So, caveat - I'm taking a stats class, and have to learn to use a certain program, so this is the result of me just messing around.

What I've been curious about is comparing who we let go with who we brought in, and of course selecting the criteria for comparison goes a long way in shaping the perceived outcome. Having said that, it's pretty clear that there are certain trends the team is actively seeking to cultivate.

The first graph I did was looking at shooting ability.

via i1237.photobucket.com

The precise data points don't matter so much as the broader trend, and that is that we've upgraded to more effective shooters (either at actually making the shot or knowing when to pass on a bad shot). We've already seen the benefits of this during preseason play - our backups are holding their own against some pretty good deep teams.

The second graph that occurred to me to make is looking at the end of the bench, comparing 1000 minute or less guys to each other. I have no idea how the minutes will play out, so I only have three guys on this year's team that I'm ball-parking will be less than 1000 minutes.

Well, long story short, it's not a very good graph because it's comparing overall OWS/DWS of people, but not by minute. Having said that, it's still interesting to see what guys did in approximately the same time range (600-1000) minutes. Green is last year's team, purple are the new guys (Dante, Steemer, and Lou).

via i1237.photobucket.com

The point I was going to make is that offensively it's a mixed bag, but defensively there's a lot more substance.

But because it's CH and we're interested in real data and not just cherry picked stuff, I will leave with a graph culled from 82games. For the same end of the bench players, I decided to compare their on court/off court, team +/- ranking per100 possessions. Again, old guys are green, new guys are purple.

NOTE - for the OFF court axis, the further to the right you are, the better your team does without you on the court.

via i1237.photobucket.com

Interesting, huh? Not sure what to make of that, other than perhaps these guys are true role players vs. our guys (Wayne, Wes, Tolliver, Darko, and AR) being used as quasi-starters, do these guys really have talent? Furthermore, it highlights the discrepancy of the Pacers, Celtics, and Memphis starting lineups that they were that much better offensively, so they scored 4-5 points more per100 possessions than when the scrubs were out.

What do you guys think? What do these graphs suggest to you? Do you even care?

asdas