Originally posted by Leathaface:
And I'm saying +/- is a completely worthless stat without context. If the Heat are -20 with LBJ in G1 but then win G2 G3 G4 where they're +1 with him in each of these games, they're still -17 when he's on the court overall.
+/- is might be useful when assessing specific lineups in specific situations, not individual players over the course of a series. There are way too many other factors to consider.
Someone posted this earlier:
For the series, the Heat have scored 131.7 points per 100 possessions when James is on the floor without Wade, and just 100.8 when the two have shared the floor, per NBA.com. The Heat are minus-12 for the series, but the James–Mike Miller–Ray Allen super-shooting trio is a crazy plus-50 in just 68 minutes, per NBA.com. The James-Miller-Chalmers trio is plus-43 in just 80 minutes, and the combination of those four players is a stunning plus-49 in just 29 total minutes together, per NBA.com.
And that's why I separated it out into individual games rather than having something like his -32 in Game 3 skewing the numbers. Miami's been outscored with LeBron on the floor in 4 of the 6 games in this series, completely independent of anything that happened in another game. I'm not sure how else I can say it. My point never involved a cumulative +/-, so I'm not sure why you're debating the bolded point.
Not sure what the point of the qualifiers are. Is it Wade that is putting a hex on him, as you might say? Or is it that LeBron is a lot more effective when he's surrounded by spot up shooters and drive & dish bigs? (it's that one) LeBron's the best player in the world and completely capable of dominating in the playoffs, but he needs guys with specific skill sets around him to do that. Miami's front office has made a concerted effort to get exactly these kinds of guys, because they know this too. Mike Miller = spot up shooter. Ray Allen = spot up shooter. Rashard Lewis = spot up shooter. Shane Battier = spot up shooter. Chris Andersen = drive & dish big. It's not a coincidence.