Pro Basketball Prospectus: 2003 EDITION [Paperback]

This is an amazing work. As a long-time reader of Bill James and the "Baseball Prospectus" staff, I had my doubts as to whether a similar statistical approach would work when applied to basketball. John Hollinger, though, allays those fears.

Hollinger has developed several statistics that illuminate the game, including Player Efficiency Rating (PER), which is a stat taking into account most of the ways a player can influence the game. PER seems to me to be on par with OPS or TPR (similar baseball stats) in assessing player performance. This is truly groundbreaking work.

Moreover, Hollinger shares with Bill James an ability to write. His essays on each team are informative, entertaining, and on-the-money, as are his player comments. I would recommend this book equally to an NBA fan and to the "Baseball Abstract"/"Baseball Prospectus" fan willing to cross over (dribble) to the NBA.

After pouring over Pro Basketball Prospectus last winter, this volume has become as popular on my bookshelf as any in my sports library. The content focuses on both team & player critical analysis and lively dissection of the "why's" or "why-nots" of a player's or team's success in the NBA. It's much more than a mere statistical overview howevere; rather the content explores and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses and overall outlook of the forthcoming NBA season vis-a-vis its 29 team rosters. Fans wil enjoy the individual player profiles and analysis, somewhat reminiscent of the old Dave Heeren basketball season annuals -- but more in-depth here in PBP, 2003-2004. Moreover, while the book remains on the short side(barely popping over 300 pages) for most can't-get-enough NBA fans, PBP is nonetheless a book full of fascinating overall information. Its content also features evocative insights on players and teams in strong sports prose. The spareness of each volume of this annual perhaps is what keeps many readers flocking back; that and what Hollinger has to say and analyze about each new NBA season. But for one to hector over such a trivial aspect of the book is not fair. In a word, PBP(last year's version anyway) is a much better choice for NBA Lovers than scanning any online database's impalpable access. A tangible reference such as this by your side feels like a comforting friend with inside-out knowledge & expertise on the NBA. Highly didactic in tone from an NBA guru, but well worth The Learn!