Pro Basketball Forecast: 2004-05 Edition (Pro Basketball Prospectus) (Paperback)

~ John Hollinger (Author)
Key Phrases: most similar players, midlevel exception, points per shot attempt, San Antonio, Usage Rate, Assist Ratio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Long stuck in the rut of points, assists, rebounds, and blocked shots, basketball stats are growing up, evolving just as baseball stats did twenty years ago. John Hollinger and the PRO BASKETBALL FORECAST team open a wide window of statistical analysis into pro hoops, with unique and useful discussions, scrutiny of all aspects of the game, and a breakdown of every player that saw time or hit the draft board.

Last year Hollinger evaluated the best clutch playoff performers, rebutted the NBA's official defensive rankings with an improved model that takes into account the pace at which each team plays, and predicted which players had a career year that was likely to be just a fluke. He also brought to basketball an extremely useful system that compares seasons of players ages twenty-four and younger to historical statistics in order to determine a "similarity score," allowing you to predict a player's continued development or, in some cases, lack thereof.

This year Hollinger brings back all that and more, with an in-depth look at rookies and how they're best utilized, plus the continued evolution of some of the best statistical analyses you'll find in a preseason forecast. For the true hoops fan, PRO BASKETBALL FORECAST is a lesson like no other and the only book you'll need for the upcoming season.

About the Author

John Hollinger authored the 2004-05 Pro Basketball Forecast and the 2002-03 and 2003-04 editions of the Pro Basketball Prospectus, with his work garnering rave reviews from publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Toronto Star, and Salon.com. Hollinger writes for ESPN.com as one of its NBA Insiders, and also inks regular basketball columns for the New York Sun. Since 1996, he's spearheaded a more analytical approach to pro basketball from his Web site, Alleyoop.com. Hollinger lives in Atlanta.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574886568
• ISBN-13: 978-1574886566
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #617,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Review for Pro Basketball Prospectus 2004-5 Edition, July 13, 2009

By	Stephen Skillman "Stephen Skillman" (Painesville, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read a lot of this book and gained a lot of knowledge into how some of the statistical analysis is formulated by John Hollinger. Basketball is my passion, and I love statistics, so this book combined everything I wanted. I have ran basketball leagues before and I wanted to have a better way of rating players with the stats that we kept rather than just the basic ppg, rpg, etc. Sometimes the person who scores the most isn't really the best player in the league (or even the game) statistically. And John Hollinger shows how he came up with his formulas. I really appreciate the depth he goes into on each player in the NBA as well. I wish there was an updated Summer 2009 version out or coming out. This book is something I would probably buy yearly if it kept being published. I would like to see how it predicts some of today's best players and some of the rookies even coming in.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Concept in Predicting the Pros, October 26, 2004

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a detailed analysis of virtually every player (I can't think of any he missed, but there could have been one or two). Each team has a couple of pages describing where they are, what happened last year and what it expected next year.

Then it gets really interesting. Mr. Hollinger has developed a fairly sophisticated set of statistical standards that he then applies to each player on the team. This includes such things as analyzing the per-minute of play performance rather than the game performance. This says that a player getting ten points in ten minutes is better than a player getting 30 points a game (The results are something the NBA management should check out). Other statistics are likewise specially developed for this book. It makes you wonder if even the teams know this much about their players.

John Hollinger never played in the NBA, he never coached, he just has spearheaded this new more analytical approach to pro basketball.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for NBA Fantasy Fans, November 18, 2004

By	N. Bilmes "bookaholic" (Vernon, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a great resource for anyone involved in playing fantasy basketball. It provides insightful commentary along with per game statistics that let you know how even the most little-used bench warmer would perform if given a starting job in the NBA. Last year's book predicted great things for Zach Randolph and Michael Redd, and this year's book is packed with great articles and helpful info.

I wish I'd known about this book two years ago!