"The Moneyball guy [Michael Lewis] wrote an article about Shane Battier for the NY Times - it's an interesting read - here's one of my favorite points when talking about tendencies and efficiencies of various scorers throughout the league:
"The San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginóbili is a statistical freak: he has no imbalance whatsoever in his game — there is no one way to play him that is better than another. He is equally efficient both off the dribble and off the pass, going left and right and from any spot on the floor."
And I used to think this guy was overrated ... open mouth, insert foot."
The article discusses the deficiencies of basketball statistics, mainly the inability to measure the worth / value of a defensive player like Shane Battier. - "Battier has routinely guarded the league’s most dangerous offensive players — LeBron James, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce — and has usually managed to render them, if not entirely ineffectual, then a lot less effectual than they normally are. He has done it so quietly that no one really notices what exactly he is up to.
...
Here we have a basketball mystery: a player is widely regarded inside the N.B.A. as, at best, a replaceable cog in a machine driven by superstars. And yet every team he has ever played on has acquired some magical ability to win."
The article (definitely worth the read) was discussed in a recent Bill Simmons podcast (with John Hollinger).
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