“Empty Tanks: The Hidden Cost of Star Absences on NBA Team Performance Revealed!”
To quantify when a team/opponent is starless, we looked at games in which at least two of their three top players (based on our DRIP metric) did not play. This isn’t a perfect method – for instance, the 2014-15 Miami Heat’s three best players according to DRIP were Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and… Josh McRoberts – but it’s the most objective way to do it.
We also made sure to account for any midseason trades that took place in these seasons. So for the first part of the season, the 2024-25 Los Angeles Lakers’ three best players were Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, and now, those players are Luka Doncic, James and Reaves.
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