Hollinger's New Toy

ESPN's John Hollinger has a new NBA power rankings (Insider required) that automatically updates daily. The formula removes the human element (Paul Pierce injury for example) and takes into account scoring margin, strength of schedule, recent performance and home and road. The Celtics currently rank 21st.

I wonder about Hollinger. In a way he provides a fresh approach to looking at the NBA, which he won't hesitate to tell you about, "Nonetheless, it can be very useful because it allows us to see what the landscape looks like when we remove our usual filters."

At the same time I have my reservations with Hollinger. He will create a formula and take 3 whole paragraphs to say that Keith Bogans is a bad shooter. Finally the human element can't be easily forgotten. The Celtics are ranked 21st despite losing 12 of their last 14. I realize there have been a lot of road games in that swing and the scores have generally been close (2 aspects the rankings take into account). However, the C's as they are currently constituted are terrible. Teams coast after building leads against them and lay the smack down at the end.

Ultimately I believe that Hollinger is necessary. At the same time I would never want to run a franchise entirely based on the tenets of John Hollinger. But that's just me.

I also resent him because he is much smarter than me.