So How Does Height Affect Career Length?

Many people believe that the bigs of the league don’t stick around as long as the guards do. Citing injuries, or the fact that there are just not as many good seven-footers as guards, there is no reason to keep them around, right? Wrong. Checking out the graphic below we can see that players seven feet and taller actually average out to have longer careers than any other sized player.

To the data! 3396 players data were taken into account for this graphic, with the requirements that they 1. have retired and 2. played 1 or more seasons in the NBA. From that, we get 419 players that were 6’1″ or smaller; they averaged out to play 4.3 seasons. 844 players stood 6’2″ to 6’4″ and those guys only played 4.1 seasons, the smallest average of the five intervals. 947 guys were from 6’5″ to 6’7″ and they played 4.9 seasons on average. The most players were in the 6’8″ to 6’11” interval and there were 999 players there; they averaged the second longest NBA tenure, with 5.7 seasons. The interval with the longest NBA career were, surprisingly, the 7 footers. There were 187 players in this interval, the smallest amount of the five.

This data might not be what most NBA fans would have expected, but if you dive into it and think about it, who is gonna turn down a seven footer? These guys could turn around at anytime and their potential is constantly through the roof because of their size, not necessarily their skill. In contrast, a 6 foot guard is a dime a dozen, which means if you aren’t performing well you might as well show yourself the door.

Once again, super simple, yet entertaining graphic to help get you through the NBA offseason. Check me out on Twitter and lets talk more about this and the other good stuff I post there. I promise, its almost all good. Well, 50%. I’ll take 50%.

Featured image URL: http://singamazingly.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-18-at-2.55.10-PM.png

 

Stepping Up: Tyus Jones is Your 2016 Summer League MVP

The NBA offseason is underway, and to say the least Wolves fans are throwing coal into the burner of the hype train. Although it is just the beginning of the long summer, we are provided with some cheap entertainment of the NBA Summer League. The Timberwolves are participating in the Las Vegas version, and have had quite the run… without Kris Dunn. Yes, Dunn has been out since the second game of the Summer League with a concussion, and the fifth overall pick has been dressed in street clothes on the sidelines.

For the first two games, the duo of Tyus Jones and Kris Dunn was exciting to watch, playing off of each other with a high level of chemistry. When Dunn went down into the concussion protocol process, the duo was broken up. It seemed like the 24 seed Wolves would have a short “playoff” run without the rookie, but Tyus had other ideas. Check out the graphic below to see just how his numbers have changed before and after Dunn’s injury.

His field goal percentage, three point percentage, assists and points have all dramatically increased since Dunn has been off the floor. This isn’t to say Dunn makes Tyus worse, but Tyus has a heavier load to carry without Kris, and he has stepped up in a big way.

In fact, Jones has played well enough to be awarded the 2016 Summer League MVP award, and has carried the Minnesota Timberwolves to the championship game. The Wolves will play the undefeated Chicago Bulls tonight at 8 p.m. for the Las Vegas championship trophy.

The Summer League means next to nothing, but it is still exciting to watch after about a month of basketball deprivation. The season can’t get here soon enough, and we are all aboard the hype train to October.

 

Featured image URL: https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0F7Qw-zxPpbBRq5doaDgkMiAw9c=/0x176:2400×1776/1310×873/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46717830/usa-today-8690826.0.jpg

 

Thibodeau for President. Yes, I mean PRESIDENT.

2016 seems like it isn’t going to be the best year in the U S of A’s history, or even for the world. Tension is high, disheartening news heavily outweighs the hopeful, and people are on edge. There is also a little thing happening called a Presidential Election, and boy it is interesting. I refuse to take a stand for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, since I really don’t like either of them, so I propose a third candidate: Tom Thibodeau.

Let’s look at why Thibs would be the perfect candidate for the Commander in Chief role. The first thing that comes to mind when you think “what does America need right now in a leader?” the obvious answer is someone who can act as a counselor to the shaken up citizens; well good thing Tom has a master’s degree in counseling from Salem State University. He could be the perfect shoulder to cry on for our citizens, who already seem to cry about everything.

Next, many people have problems with the to-be first lady (or maybe first… man?) that will take over the White House once the Obamas move out. Another perfect move by Thibodeau: he has no spouse, so we would never have to even worry about the wing man of the President. Tom was once engaged while in grad school, but he decided he would ride the rest of his life solo, calling the wedding off a couple of months prior.

Finally, we need a true patriot. We need someone who loves this country, and who better than our Tommy? He coaches the greatest basketball team on earth, the USA Olympic team; what else on God’s green earth could you do more patriotic than that? I wouldn’t be surprised if Thibs has a couple of bald eagle tattoo’s hiding under his shirt and tie. It is rumored that his alarm clock is the Pledge of Allegiance, and that he can recite the Gettysburg Address both forwards and backwards.

He fulfills all of the necessary requirements for president: born in Connecticut, 58 years old (doesn’t look a day past 27), and he has always lived at home.

It is time. It is time for Tom Thibodeau to make his splash into 2016 and save America and the Election. Obama said he would like to own an NBA team, well our guy is going to be President and coach. Take that, Obama.

Don’t take any of this too seriously. I’m just trying to make the offseason go by faster. I know Thibodeau more than likely won’t “Make America Great Again”, but I do believe he will Make Minnesota Great Again.

#Thibodeau2016

Don’t Trade Rubio, Yet.

When you make your professional basketball debut at the age of 15, the hype is going to be real. I mean, come on, could you imagine how bat bleep crazy the American media would go if LeBron started his NBA career when he should have been starting his sophomore year of high school? People go crazy about great athletes, and this craziness is exponential the younger the athlete is. Bryce Harper, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Ricky Rubio?

It seems weird to put Ricky’s name in this list, but its true, he made his debut at a young age, and basketball fans around the world were very excited about it. He is considered one of the greatest European guard prospects of all time, and the Wolves hopped right on the hype train and drafted him with the fifth pick in the 2009 draft, knowing he wouldn’t come to the Tundra for a couple of years. When he did finally arrive in 2011, people were excited, including myself.

I was lucky enough to be at Ricky’s first game for the Wolves, and boy it was exciting. Kevin Durant and what used to be his Oklahoma City Thunder team came to town to open up the season after a lockout, and the Wolves lost by four. Even with the loss, watching Ricky was exciting; the way he played got the crowd going, his passing, defense, and everything in between. I remember two plays from that game distinctively, the first being when Ricky passed up a wide open three, and the air coming out of the crowd all at once. The second play put all life back into the crowd just as fast as the passed three took it out: a sweet bounce pass to rookie Derrick Williams for a reverse dunk in transition. The crowd erupted late in the fourth, and it seemed like this Spaniard was the real deal. Fast forward five years, and the story has changed quite a bit.

TRADE RUBIO! Wolves fans pleaded on draft night when it seemed that there were some suitors for a trade, notably the 76ers and Bulls, but at the end of draft night, we still had Rubio and new draft pick Kris Dunn. Still today, fans want to move the 25 year old point guard; “he can’t shoot” is often the argument used.

Its true. It hurts me to say it just as much as the next, but its true; he cannot shoot. Its quite obvious, teams play off of him and challenge him to shoot, but he can’t. But everyone hold onto your seat, what if I said, what if I said: it doesn’t matter. His impact on the team is good enough even without his scoring ability. Check out this infographic.

When Rubio is on the court, everyone plays better. This graphic just shows the affect on the three young studs on the team, but he helps everyone he plays with. Gorgui’s net rating goes up by 2.3 with Ricky on the court, Shabazz Muhammed’s goes up 7.5 and Bjelica’s net increases by 7.2 with Mr. Rubio on the court. There is no way to deny he has a positive impact on the team. In fact, how does the overall team perform with Ricky on the court? See the graphic below.

Our beloved Timberwolves are significantly better with Ricky on the court. Points, field goal percent, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and plus minus all increase, and turnovers decrease. Lets put it this way, if Ricky could have played every minute of every game last year, and our plus minus remained at +0.4, the Pups would have won 42 games using the Pythagorean expectation formula.

Now, one last thing to address is Kris Dunn. I think Dunn can be a stud, a poor man’s Russell Westbrook, but not right away. Many people tell me “sure, Ricky is good, but Dunn will be better”, and my response can only be “sure, Dunn will hopefully be better, but right now he isn’t”. For fans who so desperately yearn for Ricky to be moved, my opinion of a best case scenario for the Wolves would be to hold onto him until the trade deadline and let Dunn develop under him, then reassess the situation. If Ricky doesn’t seem to be getting it done, then you move him. If Dunn isn’t ready, or Ricky is having a good to great season, keep him; seems like a win-win to me.

Once again folks, what I say doesn’t matter. I’m just a crazed fan who needs to write this somewhere and I figure I might as well share it will you. Go Wolves.

Featured image URL:

http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sporting_news/88/20/ricky-rubio-getty-ftr-063016_1nsqb4evm1mbl1nu60fv4etgy6.jpg?t=-1574243019

The Average NBA Player

Basketball is an ever-changing game at every level. When I played youth basketball, I wore classic white sneakers probably from Target; now all the youngsters have to be wearing Curry’s or LeBron’s shoes to avoid embarrassment. From the young kids, all the way up to the NBA Stars, the game is always changing. Now, instead of looking at how many three pointers pros are chucking up these days, or how nobody likes mid range shots, lets look at how the players themselves have changed. Basketball Reference has listed NBA average stats for height, weight, and age from the 1951 season and on. Looking at three quite monumental years for the NBA (the shot clock era [1954], the three point era [1979], and today [2016]) how has the average NBA player’s physical appearance changed?

Following along with the image above, we can see that the average age hasn’t changed at all. It took a slight dip in the ’79 season but it is safe to assume that right around 26.7 is the NBA’s consistent average age. In fact, the NBA’s average age has been between 26.1 and 27.9 for it’s whole existence.

In 1954 the average NBA player was standing about 6 feet 4 inches tall, and that number had increased 2 inches by 1979. Today, the average NBA player stands at 6 feet 7 inches (this has been the NBA’s average height since 1979).

Weight has seen the most dramatic change over the years, with the average 1954 NBA player weighing in at 197 big ones. By 1979 the average increased to 204 pounds, and today the average player weighs a whopping 220 pounds (for those keeping track that is 2.8 pounds per inch). The heaviest the NBA has collectively been was in 2011, at an average of 223 pounds.

While these numbers are simple, they are fun to look at and know about. There is constant debate about how the guys in the league today would get bullied around by Jordan and his Bulls, or by Kareem’s Lakers, but this might make us think differently.