“Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own” -Ella Wheeler Wilcox
This is what's know as a swerve
Lately, I’ve been ignoring a vital part of my mission statement.
It’s been all serious stat work. I’ve been ignoring the silly.
Move along. Nothing to see.
No worries. Consider this a respite.We’ll get back to the hard facts tomorrow.
This is more the right speed
With a clear goal in mind, a song in my heart and that annoying darkness gone from my soul, I set off to find an idea. It came to me suddenly. I would rank every possible non- finals nba playoff series in terms of fun thru a completely made up set of criteria using proper value engineering techniques. The way this works is simple:
- Get a list of all the playoff Teams together
- Rank the team in each category as either a : 9 (High),5 (Mid),1 (Low)
- Add up the scores for each team
- Determine the level of rivalry between each team as either a : 125% (High),100% (Mid),75% (Low)
- Do a cross-matrix where we add the scores from 3 for each team and multiply by the value from 4
Pretty clear right?
Hopefully more clear than this (Image courtesy of xkcd.com)
Let’s start with the factors:
- Fanbase Size,Quality and Passion: This is the one that warms David Stern at night. Lot’s of fans means lots of interest. Lot’s of passionate fans make a series fantastic.
Hey Mark, the internet says hi!
- Playoff Experience: Has this team gotten it done before. Is this their first dance or can they Bring it?
Know your role.
- Star Power: Will I be amazed? Is there a real chance that we’ll get to see something truly unique ? That’s the key for this one.
48 Special
- Hateability “The Old Firm”: This is for teams that are so successful that it’s easy to root against them. Success (and Phil Jackson) are key on this one. The Black hats always bring the excitement.
- Likeability “Cinderella Factor”: The opposite of Factor 4. Are we looking at a ragtag bunch of outcasts? Has the phrase : “Nobody believed in us” been uttered? Particularly poignant when combined with the Ewing theory.
"Ewing Theory? What's he talking about? We got traded to the Knicks"
- Historical Implications: I tweeted this today:”Ah but I love Manu. Him and Tim taking one last shot against the upstart Bulls or Heat would be poetry”. Am I watching something I’ll be talking about years later? Does this story fit in a larger tapestry?
This could very well get a sequel
- Team Quality: Will I be watching a truly great team? Could these guys hang with the pantheon?
It's a good question
- Fun Factor:Is this a fun team to watch? Will the games be ridiculously fun?
Sigh....
- Fanbase Hateability: You know who you are.
At least, I am self-aware
- The Rivalry Factor: “Clean Old Fashioned Hate”: How much do these teams dislike each other? Is a fistfight likely to break out? Is it personal?
Your momma
Factors in let’s look at my totally irrational ratings. First By Team:
Then the Rivalry Factors:
And finally lets put them together:
The Top ten possible non-finals matchups?
- Boston-Miami
- Boston-Chicago and Miami-New York
- Spurs-Lakers
- Lakers-Thunder
- Mavs-Lakers
- Lakers-Nuggets
- Boston-Orlando and Miami-Orlando
- Boston-New York and Miami-Chicago
The bottom five are:
- Atlanta-Indiana
- Philly-Indiana
- Philly-Atlanta
- Indiana-Orlando
- Memphis-Portland
I don’t know about you but that looks right to me
Some Dude
04/08/2011
it’s sad that Spurs are a fun factor of 5 and not 9. Not your fault, but casual fans are lame.
Which is the tops of the 3 laker finals possibilities?
LA-Boston. Rubber match, sure to be the last one. Everyone knows the rivalry here, chance to tie Boston in titles
LA-Miami. The established kings vs the universally hated superfriends. good vs evil.
LA-Chicago. The champs vs the young upstart (and MVP) with the Kobe chasing MJ for rings and Phil going out against his former team in a poetic fashion?
Personally, I want Miami to fail early in the playoffs for the laughs. The poetic thing about Chicago seems really intriguing, but at the same time I relish every chance to beat Boston. I’m torn between who I’d prefer LA to defeat. If LA were to lose to any of those 3, I’d rather it be Chicago.
I am not saying LAL make the finals or win it. Just musing over those 3 hypotheticals and which one the viewing public would prefer.
Suomynona
04/09/2011
who is good in the LAL-MIA matchup again? That seems like evil vs evil to me. Most fans outside of LA or MIA would want both teams to lose.
Chap
04/08/2011
Unrelated question: What ever happened to the Predictions Rankings? Shouldn’t someone be labeled “King of the Stat heads” or “Future Ex-GM” soon?
arturogalletti
04/08/2011
Chap,
Waiting till the season ends. I’m going to do over/unders as well . The smackdown scoring might show up on the Wages of Wins page.
Austin
04/09/2011
Arturo! How can Blazers fans NOT get a 9 for fanbase?! You East Coasters don’t know what’s up!
arturogalletti
04/09/2011
Austin,
Hmm. You may be right. Blazer Nation deserves a 9. I’m probably revisiting this one (it was oodles of fun).
Travis
04/12/2011
Is Orlando really a rival with Boston or Miami? Mavericks and Lakers? Does New York – Miami still apply? I wouldn’t have guessed. Good stuff, so glad it’s playoff time.