ESPN Box Scores Now Include +/-
- Thread starter nbrans
- Start date
I've been down on the +/- stat for a long time, especially as seen from a single game. A little over a year ago I ran into irrefutable evidence of how ridiculous the +/- stat is from this game: http://tinyurl.com/plusminussuckseggs
In short, Orlando beat Miami by 7 in overtime. Wade played 51+ minutes and scored 48 points on 16-21 FGs and 16-23 FTs. He added 7 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Wade's +/-? -2. Not terribly surprising considering they lost the game, but that's a hell of a night to get a negative.
But here's the kicker: Wade's teammate Earl Barron (remember him? Anybody?) played a whole 16 minutes, went scoreless, 0-4, 2 rebounds, 1 assist. +/- was +14.
Ha.
Ha, I say.
In short, Orlando beat Miami by 7 in overtime. Wade played 51+ minutes and scored 48 points on 16-21 FGs and 16-23 FTs. He added 7 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Wade's +/-? -2. Not terribly surprising considering they lost the game, but that's a hell of a night to get a negative.
But here's the kicker: Wade's teammate Earl Barron (remember him? Anybody?) played a whole 16 minutes, went scoreless, 0-4, 2 rebounds, 1 assist. +/- was +14.
Ha.
Ha, I say.
I don't think it's the be-all-end all, but it does give more of a sense of what happened in a game. So, for instance, tonight Houston eeked out a win over the Thunder -- their bench all had + and the starters were -. So clearly the bench went on a run that helped them win.
It's less valuable precisely when a guy plays the entire game, but you can already tell that from his number of minutes.
Still like it!!
It's less valuable precisely when a guy plays the entire game, but you can already tell that from his number of minutes.
Still like it!!
