
Birdman84
Dec 22, 2009 May 31, 2012 38 3056
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Jason Maxiell, looking great with his dog.
It's a promo photo to support the Michigan Human Society.
H/T to PistonPowered.
Frank uses pace-adjusted stats.
Vince Ellis reports... "Coach Lawrence Frank cited stats after practice Monday that say Detroit was 29th out of 30 teams defensively in January. The Pistons improved to 17th during February and were eighth during March."
Those stats aren't points scored, it's points per 100 possessions.
Courtesy of PistonPowered.
about 1 month ago
Birdman84
0 comments
1 recs
2011 Cornerback Charting - Asante Samuel does well
I've mentioned Football Outsiders game charting project before. They just posted their cornerback statistics from last season. Asante Samuel looks very impressive according to these numbers.
Samuel allowed the third lowest yards per pass, among cornerbacks with at least forty passes charted. He also has a reputation for being a poor tackler, but he's second in allowed yards after catch. Samuel is also third in success rate, which is "the percentage of passes that don't manage to get at least 45 percent of needed yards on first down, 60 percent of needed yards on second down, or 100 percent of needed yards on third down."
What's more, Samuel has been remarkably consistent. "Samuel ranked first in both yards per pass and Success Rate in 2010, then third in both for 2011."
The Eagles are, according to rumors, shopping Samuel. He does well in zone coverage and isn't quite as good man-to-man. Well, the Vikings use a lot of zone. I know that Minnesota is in a rebuilding phase, so Samuel may not be interested. He is also 31 years old.
What do you guys think? Should the Vikings purse Samuel? What would it be reasonable to give up in a trade?
Ponder's Adjusted Interception Rate
Football Outsiders just published their research on "adjusted interception rate" from last season. I thought it was interesting. It provides a better picture than just straight interceptions.
The formula for adjusted interception rate is fairly straightforward. Take total interceptions, add dropped interceptions, and subtract interceptions from Hail Marys and receiver tips. Divide by number of pass attempts. Football Outsiders runs a game charting project which notes these sorts of plays.
Ponder threw thirteen actual interceptions in games last season, which we can agree was too high. He especially seemed to struggle on out routes, as I'm sure Charles Woodson will attest to. Of those thirteen interceptions, one was a Hail Mary. But Ponder also threw five passes that should have been picked off, only for the defender to drop the ball. That gives him a 5.8% adjusted interception rate, which is third highest among the 33 quarterbacks throwing over 200 passes. Ponder needs to be much better at taking care of the ball.
Bobcat Bismack Biyombo's Beastly Block of Buzzer Beater
Courtesy of Ball Don't Lie.
3 months ago
Birdman84
10 comments
1 recs
Kobe Gets a Piece of Damien Wilkins
HT to Ball Don't Lie.
The Robert Griffin Delusion Must Die
I understand that many of us want the Vikings to draft Robert Griffin III this year. I understand. He's an exciting prospect at the most important position in football. Ponder showed some promise but did not have a good first year.
It is time to give this dream up. It is not going to happen. The Vikings are about as likely to take Andrew Luck this year as they are to draft Griffin. Bill Barnwell of Grantland explains...
And the reality is that teams just don't draft quarterbacks with back-to-back first-rounders. It's only happened once since the merger, and there were some pretty strong extenuating circumstances. The Colts chose John Elway with the first pick of the 1983 draft, but only after Art Schlichter, the fourth overall pick of the 1982 draft, was suspended indefinitely for gambling on football during his rookie year. So expect Gabbert and Ponder to get at least one more season under center before their teams consider parting ways with them.
The Vikings are not going to give up on Ponder after one year. Speculating about Griffin is fun, but ultimately pointless for fans of the Vikings. Let's get excited about drafting Matt Kalil instead.
Sebastian Pruiti on Brandon Knight
Pruiti, writer of the great NBA Playbook, provides his first in a series of year-long rookie rankings on Grantland. Knight ranks fourth. According to Pruiti:
"Right now, when Knight defends the ball handler in pick-and-roll situations, he forces turnovers 25 percent of the time. Much of that has to do with Knight's length, but it also has to do with his effort on defense."
There's more at the link.
Oden Accepts Portland's Qualifying Offer
Looks like Oden is staying with the Blazers for one more year. I wouldn't turn down $8.9 million, either.
A Story from the Federal Building
From someone writing in to Drew Magary's mailbag at Deadspin.
"I work in a well-known Federal building. A week ago I walked into the men's room at the same time as a political appointee, whom might I add, doesn't know me from Adam. As we sidled up to urinals 1 and 3, respectively, he unzipped his pants and said at normal volume, "It's...Showtime!". I had to replay what I had just heard in my head two or three times to make sure I heard it correctly. I was sure of it when he began urinating and released a bassoon-eque fart simultaneously. It was, indeed, showtime."
6 months ago
Birdman84
3 comments
2 recs
NBA Free Agent List
Courtesy of Tom Ziller at SB Nation.
The Pistons' restricted free agents are Afflalo Stuckey and Jonas; unrestricted are Wilcox, Summers, McGrady, and Prince.
Who do you want the Pistons to target?
My dream would be DeAndre Jordan (restricted) but that seems highly unlikely. More realistically, I'm interested in Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes, Craig "The Rhino" Smith, Shelden Williams, and Troy Murphy. Yes, those are all bigs. No, that's not a coincidence.
Eli Zaret Fired
Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News reports that sideline reporter Eli Zaret has been released. it sounds like Zaret wasn't surprised by the move after Pistons executive vice president of broadcasting, Pete Skorich, left a few weeks ago.
H/T to TrueHoop
Berrian threatens KSK with lawsuit
Kissing Suzy Kolber, for those who don't know, is a satirical website focused on the NFL. After Bernard Berrian's Twitter comments to Minnesota State Representative and disabled veteran John Kriesel, one of the KSK authors, Matt Ufford, created a post imagining Berrian's response to criticism from others, including the Pope, the Dalai Lama, and a puppy. It was obviously satire, but Berrian's legal team threatened a lawsuit. Ufford, himself an Iraq veteran, offered to make changes to the post in lieu of removing it. Unfortunately, that was insufficient for Berrian's PR team, so KSK removed the post to avoid a frivolous lawsuit. The link has Ufford's letter to Berrian's PR people, as well as the KSK response to the issue.
I thought I'd make sure the Daily Norseman readers knew this. I used to like Berrian, but he is doing himself no favors in the past week.
8 months ago
Birdman84
3 comments
2 recs
Featured Contributor: brgulker
Scroll down to the bottom of the DBB homepage. When did this happen?
9 months ago
Birdman84
5 comments
1 recs
JOD Hasn't Made a Bad Move in Over Two Years
Food for thought from Mike Payne's favorite website, PistonPowered.
Baby Red Panda getting weighed.
via Super Punch
10 months ago
Birdman84
3 comments
1 recs
Brandon Knight Scouting from NBA Playbook
Sebastian Pruiti of the fantastic NBA Playbook blog breaks down the newest Piston guard. I urge you to check out the video, but here's a summary:
GOOD: Good ball-handler. Can penetrate but doesn't finish explosively. Avoids defense around the rim with nice floater. Nice shooting form.
BAD: Not an instinctive passer. Handles traps poorly. Turnover prone. Occasionally poor shot selection.
Tip of the hat to PistonPowered.
Kelly Dwyer Defames Ramon
From today's Ball Don't Lie chat...
3:31 Birdman84:
If the Cavs take Irving, will they look to dump Sessions. Ramon would look good in Pistons blue.
3:31 KDonhoops: He'd be perfect for the Pistons as another shoot-first guy that looks uneasy running the point.
Yes, I know I missed a question mark.
Simmons on the NBA's bottom-dwellers
"26. Detroit Pistons
Name me a bigger hit-or-miss general manager than Joe Dumars. He's like the Warren Beatty of NBA GMs -- either he delivers a hit or bankrupts your studio, with no in-between.
Mega-Hits: Trading Jerry Stackhouse for Rip Hamilton; getting Ben Wallace as compensation for Grant Hill's Orlando signing that would have happened anyway; orchestrating the Rasheed Wallace trade; stealing Chauncey Billups in free agency; drafting Greg Monroe.
Mega-Misses: Blowing the Darko pick (which should really count three times); giving an aging Hamilton a cap-crippling extension for reasons that remain unclear; turning Billups and Antonio McDyess into four months of a past-his-prime Allen Iverson, then $95 million of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva; giving away Arron Afflalo (and his dirt-cheap contract) that same summer for a future second-round pick to clear salary because he just spent $95 million on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva."
I don't always agree with Simmons, but I think he's pretty accurate here.
CONTROVERSY! Cousins kicked off team plane!
DeMarcus C. Cousins did not fly home with the Kings after a loss against the Dallas Mavericks. He was apparently mad at Donte Greene for the last possession. Greene passed to Tyreke Evans instead of Cousins.
Beat you to it, PS!
McDyess Beats the Lakers
Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook breaks down how Antonio McDyess got into position to get a game-winning tip.
I love NBA Playbook. I always learn something.
over 1 year ago
Birdman84
1 comment
1 recs
Every Dunk from Every Dunk Contest
This is awesome. Hoopism has created one of the best ways for basketball fans to waste hours at a time. Almost every completed dunk in the history of the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest is in here. It's sorted by score and round, as well. Unfortunately, Chris Andersen's 79 missed dunks are not included.
H/T to TrueHoop.
over 1 year ago
Birdman84
3 comments
2 recs
"The Age-Induced Fall of the Pistons"
Dan Feldman of PistonPowered writes on TrueHoop, looking at how Dumars' reliance on veteran talent has led to the Pistons' decline. It is rather depressing.
BDL on Kevin's Overrated List
Kelly Dwyer discusses our own Kevin Sawyer's All-Overrated Team. The list gets Dwyer's stamp of approval.
Ben Gordon Offseason Workouts
For Mr. Payne. Gordon, Villanueva, Monroe, and McGrady have all been working with Arnie Kander.
Our own brgulker writing on Wages of Wins
"Were the Piston Decimated by Injuries Last Season?"
Ben Gulker answers this question on Dave Berri's blog. It's good stuff, even if you don't care for the Wins Produced metric.
LeBron James Signs Exclusive Contract With DC Comics
Funny stuff, especially if you know comics.
Warriors Trade Magette to Bucks
Golden State trades Corey Magette to the Milwaukee Bucks for Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell. The Warriors get some cap space out of the deal. Gadzuric expires in 2011; Bell expires in 2012.
We've discussed trading for Magette as a way to move up in the draft. Well, so much for that. DeMarcus Cousins is looking increasingly unattainable. Although... a Biedrins for Prince trade would still work. Hmm...
Hat tip: Fanhouse
Cousins caught with pot?
If DeMarcus Cousins really did fail a drug test, would he fall to the Pistons? Would we still want him? Could he just be another Michael Beasley? More questions?
Is Greg Monroe Soft?
Tom Ziller takes a look at Monroe's rebounding numbers to see if Monroe's soft reputation is deserved.
about 2 years ago
Birdman84
4 comments
1 recs
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