The Power of Intangibles, aka Shane Batier

Michael Lewis published an article in the New York Times (February 13th, 2009) in which he wrote extensively (8 web pages) about the new trend in basketball statistical analysis: the power of intangibles. The article is focused on Shane Batier, the player who personifies the intangibles in basketball: his stats don’t show up on the box score, but he makes his team better and the opponent worse, often much worse…

Every story has a counter story. In his article Lies, Damned Lies, and Obama, an unnamed author analyzes the text, breaks it down to pieces, and concludes that it makes no sense at all. Whether you agree or not, this piece is well-written and worth your attention.