8" | 205 lbs | Duke | $5,718,000 |
 |
Skal "The Foul Owl" Labissiere 17 | PF | 23 | 6' 11" | 235 lbs | Kentucky | $2,338,847 |
 |
"Emcee" Damian Lillard 0 | PG | 29 | 6' 3" | 195 lbs | Weber State | $29,802,321 |
 |
Nassir "By No Stretch Of The Imagination" Little 9 | SF | 19 | 6' 6" | 220 lbs | North Carolina | $2,105,520 |
 |
CJ "Slap Some Specs & Suspenders On Him & You've Gotta Admit, He's Urkel" McCollum" 3 | SG | 28 | 6' 3" | 190 lbs | Lehigh | $27,556,959 |
 |
Jusuf "The Bosnian Beast" Nurkic 27 | C | 25 | 7' 0" | 290 lbs | -- | $13,125,000 |
 |
Anfernee "Little Penny" Simons 1 | SG | 20 | 6' 4" | 185 lbs | -- | $2,149,560 |
 |
Anthony "Gargantuan Orphan" Tolliver 43 | PF | 34 | 6' 8" | 245 lbs | Creighton | $1,620,564 |
 |
"Not Particularly Scary" Gary Trent Jr .2 | SG | 20 | 6' 6" | 205 lbs | Duke | $1,416,852 |
 |
Hassan "Chop!" Whiteside 21 | C | 30 | 7' 1" | 265 lbs | Marshall | $27,093,017 |
Update: A tad early in the year for this and I don't want to jinx anything. As for PDX, Juka and Pao are both out.
Re-up: Yes I'm aware that trades/acquisitions may have been made and the above roster and or coach for the opposing team may be inaccurate. Hopefully you are aware that the fan-post format isn't equipped to make adjustments to the above template so it often results in entire pieces being destroyed and or hours of work being lost. Simply put, it's not worth the additional effort/risk to change once the Nuggets have faced an opponent once. No disrespect intended. Tune in next season and I assure you the first time Denver plays your team, the roster will be up to date :)
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Data:
TPM™ Game 1 PDX (Starters in bold)
Nikola Jokic: +28
Jamal Murray: +21
Gary Harris: +0
Paul Millsap: +5
Will Barton: +21
Monte Morris: +10
Malik Beasley: +6
Torrey Craig: +3
Jerami Grant: +10
Mason Plumlee: +14
Michael Porter Jr.: N/A
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Jared Vanderbilt: N/A
Bol Bol: N/A
Vlatko Cancar: N/A
PJ Dozier: N/A
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Total TPM™
Nikola Jokic: +28
Jamal Murray: +21
Gary Harris: +0
Paul Millsap: +5
Will Barton: +21
Monte Morris: +10
Malik Beasley: +6
Torrey Craig: +3
Jerami Grant: +10
Mason Plumlee: +14
Michael Porter Jr.: N/A
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Jared Vanderbilt: N/A
Bol Bol: N/A
Vlatko Cancar: N/A
PJ Dozier: N/A
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Nikola Jokic: 1 games +28.00
Jamal Murray: 1 games +21.00
Gary Harris: 1 games +0.00
Paul Millsap: 1 games +5.00
Will Barton: 1 games +21.00
Monte Morris: 1 games +10.00
Malik Beasley: 1 games +6.00
Torrey Craig: 1 games +3.00
Jerami Grant: 1 games +10.00
Mason Plumlee: 1 games +14.00
Michael Porter Jr.: 0 games +0
Juancho Hernangomez: 0 games +0
Jared Vanderbilt: 0 games +0
Bol Bol: 0 games +0
Vlatko Cancar: 0 games +0
PJ Dozier: 0 games +0
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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 82 (2018-'19):
*Credit DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (nerdy) baby (TPM™) learned to speak
Analysis:
Qtr1- The Nuggets go with their opening night starting five, consisting of Murray, Harris, Barton, Millsap & Jokic. The Blazers counter with the formidable five of Lillard, McCollum, Hood, Collins & Whiteside. This game may NEVER get under way with the abominable hack-fest going on between Philly and Boston, which is as a result, running late and taking presidence on ESPN. They finally tip off in comparatively-balmy Oregon at 8:25 MDT. Will Barton is extremely active against his former team in the early going. Harris shoots three from distance within the first three minutes, converting one. Jokic nabs his second foul at 9:08 but remains in. Whiteside seems to be giving him issues. Big Honey is completely out of sorts as he earns his third foul on a charge at 8:05. PDX is in charge, 11-7 at the time of the first break, 6:52. Nuggets-Twitter has reached a consensus opinion that Nikola's foul situation is sub-optimal. Thanks guys! Whiteside is ticketed with his second foul at 6:27, which is optimal.
Check that, I've clearly seen him called for two but only one has been registered as of current. PDX expands their lead to 15-7 at the time of the second break, 5:18. Can this be the first season in which Murray doesn't wait until X-mas to get it going? So far, the magic eight-ball says "not bloody likely!" Plumlee, followed soon by Grant and Beasley are first off the pine for Denver. The bench squad seems to be functioning more cohesively and they cut it to six at the 4:03 mark, as Craig checks in. Murray is the only remaining starter. Whiteside officially now has two fouls. Jamal is getting fired up after a perceived-blown-call and is playing stout D as a result. CJ earns his second foul at 3:10 and takes a seat. One of the fans did me a solid, spilling their micro-brew on the floor and my breath is officially caught. Plumlee has been the star for the good guys and Denver finally has their first lead at 1:50. Monte Morris finally checks in for Jamal at this time. PDX tightens up the D and retakes the lead to close out the period.
Denver is paced in TPM by Mason Plumlee: +12 as they trail 24-27 after one.
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Qtr2- The Blazers have no answer for Plumdog, which is splendid as Coach Malone just announced that Jokic may not play until the second half. Denver retakes the lead on a dunk by Jerami at 11:01. The Nuggets are doing it on the defensive end primarily, which is no surprise with Plumlee/Grant/Craig out there together. 'Sap is back in for the Nuggets at 8:10 and he's more active upon reinsertion. More starters are now filtering in for the Nuggets at the midway point of the quarter, leading by four. Millsap has no respect for Collins and is attacking him repeatedly which isn't a great strategy IMHO, ASIDE from the fact that Zach's foul prone, which is something that Denver needs to be more mindful of this season. The starters - Jokic + Plumlee are in to close the period at 4:39, with a five point lead.
Athletically, Barton looks like his pre-injury self, which is obviously a welcome sight. The Nuggets extend their lead to 10 on a 4-player, hockey assisted three by Murray at 4:04. Now THAT'S the offense they need to see out of the starting unit. Whiteside already has a 2D and he's going to be a problem for Western Conference opponents this season. Harris unfortunately does NOT look like pre-injury Gary. Athletically he's just fine, he's just not in the flow whatsoever. CJ has his third foul at 1:53 and he grabs a seat, as the Nuggets still lead by 9. Come on ESPN, do we REALLY have to talk about yesterday's LA/LA game? I'd like to say "you're better than that" but that's just demonstrably untrue. Lillard is struggling but staying aggressive and he spearheads a run by PDX, cutting the lead to four with under a minute to go. The Nuggets have become careless with the ball down the stretch, as they limp into the half.
Denver is paced in TPM by Mason Plumlee: +15 as they lead 54-50 at the half.
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Qtr3- A little halftime ingenuity (fox-tail brush on a 12 foot, aluminum, 3/4' pole) has my satellite dish cleared of snow and I should be good to go for the duration, unless the flakes become problematically large. It's pretty hard to believe that this Blazers squad will eventually have Juka starting and Whiteside coming off the bench. It appears that Jokic is finally old enough to grow teenaged facial hair. Barton has made/surrendered two threes respectively and the lead is still four at the nine minute mark. Denver has more three's than two's made so far (12-5.) The Nuggets lead 67-60 at the time of the first break, 6:15. Millsap and Barton are the first to reach double digits for Denver. All 10 Nuggets to have played, have scored at least four points in a balanced attack. Morris is first off the pine in the second half for the good guys, at 4:39, after PDX closes the gap to three on the strength of a 6-0 run. Barton, 'Sap & Murray are a combined 7 for 8 from distance thus-far. Collins flops as the worlds strongest man Gary Harris, pushes him to the ground. Grant enters along with Craig at 3:59, leading by just three. Plumlee/Beasley are in there at 2:08 of a one point game. PDX ties it up from the charity stripe at 1:57. Soon-after, they take the lead on a layup by Simons with under a minute to play.
Denver is paced in TPM by Mason Plumlee: +16 as they trail 73-74 after three.
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Qtr4- One would expect CJ to attempt to assert himself now after missing time due to foul trouble and struggling from the field. He does precisely that as he drills a three, after Craig carelessly failed to find him on a long rebound and the Portland lead is six at 11:01. All of the Nuggets starters are out there except for Millsap, who's been replaced by Grant. Joker drills a three, Denver's 14th on the night, cutting the lead to one at 9:26. I loathe how ticky-tack the officials call screens and traveling in the early season. I'm MORE THAN fine with them calling traveling by the book as it's a point of emphasis this year but I just don't see it continuing beyond the first dozen games or so. Denver ties it up at the 8:03 mark of a beautiful dish by Nikola to Jamal for three. They reverse these distribution duties the next time down and the Nuggets retake the lead on an 18 footer by Jokic at 7:52. Not going to jinx things by mentioning that I may have (happily) misspoken earlier WRT Murray's annual slow start. Won't do it! He's finally the third to reach double digits for Denver. 'Sap is in there for Grant at this point. I can NOT stand the way modern players actively seek out fouls on 75 foot three point attempts.
PDX retakes the one point lead on one such play by Lillard. The Blazers have four team-fouls at 6:45 which could loom large tonight. The Nuggets are going to a steady diet of Jokic/Murray in the two man game and why not? Denver is tightening the screws defensively and they lead by one at 5:45. The Blazers are also picking up the defensive intensity and the game is becoming intense. They retake the lead on a tip-in by Whiteside at 4:59. The offense begins to flow for both teams but Denver is getting the better of the exchanges, as they lead 97-90 at 3:25, following B2B threes by Joker. He has his 2D with 17/11/2 in basically one half of play tonight. Denver has shot 66% from beyond the arc, while PDX have missed their last seven attempts from distance. Christ on a crutch, is Collins ever a flopping shmegeggie! Denver is in the bonus at 1:48, leading by six. Harris earns his fifth foul with a little over a minute to play. A tip in by Big Honey should just about seal it. He came to play in the second half and showed why he's a legitimate MVP candidate and the best center in the league. Grant, not Plumlee is the offense/defense sub which I'm entirely in favor of due to his switching ability and FT stroke. Stotts challenges an obvious foul in a game that is out of reach, setting an annoying and foreboding precedent for the rest of the season.
Denver is paced in TPM by Nikola Jokic: +28 (+33 in the second half) as they win, 108-100
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Final Thoughts: Big Honey still has one major hole in his game and the good news is that it's one which is entirely within his control: The acquiring of careless fouls.
Until Juka returns, Portland is not an especially deep team.
This Nuggets squad looks to be focused and looking to prove something to the world outside of Denver.
Random, preemptive thought: I hope Malone has learned from the past mistake of playing rookies in garbage time, torpedoing their numbers. It shouldn't matter but he's never had a rookie like MPJ and needs to maintain a healthy relationship with the kid.
Welcome back Will Barton!
I know I'm in the minority here, but I believe Malik Beasley made a mistake by not taking the money. His minutes just wont be there this year and while most analytics geeks will say that GM's eschew that and look at per minute production, one of the most difficult aspects of NBA hoops is being productive when you aren't allowed on the court for long stretches, as a means to gain or regain momentum.
All 10 Nuggets players to see action scored at least six points tonight. Yes please!
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The Nuggets Win!
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For context pertaining to the statistical aspects of this piece, please open this link: TPM™
A brief statement with regard to this piece on whole:
As a means to avoid repeating myself I will include this descriptive diatribe in all TPM posts going forward.
Sure I like statistics; ever since I was a child collecting sports cards and later a pre-teen who ran pre-internet fantasy sports leagues on ink/paper/spreadsheet for the four major US pro-leagues, I've been fascinated by box-score stats but I'm by no means an expert.
I created TPM (which has been around longer than RPM incidentally and unlike them, I fully disclose my non-proprietary system and I contextualize the action rather than being a boring, mysterious, predictive metric) because it does add immediate and accessible context to what we see and what the numbers indicate, which I like.
While the data is meticulously tracked and demonstrably sound, I'm a creative type, not an engineer. Algorithm is the bane of my existence in fact. I'd far rather approach life with the intrigue of expected surprise than attempt to get to the bottom of why things are the way they are. There are many engineers in my family so I totally understand that joy can be derived from finding solutions to problems, I just can't relate. It's not fun for me. THIS is for the most part, not fun for me.
Now I'm a 42 year old man who was born during the season in which the team I love joined the NBA. I happen to have a lifetime of experience with this sport in several different capacities, including playing (highly underrated within the writing community) so I understand basketball theory in a way most (by no means all) pundits do not.
I was in this case interested in a data-driven approach, which if I'm honest has sapped nearly all fun out of taking in games for me. I get very few days/nights off during the season. One piece requires several hours of research and data entry and all tracking/analysis is done in real time and published mere moments after each game's completion, 82 times per year.
As such, the analysis portion is about 90% (I've run the numbers) creative writing with sarcasm generally indicated through italics, non-sequitur humor and hyperbole, in an attempt to steal back some of the joy this endeavor has snatched away.
Hopefully there is a little something here for everyone but if you came just for data or are averse to colorful language, this is not the place for you. I have no way of knowing how many people even read this so I'll not be affected even remotely if you choose not to indulge. For those of you who do, I greatly thank you for the support.
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