SAMPLE SIZE!

Graphic courtesy of http://epiville.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/

So, the graph is a bit misleading–this post isn’t about power functions or estimated effect sizes.  Just some lighthearted fun below the fold after last night’s depressing effort.

I love this link because it intuitively shows (1) how useless small samples are and (2) how fascinating correlation can be.

Hmm. With the exception of a few outliers (cough, Jonny Flynn, cough, and…GORDAN GIRICEK!), maybe scoring 18 or more in your rookie debut isn’t a terrible predictor of a decent-or-better NBA career.

Seriously, the motivation for this post is to highlight one of several cool new features on Basketball-Reference: the Player Game Finder, which helps you quickly get stats on just about any situation.

Meanwhile, big props to BBR for continuing to improve an already incredibly-useful site. Check out their blog for updates on all the latest innovations.