Basketball Statistics Blog

Basketball Statistician's Digest: Team Possessions Responsibly Percentage

How to calculate the Individual % Team Possessions ( % team possessions responsibly for when a player is on floor ) from box scores or from play by play info ?

First of all we must calculate the possessions: making a search for "possessions" in this eBA Blogs and reading the "Possessions Analysis" exposition at eBA Clinics for the individual possession formula, we can find that a typical formula to calculate the basketball possessions is:

Possessions=FGA Field Goals Attempted - OR Field Goals Attempted +TO Field Goals Attempted +0.4* Free Throws Attempted
(the eBA System applies the factor UP-TO-THE-LINE instead of the .44 FTA factor)

Photograph: Miguel Volcan Sánchez' Basketball

Now we can make an estimation of the % team possessions responsibly for when a player is on floor from their minutes and the team rate of possessions.

% = individual possessions / team possessions / individual minutes * team minutes / 5

As in every statistical calculation with the 'time played' element included, you'll have problems for low minute players.

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July Cover ~ Basketball Beautiful Faces:
From the NBA Atlanta Hawks Dance Team !

Photograph: Every Joe

Our Basketball Beautiful Faces of July 2009 Cover

... Atlanta Hawks dance team member acts as a silent cheerleader ...

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Books Review: June 2009 eBA Best Seller

Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey
By Roland Lazenby

Complex as he is colorful, Phil Jackson has led an improbable basketball life, marching to the tune of his own iconoclastic drummer and managing to win at every level along the way.

He doesn't think like an average jock, nor does he approach his game like one: just ask Michael Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal, who've played better for him than for anyone else.
Roland Lazenby couldn't have come up with a better title for his compelling exploration of what makes Jackson tick and how he evolved into one of the most successful and driven coaches in NBA history; for Jackson, the joy of his game is every bit as cerebral and psychological as it is physical.

His aim, he says, is to help his players "strengthen the muscle of their minds."

Of course, Jackson--part shaman, part shrink, part mentor, part guide--has found some fascinating ways to strengthen his own, including LSD, meditation, Zen, Native American culture, William James's Varieties of Religious Experience, and the Grateful Dead.

They are as much a part of Jackson's evolving core as pounding the offensive boards with the Knicks and warring with Bulls' management. If some of it seems contradictory, it is those very contradictions--more than the seven championship rings as a coach and two as a player--that make Jackson so interesting; they have helped him reshape and redefine the job.

"Somehow," writes Lazenby, "Jackson has managed the very difficult feat of blending fun and discipline and spiritual exploration for his teams, sort of like combining a trip to the dentist with a carnival ride."

No other coach has learned to walk that delicate balance so gracefully. But then, balance is Jackson's operating metaphor: keeping himself--and his teams--in balance while keeping opponents off theirs.

In Mindgames, Lazenby puts together a smart, solidly reported, and balanced portrait of a Zen master with a dark, driven side. He respects Jackson enough to not whitewash him.

To read the complete reviwe and to see the 3 videos
about this book and Phil Jackson, go to eBA Portal

 • Paperback: 450 pages
 • Publisher: Bison Books (April 1, 2007)
 • Language: English

  more info

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Basketball Players: Happy Birthday Joe Johnson !

Joe Marcus Johnson (born June 29, 1981) is an American professional basketball player, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and a former member of the U.S. national team. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

"... Johnson was offered scholarships from Duke, Connecticut, and other schools with excellent basketball reputations, but chose the Arkansas Razorbacks because it was his dream to play for them. ..."

"... After playing two seasons at the University of Arkansas, Johnson was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2001 NBA Draft. ..."

"... In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Joe Johnson required surgery due to a left orbital bone fracture after dunking a basketball. Because of the injury, Johnson wore a face mask for the rest of the playoffs. The Suns lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs, 4 games to 1. ..."

Photograph: Old School Nasty

"... In the summer of 2005, Johnson became a highly touted restricted free agent and expressed a desire to leave the Suns to assume a larger role on the Atlanta Hawks. On August 19, 2005, a deal was finalized and Johnson was involved in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hawks for Boris Diaw and two future first-round draft picks ..."

"... In 2008, Johnson made the 2008 All-Star Game as a reserve. He also was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month twice during the season.

Johnson averaged 21.7 points per game on the season, leading the Hawks to their first playoff appearance in 9 years. In Game 4 of the Hawks' first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, Johnson scored 35 points, including 20 in the 4th quarter, leading the Hawks to a 97-92 victory. The Hawks went on to lose the series four games
to three. ..."

"... He eclipsed the 10,000-point plateau for his career with his first basket during a 110-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on January 31, 2009, a bank shot assisted by Marvin Williams. ..."

Read Joe Johnson's full story and statistics in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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Basketball Statistician Sunday's Digest: Assists Statistical Registration

A pass is made and the player is then fouled in the act of shooting, and makes his free-throw. Does the passer get an assist ?

For our eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System, which the principal address of the work is the COACH, the answer is absolutely: YES !
But there are two systems on considering the assist or not:

...player provides an assist in a Photograph from Day Life.com

There are some stats-men that gives the passer an assist ONLY if the fouled player converts the first free throw, but cancels the assist if he misses it, no matter what happens with the other.

eBA System registers the assist if the fouled player converts both (or the three) throws or one of them. But in this case, in our rate - see the eBA Encyclopedia > Articles > Assists - we give the assist a qualification of one point for each free throw made.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
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2009 eBA Best Basketball Clip Candidate

' Coke Vs. Pepsi Basketball '

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  statistics  ~  JK.Wicky
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Basketball Statistician's Digest:
The Overtime Spike in NBA Basketball

From Cheep Talk By Jeff Ely
Download source here: ' The Overtime Spike in NBA Basketball '

"... There have been quite a few overtime games in the NBA playoffs this year. We have had one in the finals already and in an earlier series between the Bulls and Celtics, 4 out of 7 games went into overtime, with one game in double overtime and one game in triple overtime! ..."

"... But the scoring is not independent of course. Similar to a marathon, the amount of effort expended is different for the team currently in front versus the team trailing and this amount of effort also depends on the current point differential. But such strategy should have only a small effect on the probability of ties. ..."

"... Here is a frequency histogram of the difference in points between the home team and visiting team at the end of regulation play. These are data from all NBA games 1997-2009. A positive number means that the home team won, a zero means that the game was tied and therefore went into overtime. Notice the massive spike at zero. ..."

"... It shows the evolution of the point differential in the last 40 seconds of the fourth quarter. At the beginning, the distribution looks close to normal. This is what the crude hypothesis above would predict. Watch how the spike emerges in such a short period of time. ..."

"... By contrast, here is the same animation at the end of halftime. Nothing unusual ..."

Read more in Cheep Talk

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click above on the 'Español' tab or click here: 'La cuestión es, sobre todo, volver a formar un grupo unido'

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Basketball Statistician's Digest: About the Rebounding Rating

We'll have a look to some interesting commentaries and outcomes of our research about the Rebounding Rating:

 • after missed three points shots from the left or right corners the ball returns to those zones in a figure of the 75%;
 • after missed two points or three points shot from the middle returns to the same area in a figure of the 85%;
 • "in the paint" ( A3 ) shots result in more undisputed rebounds ( B1 );
 • the highest offensive rebound rate occurs with three-pointers which rebound falls close to the basket;
 • a great percentage of the second chance points are from offensive rebounds after two-points jumpers from outside ( A2 );
 • three pointers, particularly from the corners and the center, lead to more intermediate ( D2 ) and open ( D1 ) rebounds;
 • the former examples give important information to statisticians and coaches when the outcomes establish probable directions of the ball after bouncing;
 • when in B1 we chart how many players are in the ball area, we must analyze of those players how many tried to dispute the rebound;

Photograph: BBC Sport

 • in general terms, we can say that 34% of the rebounds are undisputed ( B1 ), 32% are disputed ( B2 ), 21% are favorable ( B3 ) and 13% are unfavorable ( B4 );
 • we must include in our analysis the situations of the players posting up on the right side when the ball bounces to the left and the blocking out position;
 • when we analyze undisputed rebounds ( B1 ): help on defense and number of players the offense send to the glass are items to record;
 • any new analysis and added category to this research must take in account that rebounding involves a wide range of scenarios and is not just jumping and timing, but also positioning, blocking out, evaluating the flight of the ball and the credit to the received help from the teammates.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
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All-time Basketball Legends: Recap

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Basketball Statistician's Digest:
Foul Committed on Missed / Made Shot

"... If a foul is committed on the shot, ( made or missed ) does the shot attempt get averaged into your field goal percentage? ..."

Photograph: from The World Link.com

eBA Basketball Statistical Registration=
Two Situations in this question:

1.- If a foul is committed on a shot and the shot is made: the shot attempt GET averaged in the field goal percentage as a "Field Goal Made" and the possession is ended and counted. We have a Foul Made and a Foul Received, too.

2.- If a foul is committed on a shot and the shot is missed: the shot attempt DOES NOT GET averaged in the field goal percentage, from the moment the player receives two or three free-throws from the line and the possession is not ended. For the possessions count in this situation: if the last free-throw of a serial ( of 2 or 3 ) is made the possession end with a "Up to the Line Made" for shooter's team ( see Global Basketball Encyclopedia for the terminology ). If the last free-throw of a serial ( of 2 or 3 ) is missed, the possession end with a Defensive Rebound. An Offensive Rebound gives, you know, a second chance option. Foul Made and Foul received are counted, too.

This topic is extended in the Statistics and Statisticians Board in the eBA Forum and the terminology is included in the eBA Basketball Encyclopedia.

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Basketball DVD Review:

"Scramble Defensive System"
By Roy Williams

Product Description
With Roy Williams, University of North Carolina Head Coach; 2005 National Champions, 4X Time National "Coach of the Year," Winningest Active Coach in College Basketball.

In the rich Tar Heel basketball tradition, defense has always been a foundation. In this DVD, Coach Williams unpacks the entire system.

The numbering system is important and is broken down: 20 = man-to-man, 30 = double team the dribble and 40 = double team the pass.
The 20 series is broken into 22, 23 and 24, depending on the point of pick up. Half court coverage is 32 and 33 = three-quarter court pick up with the double team on the dribble.

Williams aims for a 3-1-1 balance between man-to-man, scramble and zone defense, which is perfect for the coach who wants to disrupt and change the opponent's offense. On the projection screen, Williams diagrams the coverages in the 32 defense.

At the same time, he instructs players to assume the same position as the diagram. Two variations of 32 are presented based on the trap coming from in front or behind. In this live half court session, the defense demonstrates the 32 and 42.
The trap is an effective weapon on sideline out of bounds situations. his is a denial defense that attempts to keep the ball from coming inside.

Taking questions from the crowd, Williams runs the scramble against a number of different offensive alignments. The versatility of the scramble defense is obvious as Williams demonstrates its consistent flexibility.

 • Actors: Roy Williams
 • Region: All Regions
 • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video
 • Language: English
 • Number of discs: 1
 • Studio: Championship Productions
 • Run Time: 49 minutes

   ... more info ...

Go to the eBA Basketball DVDtec to see the video and read the full review !

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Basketball Statistician Sunday's Digest:
NCAA approves 3 rules changes for men’s basketball

An NCAA committee has approved three rules changes intended to clarify block-charge calls, who can shoot free throws after an injury and the expanded use of replay.

The announcement means secondary defenders must establish position outside the area between the backboard and the front of the rim to draw a charge call. The playing rules oversight panel said in a release that the change was based on surveys, rules forums and the coaches’ desire to reduce the amount of contact occurring underneath the basket.

...player draws charge in a Photograph from UK Athletics.com

The panel also addressed the perceived advantage teams can get when a fouled player is injured. Previously, the shooting team’s coach could select any player on his roster to take free throws. Now, the opposing coach must select from the four players remaining on the court.

And the committee approved expanding replay to determine flagrant fouls, which would result in ejection. If the foul is not considered flagrant, officials could still call an intentional foul or a technical foul for contact. It is the only rules change that will apply to men’s and women’s basketball from next season.

The eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System is discussing these changes and its statistical registration in the eBA 124 Basketball Statistics Clinic Chat.

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Pau Gasol becomes the first Spaniard to win an NBA title

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tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest   ~  basketball games  ~  Pau asol   2009 NBA
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Basketball Statistician's Digest:
Quantifying Basketball’s Intangibles, With Some Help From Computers

From The New York Time ~ Pro Basketball By Jonathan Abrams
Download source here: ' Quantifying Basketball’s Intangibles, With Some Help From Computers '

"... Perched high above and adjacent to the court, six high-definition cameras in a semi-circle have captured and traced the movements of each player, the referees and the basketball in Games 3 and 4 of the N.B.A. finals at Amway Arena. The cameras streamlined information into two data processing computers tucked behind the rafters that are aimed at rapidly defining an N.B.A. game in a way that has not been seen before. ..."

"... Hard is perhaps an understatement. In the N.B.A.’s play-by-play description, a typical offensive possession often consists of a rebound, a shot and an assist, if that much. In that time span, there are dozens of other factors that affect a play, including the movement of players away from the ball, matchups and the velocity of passes, that have never been officially recorded. ..."

"... “You always hear a player telling a coach that, I played the best defense I could,” Hellmuth said. “Now, the coach is going to be able to respond that, ‘You didn’t play the same defense last time here,’ because they are going to have the metrics to prove it as far as what type of proximity he was in, whether he had a hand in the face and whether he was there or not.” ..."

"... The input is received and then deciphered in real time. The cameras track virtual dots on each player’s head, as well as on the basketball and the referees. ..."

"... The referees are tracked to see where they make their calls and how fast they are covering the court’s length. ..."

Read more in The New York Time ~ Pro Basketball

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click above on the 'Español' tab or click here: 'El cuento de las cuentas, o el valor real de la estadística'

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Basketball Statistician's Digest: About the Statistician and the Head Coach

Meanwhile statistics may provide a road map, the coach during the game have to have the feel of the game. Statistician's numbers can help the coach understand what's going on, but during the game the coach is alone in front of the court.

In Basketball, no one is alone at home plate as in baseball, isolated against an opponent again and again like the batter-pitcher matchup. A Basketball player's shots vary in degree of difficulty based on his teammates' ability and willingness to set him up with a pass.

Photograph: Patriots

The statistician tries to measure those things by focusing on efficiency, both by a team and an individual. How often does a certain player make good things happen when he touches the ball ? How often does he keep bad things from happening on defense? Who gets better the more shots he takes? Who gets worse?

Those are only some of the questions the statistician takes a scientist's approach to answering, subject on which our courses tries to resolve in the first level.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
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NBA 2009 Basketball Highlights ~ 2009 NBA Post-Season Recap

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Basketball Statistician's Digest: Last Free Throw 2 Seconds To Go...

"... A well known game situation: 2 seconds to go, 2 points ahead and last free throw. The player intentionally misses the free-throw according with the indications from the bench to avoid a complete 2 seconds possession for the opponent. He succeed and they win the game. Can this action be registered in such way that we don't "punish" the shooter's Tendex with a -1 because of the missed free throw ? ..."

Photograph: from Ed Reinke in ESPN

eBA Basketball Statistical Registration=
If you are performing the analysis by means of video, and you are not sure about those "bench indications". you have no alternative and must register the missed free-throw.
If you were a this game, and you heard or saw clearly the coach's indications, you may use the "Team Player" option to register the missed throw, registering this action in the "play-by-play" report.

This topic is extended in the Statistics and Statisticians Board in the eBA Forum and the terminology is included in the eBA Basketball Encyclopedia.

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Books Review: Our eBA Best Seller 6 Months Ago

BILL SELF: At Home in the Phog
By: Bill Self with John Rohde

The 2007-2008 Kansas Jayhawks capped off one of the program's most storied seasons by winning its fifth national championship, and
first in 20 years. The Jayhawks success in 2007-2008 has been credited to total team effort and the inspiring leadership of head
coach Bill Self.
During his relatively short head coaching career, Self has established himself as one of college basketball's best by leading Oral Roberts to new frontiers, guiding Tulsa to its best season in school history, turning Illinois into a Big Ten powerhouse and now taking Kansas from a perennially great program to the best in the nation.

In Bill Self's first authorized book: BILL SELF: At Home in the Phog, Self and those who know him best offer an inside look at his
journey into becoming one of the game's most respected and most sought-after coaches. Self explains how he is living a dream - not
only is he a head coach, but he was selected to be the steward of what James Naismith and Phog Allen created. He describes the
excitement of reaching the pinnacle - leading the Jayhawks to a national title.
He gives minute-by-minute details of the contest that sent KU to the national title game. Self has achieved his dream of becoming a head coach. That much is evident. Even though he never dreamed of being the head coach at the University of Kansas, he did aspire to lead a college basketball team to greatness, which is exactly what he is doing. Self's journey proves that even though dreams may change, they can come true.


About the Author In the storied history of Kansas basketball, no coach has a higher career winning percentage at the school than Bill Self. In 2008, in his first trip to the Final Four, Self claimed the national title. He now boasts a 142-32 (.816) record in five years at Kansas and a 349-137 (.718) mark in 15 seasons as a Division I coach.

Self has been to 10 straight NCAA tournaments and advanced to the Elite Eight five times in that span, while directing three different
programs. His Kansas teams have won four straight Big 12 regular-season titles and three straight Big 12 Tournament crowns.
In the decade leading up to the national championship, Self has finished first eight times in three different leagues.
The other two seasons, his teams finished as conference runner-up. A former player (1981-1985) and assistant coach (1986-1993) at Oklahoma State, Self was head coach at Oral Roberts (1993-1997), Tulsa (1997-2000) and Illinois (2000-2003) before arriving at Kansas in April 2003. Self and wife Cindy have a daughter, Lauren, and son, Tyler.


Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Ascend Media; 1 edition (October 10, 2008)
Language: English

  more info


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Basketball Statistician Sunday's Digest:
Offensive Efficiency without Time Played

"... Is there any statistic which ignores playing time and focuses purely on player's offensive efficiency ? ..."

The "Offensive Rating" developed by Dean Oliver, author of Basketball on Paper: Rules and Tools for Performance Analysis, just ignores playing time and focuses purely on player's offensive efficiency. Offensive rating only deals with offense. Although basketball is obviously about more than just playing offense, offensive rating may be one of the best basketball statistics out there.

Offensive rating is points produced per 100 possessions. The NBA league average offensive rating in 2006 was 106. The rating includes all aspects of a player's offensive production, including stats such as assists, offensive rebounds, and free throws. A very complex formula is used to calculate offensive rating.

For more information, check out Basketball on Paper: Rules and Tools for Performance Analysis.

For a deep analysis go to eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System.

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2009 eBA Best Basketball Clip Candidate

' A Day in Hoopcity ' Directed by Andre Gorgievsky

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  statistics  ~  Andre Gorgievsky
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