SB Nation User Blog: blzrfan

Warriors Post Game Cool Down Thread

blzrfan — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:34:15 -0000

Breathe in.........Breathe out.......

Breathe in.........Breathe out......

Ok, lets try to forget about the refs tonight and lets focus on what's going on with the team.

Oden looks fantastic. He's a force down in the paint like we all hoped for. Going up strong and finishing with authority. Just needs to work on his footwork in the post, be a quicker decision maker with the ball, and holding on to the ball going up for the SLAM. The pick and roll looks nice with Roy. Oden is actually rolling to the hoop and Roy is looking for him. I can see that as a bread and butter play in the future.

Roy is still the heart of the team. He dictates the right tempo and is a calming influence on the court. I'll be curious if Sergio gets more playing time in the 4th quarter and see how Roy will be able to play with him. It was a little weird to not see the ball in Roy's hands on every trip down the court in the last 5 minutes of the game. Roy is definitely an All-Star.

Sergio played much better in the half court than transition. He looks a little out of control when he is moving so fast. I'm shocked at his new found touch from the 3-point line. It even looks like he is confident taking that jump shot.

Aldridge is just fustrating to watch down in the post. I've made several comments about how he can't play against physical defenders. Even though Maggette flopped a couple of times, he still played Aldridge very tough and Aldridge couldn't find a way to score in his comfort zone. I'm hoping for a bounce back game against the Bulls. Their front court isn't very good.

What's are your thoughts on the game tonight?

I just can't wait to play these Warriors again back in the Rose Garden.

Tutorial to Add 4 Factors to Live Boxscores

blzrfan — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:09:18 -0000

*ESPN also tracks team turnovers such as shot clock violations. This accounts for the small difference in TO rate.

If you are unfamiliar with the 4 factors. Here is a quick summary.

The NBA is broken down into 4 basic elements which determine the outcome of any given game. According to Dean Oliver, these 4 factors are:

Shooting Percentage. Represented by eFG% which takes 3 point field goals into acccount.
Turnover Rate. Turnovers per 100 plays.
Offensive Rebound %. Measurement of ability to get offensive rebounds.
Getting to the Free Throw Line. Measurement of FTs made to the total FG attempts. FTM/FGA

The 4 factors are listed in order of importance, shooting as being the most important factor and getting to the line being the least. Looking at the 4 factors instead of just the boxscore will reveal how the game was won or lost. If you want more information about the 4 factors, its origin and details, click on the click below. It is an article written by Dean Oliver.

http://www.rawbw.com/~deano/articles/20040601_roboscout.htm

Take for example the last Blazer game against the Heat. The Heat actually shot a higher percentage than the Blazers, which is the most important stat. But the Blazers were able to make up the small difference by chasing down their misses (O.Reb 30%) and limiting their turnovers relative to the Heat (13.2 TO rate). The Blazers shot 6 more times(78 to 72 FGA) than the Heat to negate the shooting percentage. The free throw factor was a wash with the Blazers being slightly ahead due to fouls at the end of the game.

The great thing is someone took the time and wrote a script to display the 4 factors LIVE within the boxscore in Yahoo or ESPN. You can follow the game and see exactly which factor is helping or hurting the team. If you missed the game and want to know the story, just take a glance at the 4 factors.

How do display the 4 Factors

First you must use Mozilla Firefox browser. Download here.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Then install the GreaseMonkey Add-On. Greasemonkey allows you to change the website display using a script. Without getting too technical, you can change how a website looks.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748

Install the 4 Factors greasemonkey script for ESPN

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/7817

Install the 4 Factors greasemonkey script for Yahoo

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/36000

These scripts simply takes the existing boxscores, uses formulas to calculate the 4 factors, and formats the information.

It works on live boxscores so you can see how a game is playing out without even watching it.

Hat tip to the APBR people.

Association for Professional Basketball Research

Learns the X's & O's of the Blazers Offense

blzrfan — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:25:56 -0000

Learns the X's & O's of the Blazers Offense

In this 4th quarter stretch where the Blazers got some big defensive stops and some big 3-point shots. It was a 10-point swing and the Blazers broke the tie to take the lead for good here. I just like how simple basketball can be, "Reverse the ball." How many times do we as coaches say that, yet how few times do our players actually do that. Watch these 2 key offensive sequences where the Blazers are able to move the ball around and get that open shot,

*Video and diagram at the link

Freeland scores 24 Points for Gran Canaria in Eurocup Qualifying

blzrfan — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:04:43 -0000

Freeland scores 24 Points for Gran Canaria in Eurocup Qualifying

Emerging Great Britain national team star Joel Freeland poured 14 of his game-high 24 points as CB Gran Canaria stormed to a 92-64 triumph at Benetton Olympic in the opening game of their EuroCup Qualifying Round 2 tie.

The 21-year-old Freeland helped his country clinch first place in their EuroBasket 2009 qualifying group this summer and now he's turning on the style for ACB outfit Gran Canaria, scoring nine of his team's first 18 points as they built an early lead and then pulled away for a big win.

Question about League Pass???

blzrfan — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:36:28 -0000

Question about League Pass???

I'm thinking of ordering League Pass Broadband. I live in Seattle, will Blazer games be blacked out?

Our Offense is Offensive Part 3

blzrfan — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:13:08 -0000

I didn't really anticipate writing a series on the Blazer's offense, much less title it offensive. But here we are I suppose, on the wrong side of the scoreboard against the Lakers. You can read my first two analysis and observations on Nate's offensive system here.

Part 1

Part 2

I'm gonna give some background on my familiarity with Nate's offense. I live in Seattle, thus before Nate left the Emerald City, I had the opportunity to watch plenty of Sonic games with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. The personnel between Blazers and the Sonics could not be any more different, yet the basic tenets of Nate's offense is the same. Slow and deliberate half-court offense off pick and rolls resulting in midrange jumpers and corner 3-pointers.

Most people are surprised to find out that the Sonics played a slow pace under Nate with a point guard like Luke Ridnour. The Sonics played slow, but they played efficiently and took advantage of opportunistic fast breaks. They were able to win 50 games one year and took the Spurs to 6 games in the second round. One of the main reasons they were competitive with the Spurs was because of shooting a high percentage on midrange jumpers. Any coach will tell you that the midrange shot is the least efficient shot to take in basketball. Well, the Sonics stat guru found out the Spurs' weakness was defending the midrange shot and told the coaches to exploit it. This actually fit well with the offense Nate was running and the Sonics played a more competitive series than most experts thought.

Where am I going with this?

From the Sonics to the Blazers, and now three years of personnel changes with the Blazers, Nate is still running the same offense he ran with Ray Allen and Rashard Lews. Sometimes I wonder if our problems scoring in the paint is indicative of the offensive system or our players are just afraid of the paint. When I watch successful teams like the Lakers, Jazz, or the Spurs, I'm envious of their offense which put players in a position to score close to the hoop. Instead of two players moving and three players watching, those teams utilize cross screens, back screens, handoffs, rolls, and curls. Each movement could end up in a score while the Blazers movement inevitably resets into a high pick and roll.

This year with Oden, I have yet to see any lobs or cross screens for him to receive the ball deep in the paint. Everyone said that Oden was gonna help us attack the hoop. I don't see a offensive structure to help him to do that, I see the same offensive structure to get more jumpshots off his double teams.

Where is the creativity? Where are the movements and passes that result in close shots at the basket? Is it the personnel or the coach? Did KP acquire a bunch of guys who are unwilling to attack the hoop?

This is just one game on opening night, but it has been happening for a while now. I'm growing more impatient and frustrated that it hasn't been addressed.

Hard to Find Stats

blzrfan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:11:54 -0000

Hard to Find Stats

Does anyone know where to find stats like fastbreak points, second chance points, and points in the paint? NBA.com has game recaps with this information, but no season stats.

NBA League Pass BroadBand Online Standalone

blzrfan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:18:42 -0000

NBA League Pass BroadBand Online Standalone

Looks likes the NBA is finally wising up and offering League Pass Broadband as a standalone product.

Order in 3 easy steps:

1. Create your All-Access Account

In addition to amazing access to your favorite teams, you're entitled to all the benefits of All-Access Membership. If you already have an account, simply sign in.

2. Place Your Order

Purchase quickly and easily with either credit card or PayPal.

3. Confirm Your Purchase

Your receipt and All-Access account will be emailed immediately, and you'll have instant access to the stunning video, stats and scores in NBA LEAGUE PASS BROADBAND.

(1) NBA LEAGUE PASS BROADBAND games are streamed in the largest bitrate possible based on your Internet connection speed, up to 800 Kbps from HD video source direct from each team's arena.
(2) Local and national market blackout rules apply based on your location.

NBA.com Por vs Sac Recap

blzrfan — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:13:17 -0000

NBA.com Por vs Sac Recap

Jerryd Bayless - 28 Points Vs The Wizards (7.14.08)

blzrfan — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:16:02 -0000

Jerryd Bayless - 28 Points Vs The Wizards (7.14.08)