Sim Bit #3 and #3.1

A Sim-Bits double header!

p. 331 - "I'd rather have the [Dennis] Rodman from '87 to '91…and '96 to '98."

Ummm, by that logic, I'd rather have the 68-74 Ford Mustang and the 94-98. I mean, if your argument is that you'd rather have "A" Dennis Rodman, shouldn't you narrow it down more than this? Shit, my favorite team was when Tim Duncan played for the Spurs.

Plus, in the parenthetical to the "96-98 Rodman", Simmons claims: "…[Rodman] played Karl Malone so effectively in back-to-back Finals." Okay, let's check:

Malone, 1997 regular season: 37 MPG, 27 PPG, 10 RPG, FG 55%/FT 76%, 28.9 PER, .268 WS/48
Malone, 1997 playoffs:           41 MPG, 26 PPG, 11 RPG, FG 44%/FT 72%, 22.2 PER, .127 WS/48
Malone, 1997 Finals:              41 MPG, 24 PPG, 10 RPG, FG 44%/FT 60%

I guess it was Rodman's effective free throw defense that kept Malone's points down, because Malone's shooting percentage was the same in the Finals as it was during the rest of the playoffs. Maybe 1998 is what Simmons was thinking of:

Malone, 1998 regular season: 37 MPG, 27 PPG, 10 RPG, FG 53%/FT 76%, 27.9 PER, .259 WS/48
 Malone, 1998 playoffs:           40 MPG, 26 PPG, 11 RPG, FG 47%/FT 79%, 24.2 PER, .184 WS/48
 Malone, 1998 Finals:              41 MPG, 25 PPG, 11 RPG, FG 50%/FT 79%

There is no evidence here to suggest that Dennis Rodman defended Karl Malone any more effectively than anyone else.

and now...

How long did Reggie Miller play basketball? Well, Miller was drafted in 1987 and didn't sit out or retire at any point during his career, which ended after the 2004-05 season. So…let's work this out on paper:

01. 1987-88
02. 1988-89
03. 1989-90
04. 1990-91
05. 1991-92
06. 1992-93
07. 1993-94
08. 1994-95
09. 1995-96
10. 1996-97
11. 1997-98
12. 1998-99
13. 1999-2000
14. 2000-01
15. 2001-02
16. 2002-03
17. 2003-04
18. 2004-05

By my count, Reggie Miller played eighteen seasons. (If you disagree, I refer you to the list above and invite you to point out where I went wrong) How many seasons did Reggie Miller play, according to Bill Simmons?

Sadly, it depends on which page of the book you read.

p. 343 - "[Pyramid number] 63. Reggie Miller…Resume: 15 years" 
p. 344 - "Reggie [Miller] played for sixteen seasons (1988-2005)…" (emphasis mine in both cases)

One figure is a typo, unless the other one is. Neither one are right.