Hi All,

I've always loved basketball but never understood how the NBA system worked...

How the games are scheduled, how the teams qualify, when the teams have to play home & when are they supposed to play out etc...

I also never understood the statistics & their real meanings (FG, ST, PG, etc..) Is there somewhere I can learn how these are calculated & how they work?

Thanks a lot...

You're not from here, are you? ;)

Joe, what BktBallRef means is that most of us here do only HS basketball. Many of do college also, and only a few of us do pro ball. And even for those here who work pro ball, we only officiate. We don't have anything to do with the schedule or keeping stats. Many of us don't know and don't care what an official "assist" is, for example.

Having said all that, I will try to give you some info to the best of my (extremely limited) knowledge. Each NBA team plays 82 games. Exactly half are played at home and half are on the road. I have no idea how the scheduler determines where each team goes while on the road. I imagine that they try to make it as simple a trip as possible. For example, I would think that if the Celtics were to travel to LA to play the Lakers, they would play the Clips, Kings, Warriors, Blazers, and Sonics during the same trip so they don't have to make several trips to the West Coast.

The league is divided into 2 conferences, East and West. The top 8 teams from each conference are eligible for the playoffs. Each conference plays 3 rounds to determine its conference champion. Then the 2 conference champions play each other to determine the league champion. Beginning this year, all the playoff series are a best-of-seven format.

As far as stats go, the main ones, I guess, are:

Pts = points scored
PPG = points per game
TO = turnovers
A = assists
FGA = field goals attempted
FG (or FGM) = field goals made
FG% = field goal percentage
FTA = Free throws attempted
FT (or FTM) = free throws made
FT% = free throw percentage
Blk = blocks
Stl = steals
Reb = rebounds
M = Minutes played
TPG = technicals per game (Portland Trailblazers only)

I hope that's enough to get you started. Good luck finding what you're looking for!

Chuck

Chuck --

you forgot to mention the other important statistics that we here in Portland keep for the Trailblazers.

FCM -- felonies committed per month

%FL -- percentage of fan base lost

$$/## -- dollars spent on drug treatment this season


Oh, dear, I'm starting to sound cynical!

And even after all this, we still can't find support for 12 really enthusiastic, talented, admirable women who play dynamite basketball, and make great ads!

It is Women.
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rainmaker

Quote:

And even after all this, we still can't find support for 12 really enthusiastic, talented, admirable women who play dynamite basketball, and make great ads!

Juulie,

That is because it is Women's Basketball. Women do not support their own sports. If they did maybe this would be different.

Something to think about.

Re: It is Women.
 

Jeff,
Be careful! You just made a very wide-sweeping statement. I'm sure there are many women who do support women's sports. What you wrote was not right and I believe you owe Julie an apology.
Consider how you would feel if someone said that Blacks don't support education. Not right or true either, is it?

Re: Re: It is Women.
 

I, for one, am glad there is the WNBA -- though I almost never watch it. I have an almost-4-year-old daughter who has said with all seriousness "girls don't play basketball" and "girls don't play soccer." That statement is going to get me to a Sparks game this year. (It's either that or start saving for her college education . . . .)

Show me evidence it is not true.
 

It is true. Women are more than half of the population in this country. If women valued sports across the board, their sports would flurrish. But because of either socialization or flat out interest, they do not attend the sports on the same scale or level that men sport their own sports. Men are fans of certain sports and have never played a single game. I do not know too many females that support the sport on the same scale as men that <b>never</b> played the sport in their entire lives. When I do boy's games or Men's college games, you see all kinds of males and females in attendence. When I see many of the Women's games or girl's varsity games, usaually the only attendence of females are the ones that have direct contact with the players. Just go to a pro game and see who is attending. If women just supported their own sports the same way men that never played organized sports, then we would not be talking about this. I have no problem making this statement, because show me where it is not true. Why is the WNBA struggling to get attendance? Why are the JailBlazers still getting damn near sold out arenas with all the controversy? Does the Portland WNBA team come close to rivaling the attendence of the NBA team and they are probably better citizens? There is some reason that you have to get in the waiting line for Season Tickets in many pro and college Men's teams.


Just the Big 10 Tournament alone, when both were held in Indianapolis last year, it was very difficult to get a ticket to the Men's Tournament. I looked at TV for the Women's Tournament held the few days before, there were plenty of seats open. You tell me why that is. I sure saw a lot of women at the Men's Tournament. Better yet, those tickets were going for several hundreds of dollars to just get in the building. I say plenty of lower bowl seating open in the Censeco Field house during the Women's tournament. You could hardly find two seats together during the same time of year. It is not because Men are not attending. That is a given. But then again, women are a larger population, why are they not dominating the sporting world? I will let you decide on that one.

Peace

Re: Re: Re: It is Women.
 

The trick is to bring her to the games and get her interested in sports so that the athletic department at XYZ U will pay for her college education. :D