It's all about the team for Grant Hill

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers last night and Grant Hill was arguably the best player on the court. But, if you missed the game and looked at his stats, that wouldn’t be so clear. Hill had 3 points, shooting 1-4 from the field, yet the team was +26 when he was on the court (the highest point differential out of all of his teammates). Hill had such a huge impact on the game because of his unselfish play, defensive intensity, and ability to make smart decisions. Right before halftime, the Blazers were trying to cut the Suns lead to a manageable ten point game. Jerryd Bayless drove to the basket and went up for a dunk that would have made the crowd erupt, but Hill was there to get a clean block (see YouTube video). Although this block did show up in the box score, the timing of the block is what mattered - Hill quieted the crowd and prevented the Blazers from gaining momentum going into the half. In addition, in the final few minutes of the game when the Suns were trying to pull away, Hill set a screen for Steve Nash that led to an easy dunk for Amar’e Stoudemire. For this play, Nash was credited with an assist, Stoudemire with 2 points, and Hill with nothing, yet the play originated with Hill’s screen. Because there is currently no measurement for the timing of a play or for a screen that leads to an easy bucket, the box score can be misleading when assessing the value of a player. After the game, Hill was interviewed by the always creatively dressed Craig Sager and said: “I’m done worrying about my legacy.” Hill is committed to his team and is not concerned with his personal stats – his unselfish play is what helped seal the victory for the Suns and move Hill into the second round of playoffs for the first time in his career.

Wesley Matthews

Undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft, Wesley Matthews is now starting shooting guard of the Utah Jazz, playing alongside Deron Williams. There were several drafted guards in 2009 that most people have probably not heard of such as Sergiy Gladyr (49^th pick) and Robert Vaden (54^th pick). These players played zero minutes this season. How could 30 teams have passed up Matthews?

Matthews has a high basketball IQ, sets hard back screens, dives for loose balls and looks to create easy buckets for his teammates. This is a guy who does the little things to make his teammates better. It’s pretty incredible that an undrafted player is now starting for a western conference playoff team one game away from defeating the Denver Nuggets, and is averaging 37 minutes in the first five games of the series. While we didn't hear his name called in the draft, Wesley Matthews is a name that we will likely become familiar with over the next few years.

Shane Battier

If you haven't read Michael Lewis' brilliant piece The No-Stats All-Star, you should check it out. Lewis discusses Battier's "invisible strengths" that improve the performance of his teammates while weakening the performance of the opposition. A player's value is not solely in the box score - he can impact the game by causing turnovers, spurring team rebounds, blocking shots while keeping the ball in play, or causing the defense to spread the floor.

Daryl Morey, the Rockets GM, has rethought the game of basketball, using data to understand a player's value outside of the obvious statistics such as points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Rockets forward Shane Battier is a prime example of a player that is never mentioned in the all-star crowd, but has had a tremendous impact on the game. As of the 2009 season, Battier was plus 6 on the court which put him in the company of Vince Carter and Carmelo Anthony. GM's should follow Morey's philosophy when compiling a roster because the value of a team that is strategically put together is far larger than sum of its individual parts.