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Here Come The Playoffs, Who's Ready For That?

Goodbye To USAir Arena

Last night was the final Bullets game I probably ever see at USAir Arena (unless they miraculously make the second round of the playoffs). See, I've got this vacation scheduled to start tomorrow, so I don't get any more chances to walk on the hallowed floors of USAir Arena.

Thank goodness. Parking, while it's improved in the past couple of years, is still a nightmare when the place sells out. It's still too far to go to from Northern Virginia. There's no where nearby to celebrate afterward. The seats are too small and uncomfortable for someone who's 6'6" (197 cm). The sound system sucks.

Luckily, we get a new arena next year: MCI Center. And I've got seats for about half-a-year next year, about 10 rows up from the court at one of the free throw lines. Pretty good, no?

So, you'll continue to get live coverage of the Bullets next year. All of the ranting and raving that I have done to date will not die. But, some of the games will be watched on the TV, too.

As for the playoffs? Well, don't expect any updates on this site for about 10 days. I'll have to reconstruct the events after the fact, when I return from recharging my personal batteries. I should enjoy myself. I hope you enjoy watching the Bullets in the playoffs (assuming they don't choke down the stretch).

Knock on wood. We'll summarize things before the end of the month.

What Are The Bullets Chances?

I see the Bullets in the playoffs. They're playing too well right now to let this one slip away.

As for their matchup with the Bulls in the first round, I'd like to say they will win the series, but I'd be a liar. They won't. I don't think the refs would allow it, for starters. However, I see the Bullets taking at least one game from the Bulls. They pose so many matchup problems that the Bulls are going to get beat up on pretty bad. Depending on how evenly the refs call the games (the Bulls will always get the benefit of calls), that's how the series will go.

The Bullets won't back down, they won't be intimidated. But the Bulls win the series, 3-1. (Sorry.) Then it's time for us to discuss the off-season.

Gotta Find Me Some Statistics

I recently found out about a new online site for basketball statistics: FOI Basketball. And they deserve to be commended for what they provide. Historical league stats for most of the 90s, plus stats for seemingly every NBA player for quite a while back. I haven't truly tested the depth of their coverage yet, but it's a good start if they have all of the vitals on Wes Unseld (which they do).

Definitely take the time to check out their take on Washington Bullets stats. You can twist the stats from this season in so many different ways, it's scary. Great stuff for the stat junkie. I eat this stuff up.

However, the one thing I think it lacks is a way to list all of the contributions for all players ever on the team in a year together, in a raw format. For that, I'd prefer the Washington Bullets stats from Doug's NBA Stats page. Doug also gives stats for the last 10 games for a team (and each individual player).

I've used Doug's stats for quite a while, but FOI's approach is new and appealing. I think I'll use both when I'm looking for stats information. I hope you find them useful, too.

Statistics Postscript

Have you always been confused when presented with lots of statistics and not understood the difference between a mean and median, or what a variance was? Well, then, this is the site for you: Statistics Every Writer Should Know. It explains simply what your high school math teacher never got you to understand - the basic statistical phrases to determine whether the numbers you are reading mean something or not.

The Online Experience, Continued

There was one piece that I forgot to include on my comments about the online experience. It has to do with the fancy gimmicks that people can include on their sites, including animated GIFs, Shockwave files, massive and/or lots of pictures, background MIDI files, etc.

Stop it.

Yeah, it's cute for a while. But all too often, it clutters up the experience. And, in many instances, a lot of people can't take advantage of your "advanced design." I ran into that in my earlier iterations of this site, getting questions from people who were confused about what I was presenting.

Bandwidth-intensive sites are a pain, says Brooke Shelby Biggs. And, IMO, he's right. That's why I'm backing away from the fancy stuff that will tax your modem line and just give you the facts, sir or ma'am. This says it well, and succinctly, too. 'Nuff said.

wtf 18 April 1997

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