How does Hollinger still have a job?

[LakersFan_33]

I'm not one to put much stock into Power Rankings, especially anything from Hollinger, but the guy is just flat out wrong, and his PER system is irrelevant. He's been wrong so many times that you just have to wonder. I obviously have my own "dog" in this fight, but I think he ranks the Celtics 5. I believe that he picked the Cavaliers to win it the last two years. I guess ESPN is different, but from most other lines of work in this world...When you demonstrate that you are clearly and consistently incompetent, you lose your job.

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings

[Fafnir]

His system looks at scoring differential not wins and losses. The Heat have beaten up the bad teams they've played by a large margin.

[Chris]

He has a job because people (like you apparently) get riled up about his articles, and post them, in order to complain about them, so they continue to get a ton of hits.  While the stats he throws out there, and the conclusions from them are highly questionable, his articles never fail to elicit discussion...which is what they want from a journalist.

[LakersFan_33]

He has a job because people (like you apparently) get riled up about his articles, and post them, in order to complain about them, so they continue to get a ton of hits.  While the stats he throws out there, and the conclusions from them are highly questionable, his articles never fail to elicit discussion...which is what they want from a journalist.

To some extent, I will agree with you, BUT when you clearly and consistently show incompetence and a flawed system, you lose credibility with many fans, as well as credibility with most of the media. Once people like myself see what he's all about and his consistently flawed rankings, we stop taking him seriously and stop reading his articles.

[Fafnir]

He has a job because people (like you apparently) get riled up about his articles, and post them, in order to complain about them, so they continue to get a ton of hits.  While the stats he throws out there, and the conclusions from them are highly questionable, his articles never fail to elicit discussion...which is what they want from a journalist.

To some extent, I will agree with you, BUT when you clearly and consistently show incompetence and a flawed system, you lose credibility with many fans, as well as credibility with most of the media. Once people like myself see what he's all about and his consistently flawed rankings, we stop taking him seriously and stop reading his articles.

I don't see how he's clearly incompetant. You might not like PER or his power rankings but if you read his articles/chats he knows basketball.

There are many many worse basketball writers out there.

[Spilling Green Dye]

Does Henry Abbott still have a job with ESPN after he predicted the Cavs would SWEEP the Celtics?  I think he then wised up and conservatively picked the Magic to beat the Celtics in 4 or 5 games.  Everything I've read from that guy is a joke.

As far as hollinger goes, I don't mind his stats or interpretation of them, but I think he's completely off base when he picks & chooses to use his stats based upon what he's seeing.

[fairweatherfan]

Hahaha, I was waiting for this, I figured Miami'd still be #1 after last night's loss.  You mean to say that blind, purely data-driven instruments may come up with results that differ significantly from subjective beliefs?  And these tendencies may be exaggerated with small sample sizes?  Charlatan!  Burn him!

If anything Hollinger should be chided for even releasing the rankings before teams have played at least 12-15 games.

[fairweatherfan]

His system looks at scoring differential not wins and losses. The Heat have beaten up the bad teams they've played by a large margin.

And Orlando.  Beating the #4 team by 26 goes a looong way under Hollinger's criteria with such a small sample.

[Chris]

If anything Hollinger should be chided for even releasing the rankings before teams have played at least 12-15 games.

I'm not sure thats really his decision.  If people have a problem with this, they should be talking to the editors at ESPN. 

[FallGuy]

Anyone who read Hollinger's team previews understands how well he knows basketball. You can think otherwise if you like, by willfully misunderstanding his power rankings system, and flipping out over where your favorite team is in week two.

The number of hyperbolic attacks on Hollinger around here borders on the ludicrous.

[guava_wrench]

Anyone who read Hollinger's team previews understands how well he knows basketball. You can think otherwise if you like, by willfully misunderstanding his power rankings system, and flipping out over where your favorite team is in week two.

The number of hyperbolic attacks on Hollinger around here borders on the ludicrous.

I agree.

Hollinger in no way even claims that his formulas are that wonderful. It is part of the entertainment of sports journalism. No power ranking formula can ever be perfect, just as our personal opinions are likewise flawed.

It is bizarre that people get bothered by a disinterested formula. I'm sure Hollinger himself often disagrees with his computed rankings.

[mgent]

His system looks at scoring differential not wins and losses. The Heat have beaten up the bad teams they've played by a large margin.

Does anyone else actually agree with this system?  In my opinion scoring differential doesn't mean too much in basketball.

[BballTim]

Anyone who read Hollinger's team previews understands how well he knows basketball. You can think otherwise if you like, by willfully misunderstanding his power rankings system, and flipping out over where your favorite team is in week two.

The number of hyperbolic attacks on Hollinger around here borders on the ludicrous.

  He's too married to his stats. sometimes his analysis is wrong for a glaringly obvious reason and he doesn't make the connection.

[Fafnir]

His system looks at scoring differential not wins and losses. The Heat have beaten up the bad teams they've played by a large margin.

Does anyone else actually agree with this system?  In my opinion scoring differential doesn't mean too much in basketball.

I do, because margin of victory is a better predictor of future results than simple won/loss records. This is pretty consistent accross a lot of sports actually.

Now the way SoS, recent games, HCA, etc... are all weighted is up for debate.

But when you want the best way tot determine a quality of a team scoring differential is one of the best tools.

[BballTim]

His system looks at scoring differential not wins and losses. The Heat have beaten up the bad teams they've played by a large margin.

Does anyone else actually agree with this system?  In my opinion scoring differential doesn't mean too much in basketball.

  I think in general scoring differential is more important than records in predictions, but obviously there are more factors involved.