Houston, We Have a Kick-Ass Starting Lineup

82games.com's stats looking not at "five man units" instead of teams make for interesting reading. In particular, it seems like a good method of getting at the playoff odds of a team like Houston that's had injury problems but seems healthy these days. And, indeed, the exercise suggests that Alston / McGrady / Battier / Hayes / Yao is an incredibly effective lineup, one that simply hasn't played that many minutes over the course of the season because of injuries. I really, really wouldn't count Houston out as a strong chance for a second-round upset.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2007/04/houston-we-have-a-kick-ass-starting-lineup/42061/