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It's fitting that the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is today because I know that a number of you in the community have expressed a genuine interest to know more about statistical analysis. Which is great because the more educated you can be as a fan, the better.

We at Orlando Pinstriped Post pride ourselves in referring to advanced statistics to try to find out what Brandon Bass' return to the rotation means to the Orlando Magic, why Dwight Howard deserves to be in the discussion for the Most Valuable Player Award, and more. If you browse the archives, you'll find a plethora of examples where Ben and I use data in whatever subject we're covering in our posts. But we also know that sometimes you, the reader, don't know what adjusted plus/minus is or whatever else. 

In the next few days, I'll create a glossary with a compilation of links that will provide you an explanation of the metrics you want to know more about. Not sure what True Shooting Percentage is? Click here and bookmark the link, for example. There will be more links like that which will, most likely, answer the questions you have.

So, what do you want to know? 

I'll do my best to make sure I have a link to a resource ready for you when the time comes. 

Fernando Medina - NBAE via Getty Images

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If it's late February in the NBA, it's veteran buyout season. Players not waived by March 1st are ineligible to play in the postseason, so veterans on non-contenders quite often offer to pay for their freedom so they can sign with a championship-caliber team. P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Stephon Marbury, Mikki Moore, and Joe Smith are among the higher-profile players to switch teams in this way in the last 2 seasons.

The Orlando Magic don't appear to need to add another player so far this year. Coach Stan Van Gundy has established a consistent ten-man rotation and the team is arguably the deepest in the league. Yet one potential buyout candidate might catch their eye for what he can bring to the team in the locker room and on the practice floor.

I'm referring to, of course, power forward Tony Battie. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports and Art Garcia of NBA.com report that he's among the most likely players to gain his release before Monday's deadline, and he has strong ties to the Magic. Battie spent the five seasons prior to this one in Orlando, appearing in 306 games, the 14th-highest total in Magic history. The Magic initially acquired him from the Cavaliers in July 2004, wanting a veteran to mentor Dwight Howard, then a rookie, in his transition from high school to the NBA. Howard and Battie became close friends, and when Orlando dealt Battie to the New Jersey Nets as part of the Vince Carter trade, Howard expressed some sadness:

Tony was like my older brother here in Orlando. He’s been here five years, the same as me. He’s always been in my ear, giving me advice on how to handle things. He was always in my corner, no matter what happened. I’m going to miss him.

The Magic have signed players for their off-court presence before, most recently Adonal Foyle, who re-joined them last year after Orlando sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the three-team deal which netted it Rafer Alston. Though Orlando is in the luxury tax, signing Battie to a pro-rated minimum deal would not cost it too much money, and it would have a positive effect on the locker room.

Should the Magic consider adding Battie if he's available? About whom else should they inquire?

More photos » Mark J. Terrill - AP

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With the Orlando Magic's NBA Finals rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers looming tomorrow night, as well as games against the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and Charlotte Bobcats taking place during the week, I wanted to ask the community a simple question.

The game against the Lakers will officially mark the half-way point in the regular season and at this juncture, the team - whether it's the coaches or the players - is in the business of looking for solutions to problems it's been dealing with these past few weeks.

What do you want to see from the Magic in the next six days or so?

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

Orlando Pinstriped Post Photo / Bruce Maddox

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Today, EA Sports announced that it will be developing NBA Jam - a game that's an oldie but a goodie - for the Nintendo Wii. For old school gamers, this announcement should be exciting news. 

To help promote the iconic franchise, NBA Jam's official website allows fans the opportunity to vote for the players (three for each team in the NBA) they want to see in the game. 

So, for fun (and before the official poll is up), I wanted to see which individuals the community would select for the Orlando Magic.

Would it be Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson?

Feel free to chime in with your choices. 

Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

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A few days ago, I commented that an eventful year was coming to a close for the Orlando Magic and I asked the community what its favorite memory was from 2009. As I've stated in the past, there's no wrong answer.

Now, I want to know what everyone is looking forward to in 2010 from the team.

Is it the opening of the Amway Center? Their first trip to the playoffs with Vince Carter leading the way? Their two regular-season NBA Finals rematches with the Los Angeles Lakers, with the possibility of meeting them again in June? The rap album Ryan Anderson and J.J. Redick plan to put out? The remote odds of landing the likes of Dwyane Wade or Carlos Boozer when they enter free agency? Lots of possibilities, so there isn't a poll attached to his post. It's completely open-ended. Let's hear it in the comments.

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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With an eventful year coming to a close for the Orlando Magic, I wanted to ask the community what its favorite memory was. 2009 was filled with plenty of moments that Magic fans will never forget.

Here's a few notable ones:

• The Magic setting an NBA record by making 23 threes during a game against the Sacramento Kings in the 2008-2009 season. 
• Orlando sending a franchise-most three players (Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson) to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
• Howard setting an All-Star voting record by becoming the first NBA player - ever - to receive 3 million votes from fans (the exact number was 3,150,181 votes).
• Howard being named the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. The first time in team history a Magic player has won the award.
• The Magic becoming the first squad to overcome a 3-2 series deficit against the Boston Celtics in a best-of-seven series. The C's were previously 32-0 when it held a 3-2 lead.
• Orlando winning the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference championship and advancing to the 2009 NBA Finals for the first time since 1995.
• Howard setting a Finals-record with 9 blocks in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as surpassing Shaquille O'Neal to become the franchise leader in blocks during a game against the Detroit Pistons in the 2009-2010 season.

So, again, which memory was your favorite?

More photos » Reinhold Matay - AP

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Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard's frustration about other teams' constantly hammering him under the basket reached a boiling point in last night's win over the Indiana Pacers. Late in the third quarter, Howard got free underneath on the break. Before he could go up for a dunk, Pacers forward Troy Murphy came up from behind Howard and brought both his arms down hard around his neck and shoulders, preventing Howard from getting a shot off. Howard tried to push Murphy in retaliation as he attempted to untangle himself, which earned him a technical foul; Pacers coach Jim O'Brien unsuccessfully argued that Howard threw a punch and should have been ejected. Head official Ken Mauer ensured the Pacers would not get a free throw out of the bargain by escalating the call to a double-technical on both players, rather than just a technical on Howard.

This skirmish has set off a debate about the ethics of hard fouls, about which you can read on OrlandoMagic.com, the Orlando Sentinel, and NBA FanHouse. One side holds that Howard gets hammered far too often, and in unseemly ways; the other believes that Howard does his own fair share of bullying, and that fouling Howard hard is the only way to prevent him from scoring in certain situations. Murphy's hack indeed prevented Howard from getting a shot up, and was far more effective in stopping a score than, say Solomon Jones' weak attempt at the 3:26 mark of the second quarter, when he needlessly slapped Howard on the arm after he had dunked.

Where do you stand on this issue? Is it fair for NBA teams to base an entire strategy on "fouling the hell out of Dwight Howard," as O'Brien described it after the game? At which point does this strategy cross the line? What can the NBA do to address the problem, if anything?

For the record, we'll note that fouling Howard appears to be paying off so far. He's connected on 58.4% of his foul shots this season, the worst mark of his 6-year career. Basketball purists might suggest that Howard improve that figure in order to discourage intentional fouls, rather than complaining about the rough treatment he receives.

UPDATE: Justice appears to have prevailed in this case--depending on your allegiances--as the NBA rescinded Howard's technical foul and upgraded Murphy's technical foul to a flagrant-1.

Last night, Eddy Rivera covered the Orlando Magic's game against the New York Knicks for us. The word "cover" doesn't really do it justice; I mean, he was all over that game, mostly because he loves doing it, but partly because it was his last chance to cover a game or practice live for a while. Going out with a bang, as the saying goes.

And bang he did. A ton of quotes from six players after the game, a recap, coach Stan Van Gundy's pre-game media session, and a report from the previous day's practice. That practice also afforded him the opportunity to chat with J.J. Redick for a while, which produced an interview worthy of publication in any legitimate hoops media outlet you care to name.

This is what Eddy does, because he wants to make a living of it. The reason he's leaving Orlando is so he can get his graduate degree in journalism from Northwestern. He has to leave now, a few weeks before the term starts, to get settled. In his last few months of relative freedom, he wrote countless stories and comments; conducted several interviews; made some nifty graphics (like this one) in Photoshop; and pored over scads of data; all for free, while scheduling his late-night, part-time job around the Magic's calendar. And while having to pay $10 a night to park his car at the games he covered. Totally and utterly selfless, and all so we might better appreciate Marcin Gortat's production relative to his contract, or understand how Magic history might have been different if Grant Hill's left ankle weren't made of duct tape and balsa sticks.

In the practice report linked above, Eddy mentioned that he would in fact be taking a lesser role with the site as he moves forward with his post-graduate education. He received an outpouring of thanks from the community, so perhaps this post is redundant. I just wanted to reiterate that Eddy's absolutely killed it for us since last December, for no money at all. This site could not have grown as it has over the last year (traffic is up more than 500% since last November) without his help, and I wish him the best as he moves on.