RealGM

Great piece on the new metrics that NBA GMs are using, focusing on Shane Battier:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/index.html

Well worth the read.

Heck of a long article. I read it though... Interesting thoughts. Battier is and has been quite a unique player, although I think how good he is, is generally a lot more accepted than the article lets on. The article tries to paint this portrait of a player that nobody wants and that has been discarded from every team. The guy has been honored at every level (including the NBA with a high draft slot and a large contract for a role player).

Yeah, I agree. I didn't want to say something before anyone else read the piece, but he really played up the Battier as outsider slant to keep the non-NBA fan interested. I wanted him to focus more on the Rockets GM and his analytical metrics. The interesting thing is, the author played up the entire anti-star side of it and then what happens at the end? The ultimate example of NBA star culture wins the game on a crappy shot.