Tag Archives: Michael Jordan

The worst management of the year award goes to….

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Yesterday I threw out three teams I thought were good for the Worst Management of the Year. Based on the feedback I’ve gotten both from other Wages of Wins bloggers and the comments I’ve made up my mind:

The Charlotte Bobcats

If the Bobcats manage to lose out they could end the season with the worst losing percentage of all time behind the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers. As it stands, they are currently the second worst post-merger NBA team behind the 1993 Dallas Mavericks (The Mavericks were so bad, they broke the scale.) That of course should be enough to win this award, but let’s go deeper.

The criteria for worst management is that as a unit an NBA team’s management is really bad. In essence, this is a team award for decision makers in the NBA. As we can see this means we’ll focus on how the owner, general manager and coaching parts do. It’s no surprise that Charlotte has been bad across the board. Let’s run down the list.

Bad coaching

It’s a bit harder to say on this one. The Bobcats are bad. They’re really bad. They have one above average player on their roster and that’s Derrick Brown and he has been an above average player his whole career. He wasn’t even starting until things were shut down. Other than that it’s hard to see too many snubs as the rest of the roster is really comprised of scrubs.

Bad drafting

The draft is supposed to fix bad teams. With three draft picks (two of which were in the lottery after the Bobcats “traded up”) the Bobcats didn’t fix much. Kemba Walker wasn’t a terrible pick, but he certainly wasn’t the best available pick left on the board. Bismack Biyombo was just not a good player to acquire. Devin gave them a C+ in the drafting department to start the season. While this is “passing”, if you’re a terrible small market team, you have to do better in the draft.

Bad ownership

Oh man, the Bobcats have this in spades. Michael Jordan has been known to not really want to put in the work to be a good owner. He has unrealistic expectations. Last season he swapped out a coach. This season he swapped out his GM. He may have helped increase the length of the lockout. For all the good Jordan did as a player, he’s certainly trying to counter that legacy as an owner.

Bad moves 

I’ll admit I made a mistake here initially. When people think of  GMs they want amazing trade deadline moves, and great free agent signings. Much like scoring is overrated in players, making splash moves is overrated in GMs (Joe Dumars anyone?) Sometimes the smartest thing a GM can do is be patient and not do any dumb moves.

When I was looking for bad GMs I was looking for splashy bad moves. I was looking for trading away Marcin Gortat, or signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to terrible contracts. Here’s the thing, last season the Bobcats lit their team on fire. They took a 44 win team (54%) and turned them into a 34 win team. It was actually much worse than this too. Before the trade deadline the Bobcats had a 28-38 record (42%) they then traded off their best player — Gerald Wallace — and ended the season 6-10 (38%). This team was in a noise dive. What did they do? Nothing! They signed a bunch of marginal players and didn’t even give minutes to the best one. Staying the course is fine when you’ve got a decent team and no good moves present themselves. Staying the course when your plane is on fire and heading towards a mountain? Well that’s how you manage to make it to the end of the season with a third as many wins as Toronto.

Summing up

In the end the crack management team wins this award because it has taken a bad team and turned it into one of the worst of all time. Maybe they’re doing it with the “plan” of getting Anthony Davis and turning it all around. Michael Jordan allegedly lost $20 million on the team last year. If dismantling a decent NBA team, lighting money on fire and hoping things will be better is the management strategy this team is employing, well the only thing I’ll think they’ll win is snarky awards from internet bloggers.

-Dre

p.s. I couldn’t help thinking of this image when I wrote this piece.

For my next impersonation, I'll do Michael Jordan as an NBA owner.

 

 

 

CompariLins

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I’m debating trademarking that! (Kidding! But an obvious dig at this.) I’d like to say I’m sick of Jeremy Lin but I can’t. I enjoy writing about him and I have a few fun comparisons to make using some big names.

Jeremy Lin vs. Michael Jordan

The real breakthrough game for Jeremy Lin for me was his third start. Here’s a reminder of his stats:

  • 38:34 Minutes Played
  • 38 Points (66% true shooting)
  • 11-19 Two Pointers (58%)
  • 2-4 Three Pointers (50%)
  • 10-13 Free Throws (77%)
  • 7 Assists
  • 3 Steals
  • 6 Turnovers
  • 1 Offensive Rebound, 3 Defensive Rebounds

Now here is Michael Jordan’s third start (Thanks to Basketball-Reference! Sadly only offensive stats are available):

  • 37 Points (62% true shooting)
  • 13-24 Two Pointers (54%)
  • 11-13 Free Throws (85%)
  • 5 Assists

Yes I know it’s a small sample size and a silly comparison but it is still freaking cool! It’s also remarkable that in 1984-1985 Milwaukee was actually a good team! Michael Jordan’s break out performance on an otherwise mediocre Bulls was remarkable. Likewise Lin’s breakout performance against a top team in the Lakers is also remarkable.

Jeremy Lin vs. Dirk Nowitzki

Google Trends are pretty awesome (thanks to @Hoopisms for leading me down this route). They let us see how the internet responds to various events. For instance I decided to compare Dirk Nowitzki and Jeremy Lin over the last twelve months.

The red line is Dirk and the blue line is Lin. The top chart is the number of searches for each player and Google nicely shows us  what events relate to the spike. When Dirk won the finals MVP in June he got a nice spike. However, this was less than half the spike Lin got when his outstanding performance contributed to a win over the Lakers. Right now Lin winning is more interesting to internet surfers than Dirk finally winning a title.

Lin vs. Dave Berri

This last comparison is silly at best but still fun. Jeremy Lin happened to get his degree in economics. It also turns out his listed height is 6 feet 3 inches. Another amazing coincidence is that the General Manager of the Wages of Wins Network happens to have gotten his degrees in economics and is also 6 feet 3 inches tall. Both also focus on productive and economic basketball albeit in different ways. When it comes down to comparing Lin to other greats (Dirk, MJ, David Berri….ok two out of three) he is coming out very favorably, at least so far!

-Dre

An NBA history lesson: How to lose with style starring the Denver Nuggets

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This weekend Marcus Camby had  an impressive and interesting game in Portland’s trouncing of the Suns. Camby pulled down 20 boards to go with no points. One of Denver’s most prominent twitter fans J.R. (@Smooth_Operatah) remembered the last time Camby has a 20+ rebound game to go with no points, which was back when he was in Denver.

On December 5th 2007 Allen Iverson shot an astounding 73% True Shooting Percent and scored 51 points. Couple this with a 20 rebound game for Marcus Camby’s and you have the makings of a crazy game. To me the bizarre part was that the Nuggets lost.  Using Basketball-Reference’s box score database, which includes all regular season games back to the 1985-1986 season and all playoff games back to 1991, I went in search of a game where such a feat had occurred and more importantly where the team managed to lose. The exact criteria I used was a True Shooting percentage of 55% or better for 50 points or more and another player with 20 or more rebounds.

Boston Celtics lose in OT to the Atlanta Hawks 126-123 on February 3rd 1987

It took five extra minutes of play but the Human Highlight Reel  and Willis managed to put up the impressive combo of stats I was looking for. Of course, the end result was victory against the defending champs.

New York Knicks win in OT against the Atlanta Hawks 137-128 on December 7th 1991

The first example of a team getting a 50 point scorer with good numbers and twenty rebounds to go with it to lose. Like before it took overtime and strangely enough the tandem it happened to was Willis and Wilkins!

Denver Nuggets lose to the Chicago Bulls 116-103 on March 24th 1992

His Airness joins the list with the help of the underrated Grant. The Nuggets also make their way onto the list but as the losing team. In 1992 Jordan scoring a lot, Grant rebounding  and the Nuggets losing were all pretty common.

San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-89 on February 21st 1994

One of greatest and shortest lived tandems makes the list. Robinson and Rodman both did what they do best for the victory. Robinson also took down 9 more boards and had 6 blocks for good measure.

Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat 106-100 on November 6th 1996

Rodman and Jordan both make it back to the list. In just the fifth game of Rodman joining the Jordan-Pippen-Jackson Bulls Rodman and Jordan put up an impressive line. The end result was a win and given the closeness of the game every rebound and point was needed.

Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 123-103 on March 6th 2000

  • Shaquille O’Neal 23 rebounds (7 offensive)
  • Shaquille O’Neal 61 points (24-35 FG 69%, 0-0 3P 0%, 13-22 FT 59%)

I was obviously looking for tandems when I started this search. Turns out Shaq was able to do it all on his own back in his MVP season. It’s also quite amuing to note that Shaq shot better from the field than from the line and brought down more defensive rebounds than free throws.

Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings in OT 93-91 on January 5th 2001 (Honorable Mention)

  • Chris Webber 26 rebounds (10 offensive)
  • Chris Webber 51 points (24-47 FG 51%, 0-1 3P 0%, 3-6 FT 50%)

Webber didn’t meet my criteria for True Shooting percentage (55%) but his stat line was still impressive enough I wanted to make sure I included him. He also joins the Nuggets and the Hawks in the loss column, which is definitely sad given an otherwise great game.

Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 110-83 on April 3rd 2001

In 2001 Ben Wallace was the best player in the league on an otherwise abysmal Pistons roster. Jerry Stackhouse on the other hand was not a very good player but he was able to have a very good game. The result was a great game in an otherwise terrible season.

Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 111-107 on December 5th 2007

Camby was no stranger to rebounding. Iverson was no stranger to scoring. However, Iverson managed to shoot efficiently and the result was an impressive game. Of course Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith shot terribly and the Nuggets managed to be the only team in the last 25+ years to lose with a 20+ rebounder and a 55% True Shooter with a 51 point night in a regulation game.

 Summing Up

I was quite happy I was able to find another game to match the Nuggets in losing with such an impressive line. Of course the Nuggets stand alone as the only team to do so in regulation. I also have to give some props to players that appeared multiple times:

  • Dominique Wilikins
  • Kevin Willis,
  • Michael Jordan
  • Dennis Rodman
Thanks again to @Smooth_Operatah for the great idea and if you have other interesting stat lines to look for definitely let us know.
-Dre

 

Who were the real Playoff MVPs of 1995?

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With the lockout in full swing our analysts have been antsy. We’re happy to answer fan requests for historical fact checking*. Today’s request comes via a Tweet from Mosi Platt of the Miami Heat Index:

@NerdNumbers You have your assignment RT @NBAHistory: Announcer Bob Neal: “Horace Grant is the MVP for the Magic in this series thus far.” @NBATV NOW (Orl/Chi, Gm 6, ’95 EC Semis)

The 1995 playoffs were pretty crazy. The Orlando Magic took down the Bulls despite Michael Jordan returning. The Houston Rockets shocked the world and won it all despite being a lowly sixth seed. Two surprising facts came from these two series.

Horace Grant was the MVP of the Magic-Bulls Series

Don't look back, they might be gaining!

In a series with Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal, it’s surprising to realize the best player on the court was indeed Horace Grant. Here was the breakdown in terms of Wins:

  1. Horace Grant (Orlando Magic) 251 Minutes, 0.293 WP48, 1.53 Wins Produced
  2. Shaquille O’Neal (Orlando Magic) 238 Minutes, 0.265 WP48, 1.31 Wins Produced
  3. Scottie Pippen (Chicago Bulls) 248 Minutes, 0.221 Wp48, 1.14 Wins Produced
  4. Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) 254 Minutes, 0.192 Wp48, 1.02 Wins Produced
  5. Anfernee Hardaway (Orlando Magic) 246 Minutes, 0.133 WP48, 0.68 Wins Produced

Bob Neal was speaking the truth. Horace Grant was better (just barely) than Shaq, and together Shaq and Horace rant circles around Scottie and Michael. Of course Horace and Shaq’s great play may have come from playing a team lacking bigs. Against the Rockets they crumbled when faced with Hakeem’s Finals MVP performance. . . or did they? That brings us to surprise fact number two.

Clyde Drexler was the real finals MVP in 1995

Well at least they both got a trophy.

We can maybe give Hakeem some credit for slowing down Shaq in the finals. That said, Clyde’s performance was inspired. Here’s how the finals went down:

  1. Clyde Drexler (Houston Rockets) 162 Minutes, 0.342 WP48 1.15 Wins Produced
  2. Robert Horry (Houston Rockets) 187 Minutes, 0.213 WP48, 0.83 Wins Produced
  3. Mario Elie (Houston Rockets) 161 Minutes, 0.199 WP48, 0.69 Wins Produced
  4. Shaquille O’Neal (Orlando Magic) 180 Minutes, 0.176 WP48, 0.66 Wins Produced
  5. Anfernee Hardaway (Orlando Magic) 172 Minutes, 0.179 WP48, 0.64 Wins Produced
  6. Nick Anderson (Orlando Magic) 161 Minutes, 0.160 WP48, 0.54 Wins Produced
  7. Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) 179 Minutes, 0.122 WP48, 0.46 Wins Produced
  8. Horace Grant (Orlando Magic) 168 Minutes, 0.084 WP48, 0.30 Wins Produced

Sadly Horace Grant’s greatness disapeared in the finals. But the story wasn’t Hakeem outplaying the bigs of Orlando; the real story was how Clyde Drexler and Robert Horry destroyed the Magic from the wings.

With no NBA in front of us for the foreseeable future, it is fun to go back to the past. Let us know if you have any weird stories you want us to look into and — provided we have time and there are no developments with the lockout — maybe we’ll look into it.

-Dre

* Don’t worry Mark, I haven’t forgotten about the Spurs, they’re on deck.

Michael Jordan: The best and worst owner of 2011

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Michael Jordan took over the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010, just after Charlotte had reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. With a six-time champion at the helm things could only get better, right? It turns out that in his first season as a GM, Michael Jordan may very well have been one of the worst owners in the NBA. However, Jordan’s actions helped out three other teams. Let’s take a look.

Jordan helps gets New York back to the Playoffs

When Jordan took over, the Bobcats’ point guard, Raymond Felton, was a free agent. Rather than re-sign Felton, Jordan decided to let him walk. He signed with New York, where he played quite well and helped New York back to the playoffs. Of course, New York thanked him by sending him to Denver for some aging and overrated players, but that’s another story.

Jordan gets Dallas a Title

Rather than send Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw to Toronto for a much needed point guard replacement in Jose Calderon, Jordan instead traded Chandler to Dallas for Erick Dampier, Eduardo Najera and Matt Carroll. Of the three, only Dampier had played well recently. Jordan then cut Dampier (the only good part of the trade). Najera and Carroll played fewer than 1,000 minutes combined.  And Chandler went on to play like a top 25 player for Dallas and was arguably the finals MVP.

Jordan Keeps Portland Respectable

While Portland had just come off of back-to-back 50 win seasons, Eduardo the knee fairy was acting up again and Portland looked to be in danger of missing the playoffs. Jordan, being a nice guy, traded Portland his only star — Gerald Wallace — in exchange for Sean Marks (useless), Dante Cunningham (useless), and Joel Przbilla (once good, but now injured). Jordan also got some draft picks in the deal, but do we really think the guy who once drafted Kwame will use them well?

Jordan Torpedoes the Bobcats and then Complains

In addition to the moves above, the Bobcats decided to sign Shaun Livingston and Kwame Brown as free agents and traded away Nazr Mohammed. Those moves completed an ignominious feat: taking a playoff roster and getting rid of the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th best players from the previous season. Arguably, the Bobcats made one decent move in signing Dominic McGuire, who played rather well for them.  But of course they waived him late in the season.

And all that means… Jordan took a decent franchise with some upside and tore it apart. Then, during the lockout, he had the gall to fight against the players.

Summing Up

From his record last season, we can see that Jordan and the Bobcats helped turn around the fortune of not one, not two, but three teams. Not many owners can even claim that of one team, so in that regard Jordan is quite a success. Of course, none of those teams were his own, which is a bit of a problem. In fact, when it came to the Bobcats, Jordan was an overwhelming failure; we can’t even applaud Jordan from a cost cutting angle. Teams make money based on their home gate revenue, and that is driven by winning. As all of Jordan’s moves have in fact cost his teams wins, he is a poor owner from the financial side as well. In the lockout negotiations Jordan may claim that the league is losing money and blame the players, but if the league is losing money, it may be the fault of bad owners.  And Jordan stands as a great example of how an owner can be “less than good”.

-Dre