Miami Heat: Why Stats And Numbers Without Context Are Never Enough

The Miami Heat aren’t a traditional team. That’s actually pretty ironic, because in all the best ways, they are exactly that.

While they are, very much so, non-traditional in the fact that they don’t prescribe to all of the current trends or fads of the game, they are traditional in that they do things their way. Often, that way is very similar or close enough, to the ways that the Miami Heat have always gotten it done.

That’s through hard work, determination, and skill. In any event, there has often been criticism of Pat Riley and company, because they have seemed to stick to their guns about how they operate. Though they aren’t ignorant to the new wave of building, operating, and winning in the NBA, they mix the old with the new in an elegant and effective way for them.

Basically, the Miami Heat are the living, breathing, and full-functioning embodiment of the core essence of this chat today. That “essence” is this.

Stats and/or numbers, without context, are just that… random numbers and stats. And without said context, they are never enough.

Miami Heat: Why Stats And Numbers Without Context Are Never Enough

Here is another recent example of such a phenomenon. It’s a comparison of two of the best big men that the league has ever seen, though one’s resume isn’t anywhere nearly as deep as the other.

According to this poll and its results, Nikola Jokic should be the preferred player and big man over Miami Heat champion and NBA Legend, Shaquille O’Neal. Really?

What more really needs to be said? Well, let’s try anyway.

Playing devil’s advocate, the stats might actually lean towards Jokic, but not by much. Where Jokic edges Shaq out on the offensive side of the ball, the defensive statistics, mostly, go in Shaq’s favor.

What you should be thinking about though is how each of these guys went or goes about getting it done and which eras they did it in. That’s important.

While Jokic is a very talented big man, he is no Shaq. The era with which Jokic plays in… is extraordinarily easy on a big man of his talent and caliber when compared to Shaq’s.

When you think about the fact that Jokic is among the biggest dudes in the league, among a group of only several with his size, ability, and role, while Shaq, the biggest dude himself, played with a ton of other guys who were equally as big.

Miami Heat: Stats And Numbers Say Take The Joker Over The Diesel…

Have you ever seen a game from the 1990’s? You know, that era where Shaq dominated?

Have you ever watched the NBA On TNT? That’s that super-popular pre-game NBA show that sees Shaq and another NBA legend, Charles Barkley, talk about the many times they literally threw hands or came close.

Have you ever heard of Anthony Mason? How about Charles Oakley?

It wasn’t uncommon and for a long time, especially up through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but probably up until the mid-2000s, for a guy to get punched in the mouth during a game. It just happened, as the physicality was real and the tempers would flare.

You also have that kind of physicality and aggression factors to consider. The league allowed you to be beat up more when The Diesel was doing it.

There is also this. With everything in the league being so concerned about spacing nowadays, Jokic always has a ton of it to operate, for the most part and with just him and another man on him.

Shaq constantly had to play in a condensed paint, with a ton of guys around him, and often being double or triple-teamed. The mere fact that the numbers are even close, comparable, or justifiable to ask this question, considering the different eras of the game they played in… answers the question.

In an era where it was, simply, just harder to be that dominant as a big man, Shaq still set the bar that Jokic is shooting for. He did the things that Jokic is doing today in a different and easier league to play in, though delivered a bit differently.

They say that men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t… well, that’s until they do. This though, is also a reason and key evidence as to why when it comes to stats and numbers, them without context is never enough.