SB Nation User Blog: cantdunk

This is your brain on Blazers

cantdunk — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:24:34 -0000

This is your brain on Blazers

My favorite Republican, David Brooks, reports that somebody found out what parts of your brain enjoy watching your team win. They're called the "ventral striatum" and "nucleus accumbens." You've been waiting all summer just to get that shot to your nucleus accumbens again.

We overvalue our players by a factor of 14

cantdunk — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:05:41 -0000

In the August New Yorker magazine, in an article called "Status-quo Anxiety," James Surowieki writes about why we balk at changing healthcare.

WAIT! COME BACK! This is about the Blazers, really.

Because my brain is 80% BIRs (basketball information receptors) I read the whole New Yorker article as an explanation as to why it's nearly impossible for a Blazer fan to want to trade Bayless. It also explains why I occasionally see BE posts that suggest trading a few of our bench players for Chris Paul. And furthermore, it partially explains why I personally don't like trades much.

Surowiecki says something called the "endowment effect" makes people overvalue an asset simply because they own it.

Here is one of the studies he mentions. Don't worry it's coincidentally basketball related:

The academics Ziv Carmon and Dan Ariely... posing as ticket scalpers... phoned people who had entered a raffle to win tickets to a Duke basketball game. People who hadn't won tickets were willing to pay, on average, a hundred and seventy dollars to get into the game. But those who had won tickets wanted twenty-four hundred dollars to part with them. In other words, those who had, by pure luck, won the tickets thought the ducats were were fourteen times as valuable as those who hadn't.

When you're talking about human beings rather than tickets, obviously there are other factors, but as a general rule I think I am influenced by the endowment effect.

I should also mention Dan Ariely, who performed the study, is really entertaining. Listen to him talk about how truly irrational we all are.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html

Fess up

cantdunk — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:17:32 -0000

Fess up

I'd like to hear what people got wrong this year. I predicted 42 wins. I know Dave predicted Bayless would be more of an impact player than Rudy in the short term. I've read more than a few posts where people trumpet their prescience. I'd like to know what you got wrong. Fess up.

Three misunderstood words

cantdunk — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:01:49 -0000

Leadership

The leader is the coach. Having a natural leader on the team is great, but it's counterproductive when the self-presumptive leader talks about being the leader. Leading by example is priceless. Being a vocal team leader is of dubious worth. Corrections, direction, reprimands or challenges from a presumptive team leader should be extremely sparing. Anyone that has played any organized hoop can tell you how disruptive it is to have a player that acts like the coach. The best player on the team may or may not be a good motivator. I blame recent presidential politics for the inflated status of the word.

Toughness

Toughness as relates to basketball is inseparable from mental toughness. It is manifested physically while the clock is running and within the rules of the game. Getting in someone's face is not a measure of toughness. Getting under someone's skin while remaining cool is. Throwing a half-assed punch at someone's face is not toughness. Cooly draining a three in someone's face is. Either dealing or receiving a hard foul with equanimity is toughness. Giving hard glares and blowing smoke is not. Anyone that has played pickup ball in an area park can tell you that fist-clenching, chest-bumping and hollow threats are cheap and mean nothing. True toughness comes on the following play when a player takes it hard to the rack and scores on his opponent.

Strength

It's great. It's necessary. But lots of muscle mass doesn't protect from injury. Everyone's meniscus and and cartilage is made up of the same stuff. It doesn't get any thicker or more resilient with exercise. The musculature that protects the knee and holds the parts in place are generally the smaller, shorter muscles. A waist-thick thigh doesn't necessarily help and can hurt. 15lbs of beef on the shoulder are definitely not helping the ankles at all and it all adds up. Before the draft there was lots of talk about how Durant was going to get hurt. Who go hurt? Just to clarify, I'm still an Oden man. Long live The Velvet Chinstrap!