"No team has a drop off like Portland when Lillard, Aldridge sit"

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/01/03/lillard-tops-list-of-biggest-offensive-difference-makers/

also here too:
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....ge-sit/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

It matches the eye test.

 

+/- is garbage. It doesn't tell you what an individual is doing. You often see players have the lowest +/- in a given game even though they had the most positive contributions, or conversely a player has a very high +/- because they scored 6 points in 2 minutes of garbage time.

 

This bench is literally one of the worst in NBA history.

But they're improving. Instead of 3 PPG from the bench it's up around 15-ish, right?

 

Yeah but that's a season average. It's more like 20+ a game the last 15 games.

 

Of course there's a huge dropoff when it's Ronnie Price and Luke Babbitt coming into the game for Damian Lillard and Aldridge.

 

Babs has been putting in solid work lately.

 

It's still a huge dropoff though.

 

Yeah, but he's no LaMarcus Aldridge!

 

And anyone who plays with Price is going to see their +/- plunge.

 

Lillard has been very good, our backup point guards have been very horrible, add up the plus/minus and no one should be surprised. Same goes for taking out Aldridge and inserting any other player off our bench. It's a miracle we've won so many games.

 

Did you read the original post where he specifically says you need to use a large sample size and not use +/- for individual games?

 

The NBA has a lot of unnecessary stats

 

Doesn't matter - large sample size or not, it's a nearly worthless stat IMO. It and PER are both stupid - especially when used in isolation, as they generally are. They are contrived and filled with the author's biases. About the only stat that's widely used that has any concreteness to it is FG% and various iterations of it (Opp FG%, etc). I do find other pure stats interesting, like APG, SPG, BPG, RPG, etc - but they're also open for some level of deeper interpretation. But unlike PER and +/- they actually tell you SOMETHING tangible about the player.

 

Agreed.

 

Finally someone else that gets it.

The best new poster here in years.

 

While I agree that stats can be manipulated, +/- does have some value.

 

And you my angry little friend have a lot of unnecessary posts.

 

Stats don't tell the whole story? what a revelation!

 

I certainly think it has more value than PER. At least I think so, if I'm remembering what +/- is. It's the one where you add up "good" things and subtract "bad" things? Or does it just tell you the point differential when a player is on the floor? If it's the latter, then it's almost pure garbage - if it's the former then it can be an interesting, if misleading stat.