Archive for Number Crunchin

Number Crunchin’ – The Circle of Life

December 1, 2009 Nat Number Crunchin

Allen Iverson in a Sixers jersey? All is right in the world again…

SI is reporting that the Philadelphia 76′ers have offered Allen Iverson a 1 year non-guaranteed contract. This may not be a great basketball decision int he long run but for a team that is struggling and needs a boost it seems to be the perfect fit. The nostalgic fans (me included) will turn tune in to catch games as this becomes a storybook ending to a gripping career.

The Sixers have lost 7 straight games and could use some scoring. They could use assists as well, with the Princeton offense based around passing and all, but that may be asking for too much. With Lou Williams sidelined for up to 2 months, Iverson can step right in and take the starting role he so much desired. This is a win-win situation for all except probably the “OTHER” AI. Either way, this I know, I will be cheering for him til the end.

The Night in Numbers:

Chicago Bulls 97 – Milwaukee Bucks 99
14 points in the 2nd quarter en route to 22 pts, 15 rbs, 4 blk and 3 assists for Bogut as he returned after 6 games to help his team get their 9th win.
4 Bulls starters scored in double figures but they got no assistance from the bench (9 pts) which ultimately hurt them.

Philadelphia 76ers 102 – Dallas Mavericks 104
36 years old? No problem as Jason Kidd helped the Mavs in every facet of the game putting up 22pts, 11ast, 6rbs, 4stl and 3 blks.
1 boneheaded move to go along with 19 rebounds for Samuel Dalambert. Iguodala threw up the buzzer beater and Sammy decided to intercept it!!?

Memphis Grizzlies 93 – Utah Jazz 120
3 assists shy of a triple doube = Carlos Boozer who finished the night with 24-15-7. This team seems to go as he does and he has been on fire over the last 5 games.
5 points from Marc Gasol is not going to cut it especially on a night when the team played without Rudy Gay. Gasol has quietly become the 2nd most important player on this young Grizz team.

Indiana Pacers 107 – Golden State Warriors 126
45 points (career high) for Monta Ellis before he fouled out on a horrible call. He is averaging 35 ppg over the last 5 and GSW is 3-2 over that span
24 turnovers is not going to win you many ball games. Both teams were sloppy (22 for GSW) but on the road if you need all the extra possessions you can get…

Tweet of the Night
Bout time we got a win VS Chicago! Squad 6: Best Chant of the Night. “You look like a lady!!” hahahha I LMAO in my head during a FT attempt. – @AndrewMBogut after returning early from an injury and playing out of his mind.

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Number Crunchin’ – Taking Care of Buisness

November 30, 2009 Nat Number Crunchin

franklyFrankly speaking…. its a business at the end of the day.
0-16 is nothing to be proud of but Lawrence Frank never stopped coaching… until today. It was announced early Sunday that Lawrence Frank was relieved of his coaching duties while the team was preparing to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. This was not a situation like the Hornets where it felt the players had quit on their coach but rather there just isn’t enough talent to work with. A team that is dealing with a inevitable move, a new owner and a slew of injuries, Coach Frank did the best he could with the situation. I remember the day he was hired. He lasted a lot longer than most would have guessed. He coached every possession and on most nights showed more emotion than his team could muster up. He is a student of the game and it won’t be long before he has another job somewhere but in the mean time I would love to hear his insight on one of the many NBA broadcasting teams out there.

The Night in Numbers:

Atlanta Hawks 88 – Detroit Pistons 94
1 Charlie Villanueva broken nose as the shorthanded Pistons snap a 7 game losing streak (@CV31 tweet)
24 offensive rebounds given up by the Hawks as they have lost 2 of their last 3 games.

Phoenix Suns 113 – Toronto Raptors 94
16 assists for Nash helping 6 players besides himself to score in double figures (Nash Stat)
5% (1-20) from beyond the arc as the no defense playing Raptors tried to shoot themselves back into the game.

Memphis Grizzlies 88 – Los Angeles Clippers 98
600 th win for the Coach Dunleavy (helps to be your own boss) as the Clippers went on a 22-0 run to end the game
7 points in the 4th quarter as the Grizzlies blew a 16 point lead and handed the game to the Clippers

Boston Celtics 92 – Miami Heat 85
5 Boston starters in double figures scoring, led by a monstrous 24 points (11-12 shooting) from Garnett
4 points for Wade in the decisive 4th quarter as his team has lost 6 of their last 9

Orlando Magic 114 – New York Knicks 102
3-0 road trip for the Magic as they have built a strong hold on the #1 spot in the East
5 made FG’s for Duhon is a triumph in itself, now to see if he can keep up the “hot” shooting.

Houston Rockets 100 – Oklahoma City Thunder 91
23 Offensive rebounds as the Rockets came back from a 9 point half time deficit on the back on Brooks and Landry
7 stitches to Scola’s eye followed up by a 10-0 run by the Thunder, but they could never put a hold on the game

Philadelphia 76ers 89 – San Antonio Spurs 97
16 minutes of SOLID production from Spurs rookie Blair as he hauled down 7 offensive boards
6 game losing streak as Sixers are dealing with injuries and we all wait to hear if Iverson will return to his roots…

Minnesota Timberwolves 106 – Denver Nuggets 100
17 game Nuggets home win streak broken by the Wolves who snapped their own 15 game losing streak
12 points for the Nuggets in the 3rd quarter was the breaking point and the team could never recover.

New Orleans Hornets 96 – Sacramento Kings 112
24 points from Sergio Rodriguez (Spanish Chocolate) as he dazzled fans flashing memories of “White Chocolate”
4 game win streak for the Hornets was snapped as they played without Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic

New Jersey Nets 87 – Los Angeles Lakers 106
0-17 record for the Nets tying the record for worst start to a season on the day their coach is fired
17 pts= Avg. margin of victory for the Lakers over last 6 games. Made 13 3′s and shot 50% on the night

Tweet of the Night
I’m betting David Kahn pulled out a ladder, climbed up and snipped nets after T-Wolves victory in Denver. His vision finally validated! – @WojYahooNBA

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Number Crunchin’ – Money Talks

November 3, 2009 Nat Number Crunchin

Starting this segment a week into the season but it will be back as a daily feature.

rndooo Rajon Rondo cashed in to the tune of 5 years $55 million this week. I guess along with the fat wallet comes a bigger mouth. Apparently he felt the need to do some trash talking about Chris Paul and things didn’t go so well from there. Adrian Wojnarowski, has a really great column breaking it down both and talking about the direction of the Hornets. (READ HERE)
The Hornets are reeling early in the season finding different ways to lose each night. Chris Paul is doing everything he can but he can’t do this alone. Not in the West where teams beat on each other night in and night out. There was no sign of defense being played on either nights that I watched the Hornets play. My concern… are they tuning out Byron Scott as happened in NJ?

The Night in Numbers:

New Jersey Nets 68 – Charlotte Bobcats 79
7 points from the Nets in the 3rd quarter was only rivaled by the 10 spot put up by the Bobcat’s in the first
2:1 turnovers to assists in this game if not worse. It was all kinds of ugly

New Orleans Hornets 111 – New York Knicks 117
40 Minutes from Larry Hughes as he has done a 180 from preseason. Averaging 19/5.5/4, he is the early front runner for comeback player of the year!
26 Three point attempts by the Hornets and only 19 trips to the FT line. That needs to be reversed to see any success this season

Houston Rockets 113 – Utah Jazz 96
8 players finished with 10 or more points for the Rockets. No Yao and McGrady… this is the definition of a team win.
34-20 the Rocket’s outscore the Jazz in the final frame. Don’t sleep on these Rockets after a big win in SLC.

Memphis Grizzlies 116 – Sacramento Kings 127 (OT)
18 Productive minutes for Allen Iverson as he saw his first game action of the season. Oh yea and he is already bitchin’
48 Points for Kevin Martin as he went 7-10 from distance in a hard fought victory over the Grizzlies.

Minnesota Timberwolves 90 – Los Angeles Clippers 93
20 Turnovers for the Clippers and they still managed to squeak out their 1st win
24 Points for Al Jefferson in a loss but he looks to have healed well from last seasons injury.

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Number Crunchin' – Method to the Madness

March 27, 2009 Nat NCAA, Number Crunchin

83bigStats and ways to evaluate the performance of a player have been evolving every since records were kept. Enter John Hollinger who has taken NBA statistics to a whole new level and not always do they tell an accurate story. First there was PER, then the Daily Power Rankings and two days ago we were introduced to VA (Value Added). This new stat is supposed to take into consideration the amount of time the player is on the court to measure his effectiveness not just by quality but also quantity. I like looking up crazy stats, I like finding anomalies, but Hollinger is pushing it once again coming up with another formula that he justifies with an arbitrary constant that he can’t break down. He got bashed on PER because players who played 15 minutes of garbage time had a better numbers than a starter, now with VA, his numbers are trying to tell us that stats say Wade brings 3 times more wins to the Heat than Charlie Villanueva brings the Bucks. I am not convinced, are you?

The Night in Numbers: The TNT rule was in full effect as on this night the League went 3 for 3 on blowouts!

9 Game losing streak in Auburn Hills was snapped as the Lakers, led by Kobe’s 30-8-7, were able to put away the pistons 92-77
20-0 Run by the Lakers to end the 3rd sealed the fate of the shorthanded Pistons who got a solid night from Will Bynum – career high in Points (25) and Assists (11)
13 of John Salmons 27 Points came in the 3rd Quarter which helped the Bulls grab the game by the horns and hand the heat their 2nd straight loss.
4 Double-double’s in the last 5 games for Tyrus Thomas who has found some consistency with his role on this Bulls team that has won 6 of their last 7 games.
6 game win streak came to an end for the Suns, they allowed the Blazers to shoot 60% from the floor and were stuck playing catch up through most of the game.
12 Rebounds to go along with a season high 29 Points for LaMarcus Aldridge as he notched his team leading 18th double-double in the win.

Bracket Breakdown: 3 for 4 on yesterdays picks…. a lot better than my bracket was going! The early games were a snoozefest – Pitt barely squeaked out the win and UConn didn’t really need Thabeet’s 15-15 for the win over Purdue. The late games didn’t disappoint though – Mizzou brought it right from tip, never really giving Memphis a chance to settle in and in Boston, Barack knew whats up as Villanova jumped on the Blue Devils sending them packing for the season. There are 4 more open spots to round out the Elite 8 and Friday’s games may have a few upsets in store.
My Picks: Louisville over Arizona, Syracuse over Oklahoma, Michigan St over Kansas, North Carolina over Gonzaga

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Number Crunchin' – Double Dribble

March 26, 2009 Nat NBA Observations, NCAA, Number Crunchin

dribble2An 18 Hour dribble Marathon was taking place while the Phoenix Suns were engaged in a must win game v/s The Utah Jazz. 25 contestants started the day at 6 AM and last man standing would get to go on a road trip with the suns next season. This is just one of the many ways the Phoenix Suns have grabbed the attention of their fans. They already dominate twitter – with a representative from every branch of the organization. The team held a “Tweetup” night offering Suns tweepers special ticket prices and the opportunity to mingle before the game with an appearance by @the_real_shaq. They were also one of the first teams to create a social network for their fans and have creatively managed to keep everyone talking about all things Suns. Other NBA teams need to take a look at the model the Suns are working with because with the economy the way it is “Entertainment” is usually pretty low on a persons list compared to bills and mortgages. There are tons of  tools that the internet and media have to offer to keep fans interested in the team even if they can’t make it to the games and the Suns have used them brilliantly. It helps that the team is winning but this connection they have been able to make with the fans builds a team loyalty that some of the other teams in the association would benefit from.

The Night in Numbers: (I lost my original post so here is a compressed version)
40 FT’s taken by the Raptors compared to only 9 by the Bucks as the raps win back to back for the first time since Feb 22nd
2 point win for the Wizards as they got to play spoiler dropping the Bobcat’s 2 1/2 games back of 8th in the East.
5th Straight 20+ point game for Thad Young as he lead the Sixers to a win over the Wolves
2 Separate runs of 11-0 and 8-0 in the last 8 min of the Heat/Pacers game helped Indiana come out with a 2 point win (thnx @BTPH) 2 Rebounds shy of a triple double for Lebron – seems we talk about one of these every night with him now!
25 Shots to get 42 Points and 10 assists for Tony Parker as he continues to lead the Spurs team in a much needed win against the Hawks who managed to clinch a 2nd straight playoff birth in the loss
1 OT was needed to settle the shootout where the Knicks and Clippers both shot over 55% – Mike Taylor of dunking fame went off for a career high 35pts and 8rbs to help the Clippers get the W @MSG 2 Game suspension for Nene – Luckily it didn’t hurt the Nuggets as they were able to handle the Hornets just fine on this night.
8th 20-20 night this season for Dwight Howard as the Magic were able to hold the last minute push by the Celtics to get the win
3 Players for the Mavericks scored 20+ in a win over GS who were playing on a back to back
13 players combined in double figures but the suns came up big when it mattered getting a huge night again from grant hill who had 26

Bracket Breakdown: This has to be the only time of year when Thursday’s are my favorite day of the week! Its time to dance again and we have 4 games on tap tonight. This year has been far from dramatic as only a 5th seed and 12th seed managed to squeak into the sweet 16 -If you picked a whole lot of upsets your bracket is probably totally busted. I happen to be one of those people so I figured why not make some picks for tonight to keep this fun!
UConn over Purdue – Pitt over Xavier – Mizzou over Memphis – Duke over Nova

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