I will be taking some time off from writing for at least a couple months so that I can torture myself in the wild world of financial analysis. The CFA exam is coming up, and as much as I enjoy dissecting our stats-friendly Rockets (still #10 in the Hollinger Power Rankings?), I need to focus [...]
Author Archives: ben heller
Rocketscience: Dragic, Budinger, T-Will Evaluations
A lot of people have asked for my opinion on the Rockets’ moves last week. My answer was that while the moves were good for the team long-term, we have more or less given up on the season. That sounds dramatic, and I’m sure anyone affiliated with the Rockets would vehemently disagree, but a 10th [...]
Rocketscience: Various Thoughts Heading into the Trade Deadline
A while ago I wrote about various factors that contribute to winning. Hoopdata has a condensed version of this approach called the “four factors.” It looks at eFG%, FTR, TOR, and ORR as the four contributing factors to the effectiveness of a team. As far as I’m concerned (based off my admittedly less extensive research), [...]
Rocketscience: Analytics Teams vs. Non-Analytics Teams
The Rockets have fared very well this season against below .500 teams. They have sported a record of 14-6, to be exact, which is right up there with the top-tier teams in the league. Instead, our problem this season has been against the good teams, with an unimpressive 10-22 mark. I also noticed that Portland, [...]
Rocketscience: On Aaron Brooks
Playing hurt is no fun. Aside from the actual physical pain, there are a number of psychological hurdles holding you back on the court. Part of the problem stems from not trusting your injured body part. There is always the fear of getting reinjured, possibly worse than the first time. Take Brandon Roy, for instance, [...]
