Do you like to read? Do you like advanced statistics explained to you clearly using real-life examples from your favorite sports? Do you like winning free stuff?
If you answered “Yes” or “Hell Yes” to any of these questions, this contest is for you. Economists/statisticians/authors David Berri and Martin Schmidt (The Wages of Wins) have written their second book and want to give it away to basketball fans. Stumbling On Wins is currently on sale now at your local, national, and online bookstores, but Berri, Schmidt, and Financial Times Press have also provided the TrueHoop Network with copies of the book to give away to our loyal readers. Right now, CelticsHub is set to give away four copies.
I am no stat geek, but I am thoroughly enjoying this read and am now encouraged to go out and buy their first book, The Wages of Wins, once I am done with Stumbling.
So, how do YOU get your own FREE copy of this book? I am glad you asked.
Below, we have devised four questions for you to answer based on some handy tables in the book (a contest model I hijacked from Zach Harper of CowbellKingdom and Sebastian Pruiti of NetsAreScorching). Just by answering these questions, you will be entered into a drawing for a copy of the book. If you get two out of the four questions right, you’ll get two entries, and if you answer all four correctly, you’ll get four. Simple enough. It’s like the NBA Draft Lottery without the annual tank jobs.
You can either respond to these questions in the comments section or email them to bjackson@celticshub.com. Be sure to enter a valid email address if you choose to utilize the comments section so we can contact you after the contest is over. Speaking of awesome segues, the contest ends on Thursday at 10am and we will hopefully announce the winners that afternoon so those winners will have their books by the following week.
Also, fear not those of you who do not end up winning a copy of Stumbling On Wins from us. Berri and Schmidt don’t want anyone who buys their book to go home with merely book-in-hand. If you buy a copy of Stumbling On Wins from now until Friday, you will be given access to a bonus article on the NBA Draft. Just see The Wages of Wins Journal for the details.
Alright, so now it is time to put on your thinking caps and see if you can answer some questions:
1) In Stumbling On Wins, there is a chapter entitled “Defending Isiah” which discusses Isiah Thomas terrible reign as GM of the Knicks. In this chapter, a chart is provided which displays the actual wins produced by the Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Eddy Curry, and Zach Randolph acquisitions. For the 2007-2008, how many wins did each of these players collectively give the New York Knicks?
A) 14.5
B) 7.9
C) 6.9
D) 4.3
2)From 1989-2005, how many current Celtics led their draft class in wins produced?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
(Those ones were tough and may end up being blind guesses so here are two Celtics related gimmies)
3) What jersey number did Pete Maravich wear when he played for the Celtics?
A) 7
B) 44
C) 23
D) 91
4) Who was the tallest player on the 2002-2003 Celtics team?
A) Tony Battie
B) Bruno Sundov
C) Mark Blount
D) Mikki Moore
There you have ‘em. Good luck and we look forward to giving you free stuff.
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For contest
1 c
2 a
3 a
4 b
1. C
2. C
3. B
4. B
Any data model that defends isiah as a GM needs some serious rework….i’d start by adding some data fields that take the CBA and sexual misconduct in the workplace into account.
Only one way to find out….
1) b
2) b
3) b
4) b
Also, I am a newby to more advanced stats, but I hope this book is better than the math that led to this ridiculousness (via truehoop):
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1071
@kool aid: what do you take issue on pelton’s all-d team? Th inclusion of KG?
1) a
2) c
3) b
4) b
1. C
2. B
3. B
4. B
1 – C
2 – B
3 – B
4 – B
a
c
b
b
I’m a poor student and won’t be able to afford the book if I don’t win, so dya think the rest of you guys could find it in your hearts to just let the guys give me a pass???…..No? Ah well, always worth a try I guess.
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. B
@zach. kg for sure. love the guy but no way anyone who watched him all year would say he is the best defensive PF in basketball. he has dropped off on the glass and his mobility on switches and recoveries is not anywhere near elite anymore. my main beef is the whole system seems based on how much better you are than your backup. if sheed was my backup, i might be top of the list too.
i’d be lying if i said i could make a better list offhand, i just don’t watch enough (except celtics) to know every player. but definitely some oddities in there. would love a post to discuss this in more detail with the CH posse, i think defense is highly under-rated aspect of the game. my first thoughts below…
PG: jennings at #2? dre as HM? no deron williams?
SG: agree with the rest. but jason kidd ahead of BRoy?
SF: tough competition but iggy has to in that mix. C brewer?
PF: kg too high. no Kmart? green is pretty impressive even though he plays out of position.
C: horford has to be higher. noah and nene not higher than big ben…..cmon.
1.) A
2.) A
3.) B
4.) B
1) C
2) B
3) B
4) B
For the contest:
1. B
2. C
3. B
4. B
1) C
2) B
3) B
4) B
B,B, B, B
However by my calculations the right answer for 2nd question is 8.1, not 7.9