So I am sitting here watching game 7 of the Lakers-Rockets series with the Lakers up by 20. The fact that the Rockets could take the Lakers to 7 games minus their best two players is just short of miraculous…until you consider a New York Times magazine article that appeared earlier this year. The article spotlights the Rockets and their cerebral swingman Shane Battier, who have invested in a sophisticated use of statistics and quantitative analysis to plot pre-game strategy and to defuse superstars such as Kobe Bryant. It’s worth reading.