Sabin Productivity Rankings, Part 1

Sabin Productivity Metric, Part I

This post is a 4-part series to discuss the winners of the infamous and controversial Sabin Productivity Metric. Its origin begins in my middle school basketball coach, James Hall, who very simply awarded one point for every positive thing that you did in a game and subtracted one point for every negative thing that you did. The idea is to score as high a positive number as kpossible to reflect value to the team and to the game. A good way to think about it is that if you shoot 50% from the field and do not turn the ball over, you will always score a positive number, or said a better way, never score a negative number.

Over the years, I have revised his model by incorporating additional scoring for 3-pointers and eliminating fouls as a negative score. My hope is that this newer model reflects authentic value based on today’s way of playing basketball. Here is the formula:

SPM = (FG made + 3 balls made + FT made + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks) – (FG missed + FT missed + turnovers)

As an example, players like Abe and BC usually score out well in the SPM because they shoot a solid percentage, make 3 balls, and contribute in just about every category. On the flip side of that, players who do not score well in the SPM typically have low shooting percentages and/or do not make significant contributions in other categories.

Without further delay, here is Group 4 in the SPM, or as I like to call them…”Guys who think the SPM is stupid.”

14) Wesley Murray: 25 points

It’s unfair to start with Wes given that he was injured in Game 3 and was unable to complete the tournament. By any account, Wes was playing good minutes and was both productive and efficient in his time. For the tournament, he shot 80% from the field and 67% from 3, knocking down his only trip to the free throw line. He also led the tournament in EFG at 100% and an ungodly 2.2 points per shot. Big shout out to Wes for his continued positivity throughout games 4-6 as he encouraged his teammates and was a positive force for us. His stock went way up for me and I know that his SPM would’ve been much higher if his weekend had not been cut short. Great job Wes!

13) Rainbow: 58 points

Newcomer Rainbow had some nice moments in his first PCTI. But like all of us, he experienced some of the low moments as well. Day 3 was particularly difficult on Godon as he shot 20% from the field. This brought his overall shooting percentage for the weekend to 32%. However, he shot the hell out of the 3 ball at 44% on 8-18, and even went a smooth 3-3 from deep in Game 2. He hit the boards on day 3 and snagged 9 boards total in games 5 & 6, and also had a salty A/T ratio at 2.0. Also had a great tournament for steals and was one of PCTI’s leaders with 8. A nice entry to his PCTI career and I am betting that his SPM next year will be significantly higher.

12) Mike Beasley: 61 points

I’m a huge fan of this guy. Along with Donley, this is one of the guys you think about when you talk about making max effort plays. Also one of PCTI’s best athletes. But like many of us have experienced, there are some PCTI’s when your shot doesn’t make the trip with you. Beas had shooting splits of 26% (FG), 26% (3s), and 55% (FT), well below his standards. Yet, he still pumped in 25 boards, 19 assists, and 6 steals, rivaling his teammate DK for best floor game on The Brats. Also led his team in A/T ratio at 2.4. Best games were games 1 and 6, where he went 12-7-5 in game 1 and 11-5-6 in the series clincher. Even though the shot wasn’t there, most of his teammates had positive reviews for Biz for the weekend. It’s amazing to think that his SPM was this high given the shooting numbers. Like Rainbow, I’d be really surprised if this number isn’t higher in 8.

Sabin