I saw that too. I think its kinda helpful in some scenarios but stat geeks like Hollinger think its the be all and end all of things. I mean, any stat that has Shane Battier as the 42nd ranked Small Forward in the NBA is very inherently flawed. Also someone like James Posey on the C's, you cant measure his impact stat-wise. He is just a damn good ball player that makes big plays(Did I sound enough like John Madden there?)

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Well that and this same geeky stat was the same one considered "innovative" and "groundbreaking" in 2001 when it said Allen Iverson was the 91st best player in the league, his MVP season. Yeah, Im sure a bunch of GM's could easily rattle off 90 players they would rather have than him that season.

But any stat that proves the greatness of Chris Paul is just alright with me. Did you know he's now better than Isiah and closing in on Magic?

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yeah some of the things I've heard from Hollinger are hilarious. I mean, I might have been bordering on hyperbole during the season, and I respect the "You need to do it for more than a year" philosophy, but I did think it was clear by January who the best PG in the game was. I just think its very ridiculous to start saying he's now better than Isiah. Whoa that thing! He has the next decade to prove if thats the case. It's just another unfortunate example of how ADD-laden our society has become. We NEED to herald every new big thing as "the greatest ever". I can sometimes fall into this trap but I conciously try to avoid it. It's really rampid at ESPN, almost to an insane degree.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

What goes into figuring the PER?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

PER is the player's per minute productivity. It's both a per minute formula and pace adjusted. Hollinger sets the league average to 15.00 each year.

The only people it truly helps are stat geeks and simulation players. I use them for my sim league to draft.