http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/kyle_lowry_is_making_his_mark__2012_01_18.html Interesting read. This part stands out to me. “I’m not done yet,” he declares. “I’ve got a long career to go. I’ve got a lot of time left in this game. I’ll never be satisfied with where my game is. I always think I can get better.” And this one too. According to 82games.com’s on-court/off-court stats, the Rockets are a whopping 15.5 points better (per 100 possessions) when Lowry is on the floor; a number not even the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant can touch. Enjoy the article.
There is another rockets.com article on Lowry and Martin. Check it out. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/lowry__martin_combining___2012_01_18.html
Great read. The article that was quoted by Marcus Hayes on Lowrey is also a great read. As a matter of fact, made a brief comparison between the 2 writers in the other thread. The other sports writers in Houston should be embarassed. I always love reading Jason's articles.
I'm trying to get a better understanding of these numbers and can't seem to find them. http://www.82games.com/1112/11HOU2.HTM I may be looking in the wrong spot or maybe 82games.com was slow to update with Tuesday game's numbers. My question though -- does that mean "the Rockets are a whopping 15.5 points better (per 100 possessions)" than their opponents when Lowry plays, or 15.5 points better than the non-Lowry Rockets?
I believe it can be for both. It's my way of thinking though, because I would imagine that Lowry impacts the game so much regardless of opponents the team is playing against. But as for the 82games.com's claim, I believe when Lowry plays the Rockets are 15.5 points better than their opponents. I don't really play around with those sort of stats and numbers. I watch the game more than look at scoreboard. I only bolded that for those who like those sort of stats. Those that understand it please answer Clutch's question. Lol I'm sort of struggling with it.
I'm thinking he probably means the latter, but not sure since the current numbers at 82games.com are different.
Thanks 220living and durvasa... appreciate it. durvasa -- if it's better than the Rockets opponents, then I think it's a pretty terrific stat, but if it's the latter, I just think there are a ton of factors there and it doesn't really translate into a number that you want to compare to players of other teams. Obviously Lowry plays a big role, but to me, it speaks more to the strength of the team's starting unit compared to their horrific bench play (so far) than anything else. For example, when LeBron is out of the game, Bosh and/or Wade may still be in it. It's not something LeBron's individual play can really beat out when compared to Lowry. It's a great article by Jason and I don't mean to derail the thread. It's just +/- to me can be misleading. It was one of the big reasons I hated when people used it to prop up Rafer Alston when the guy was playing alongside Yao and T-Mac most of the time and his backup was Luther Head.
It's the latter. And you are right, 82games.com was slow to update. In fact, I think they might have been more than 1 game behind when Jason Friedman looked up the numbers-- 82games.com doesn't really update every day, and it was MLK Day weekend so their guys might not have kept up. Also, I recall looking at the numbers over the weekend and it said "last updated 1/13/12." Lowry's Rockets is currently +8.7 over opponents and +24.7 (!) over non-Lowry Rockets, both of these numbers had to have improved over the weekend since the Rockets were +11, +20 and +12 over the opponent with Lowry in the last 3 games and -9, -12 and +6 against the opponent without him-- meaning that both the "over opponents" and "over non-Lowry Rockets" numbers both increased significantly over the weekend.
Which is why numbers can be REALLY misleading for those who aren't trained to see which are an anomaly and which ones are legit. I don't like to use numbers when evaluating a player. Basketball is a sport that is beautiful when one understands the game completely. Knowing when to attack and to keep the pace under control. Knowing how to defend a player and read his moves. Knowing where to be in the court is a skill and hard to teach. That's why I like Parsons so much, Parsons just know where to be in the court.
Maybe the point he was making there was just to illustrate how valuable Lowry has been to the Rockets. On/Off is a decent way to show that. Definitely, our poor bench play overall and shaky backup PG performance in particular is a big part of that.
Clutch, Carl, durvasa,220, et al: You're on point: The idea behind using that stat was to emphasize just how critical Lowry has been to the team thus far. As with any number it is by no means a catch-all and definitely needs to be buttressed with other means, both objective and subjective, in order to get a definitive look at Lowry's value. That said, I do think that number confirms much of what the other stats and the naked eye see: right now Lowry is the primary motor that makes this team run. And, yes, you guys are also correct in assuming that I used the 82games.com numbers from yesterday evening, which have since been updated to reveal an even greater disparity between Houston's play with Kyle on and off the court. Thanks, as always, for reading. JCF
Wow, first Jason Friedman post here since 2009! Great article, and no matter what the exact numbers are (they will keep changing after every game anyway), Lowry's positive impact is huge, everyone who watches the games can see that. I wouldn't want to trade him for any other point guard in the league at this point.
He said from day one, "I know I'm a starter in this league." At first, I thought it was ego or dissatisfaction with his role. Now I realize it was because he earnestly believed he could help his team win and that is all he ever cared about: winning.
I'm much bigger fan of these +/- stats: http://basketballvalue.com/player.php?year=2011-2012&id=579 Shows how good he is at leading almost all the lineups he plays with. That +26 is by far the best starting lineup in the league.
