Basketball Statistics Blog

Friday Press Clippings:
Deflating Inflated Assist Totals by David Friedman

From 20 Second Timeout
By David Friedman
Download source here: ' Deflating Inflated Assist Totals '
by David Friedman

"... Jim Barnett, who is one of the best NBA color commentators in the business, agreed with Fitzgerald and cited a specific play in which a recipient of a Collison pass took "four or five dribbles" before scoring. Barnett correctly noted that an assist is not supposed to be handed out on such a play. ... "

"... The NBA league office has more than once declared that box score statistics are reviewed and are subject to correction if any discrepancies are found; as a result of this review process, two triple doubles have been taken away from LeBron James,..."

"... However, there is also good reason to believe that his assist totals have been significantly inflated by overly generous scorekeeping. ..."

"... if we cannot trust the basic data then why should we believe in so-called advanced metrics that are 100% dependent on said data ? ..."

Read more articles in 20 Second Timeout.

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' El efecto de alejar la línea de tres puntos ' by José Ángel Samaniego.

tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  David Friedman
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Basketball Statistician's Digest:
February 2010 Basketball Statistics Case Study Conclusion

"... A1 shoots a FTA and the shot hits the rim and bounces on it. A2 goes up and dunks the ball while the ball still is on or above the rim ...

And which is the statistical rule in the case A2 converts the basket after the ball has bounced to the side and it is obvious A1’ shot will not be successful.

What is the statistical registration according to the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System in each one of the given situations, including the type of the registration ( forced, unforced, neutral, etc...) ... ?"

Photograph from Countdown2Lebron

Conclusion:
eBA System Statistics Fundamentals:
Don't charge a player for a shot from the free-throw line determined by the illegal actions of himself, or any teammates or opponents except when the shot results in a FTM .

Rule Interpretation:
- in the first case, since the free throw does not end until it is certain that the shot will not be successful, the interference was on A1’ shot.
- in the second case, since A1’ shot obviously had missed the game goes on.

eBA Basketball Statistical Registration:
- in the first case, an interference on A1’ shot. Do not charge A1 with a FTA. Do not charge A2 with a FGA . Do not credit A2 with an offensive rebound, but do charge A2 with an UNFORCED turnover.
- in the second case, charge A1 with a FTA missed. Credit A2 with an offensive rebound and a FGM, and charge a FGA.

This Case Study was presented as every 10th. day of each month, on February 10th, 2010 in our eBA Portal: were sent 521 answers, and 34 totally correct, that's means including all the options, registrations and qualifications.

Find another basketball statistics case studies from the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System at the eBA Encyclopedia > Case Studies

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  statistics  ~  case studies
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

The Best Show in the World !
NBA Games Top 10 Plays of the 2009-2010 Season ~ Week 21 !

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest   ~  basketball games  ~  NBA Top 10  ~  NBA
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Basketball Registering Stats Referred Questions:
About a Field Goal Scored for the Opponent & Statistics

"... What happens when a field goal is accidentally scored for the opposition team, after last being touched by a defensive player ? How is this play ruled and statistically registered ? ..."

Photograph: Inside the Games

Case 1. - The touch by the defensive team was an attempt to block a shot and did not appreciably alter its flight: then such touching shall be ignored.

eBA Basketball Statistics Registration=
If the offensive player that shot the ball is credited with the score, no blocked or altered shot can be awarded.

Case 2. - The touch by the defensive team followed a shot that had obviously missed and the defensive team did not gain control:

eBA Basketball Statistics Registration=
A FGA and FGM is credited to the captain of the offensive team.

See in our forum the 'field goals' topics and the exposition "Basketball Field Goals Statistical Analysis" at eBA ONLINE.

All the terms in this answer are explained widely at The Global Basketball Encyclopedia and in eBA ONLINE.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > eBA System

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball statistics analysis  ~  shooting foul
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Basketball Statistics Methods & Formulas:
Statistics Terminology ~ The Standard deviation

In probability and statistics, the standard deviation of a probability distribution, random variable, or population or multiset of values is a measure of the spread of its values. It is usually denoted with the letter σ (lower case sigma). It is defined as the square root of the variance.

To understand standard deviation, keep in mind that variance is the average of the squared differences between data points and the mean. Variance is tabulated in units squared. Standard deviation, being the square root of that quantity, therefore measures the spread of data about the mean, measured in the same units as the data.

Said more formally, the standard deviation is the root mean square (RMS) deviation of values from their arithmetic mean.

For example, in the population {4, 8}, the mean is 6 and the deviations from mean are {−2, 2}. Those deviations squared are {4, 4} the average of which (the variance) is 4. Therefore, the standard deviation is 2. In this case 100% of the values in the population are at one standard deviation of the mean.

The standard deviation is the most common measure of statistical dispersion, measuring how widely spread the values in a data set are. If many data points are close to the mean, then the standard deviation is small; if many data points are far from the mean, then the standard deviation is large. If all the data values are equal, then the standard deviation is zero.

For a population, the standard deviation can be estimated by a modified standard deviation (s) of a sample.

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Sunday's Reflexions on Basketball Statistics:
About the Plus Minus Ratings in Basketball Statistics

"......With regard to this item: I like the plus-minus statistic - how does the team perform with Player A on the court, compared to how they perform without him - but as some of the other articles you point to probably say, this measure can be problematic.

A major issue is efficiency: there can be a lot of "noise" --- stochastic variability --- in the stat. Fortunately ( from the point of view of a plus-minus statistic ) basketball has a lot of scoring and a long season, so stochastic variability is much less of a problem than in, say, baseball or hockey.

But still, you really want/need to adjust for quality of the other players on the court ( on both teams ). It's also desirable to adjust for the game situation: in a blowout victory or loss, little or nothing is learned from performance in "garbage time," for example.

Of course, some of the same problems come up with any analysis, whether plus-minus or not. No matter how you slice it, you're looking at a non-trivial bit of analysis. That said, I like the plus-minus approach. ......."

A selected excerpt from the discussions at the eBA Annual Analysis System Clinic Chat about this topic "Plus Minus Ratings".

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > The Articles

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tags:  basketball  ~ basketball statistics ~  basketball analysis  ~  plus minus rating
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eBA 2010 Best Basketball Clip Candidate

' BYU Athletic '

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball video clips  ~  basketball clips  ~  BYU Athletic
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Friday Press Clippings:
Economics is Not a Science, Nor is Basketball Statistical Analysis
by David Friedman

From 20 Second Timeout
By David Friedman
Download source here: ' Economics is Not a Science, Nor is Basketball Statistical Analysis by David Friedman '

"... Roberts--who is an economics professor at George Mason University--declares that economics is not a science because "most sciences make progress"... "

"... As I wrote in October 2008, Economics is Not a Science, Nor is Basketball Statistical Analysis. The data being used by "stats gurus" is incomplete and often inaccurate. ..."

"... In The Difference Between Measuring Defense in Basketball and Baseball , I made the important point that basketball statistical analysis is pseudoscience because its practitioners do not base their research on the scientific method: ..."

"... If you are still wasting your time reading the proclamations of "stats gurus," then the next time one of these oracles speaks take note if he mentions a margin of error for his numbers, see if he explains the sample size from which he derives his calculations and monitor how he explains cause/effect relationships--i.e., ..."

Read more articles in 20 Second Timeout.

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' Diferencias de los Indicadores de Rendimiento en Función de Jugar como Local o como Visitante ' by Miguel Ángel Gómez Ruano, Alberto Lorenzo Calvo, Enrique Ortega Toro y Aurelio Olmedilla Zafra .

tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  David Friedman
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Basketball Statistics Analysis Referred Concepts:
Basketball Statistical Formulas ~ The Prouty Rating

The Prouty is a method of rating players created by Jon Scott, based on averaging four areas: Offensive Efficiency, Total Offense, Possessions Gained and Win Rating. The various individual parts are based on a per minute basis.

The Formula: The Prouty Rating is calculated as

[ {Points / (Field Goals Attempted * 2 + FTA) } +
{ (Points + Assists * 2 - Turnovers) / Minutes} +

{ (Rebounds + Steals + (Blocks / 2) - Personal Fouls) / Minutes} +
{ (Minutes / (TEAM TOTAL MINUTES / 5) } * Team Winning Pct} ] / 4

Read More at eBA CLINICS ONLINE, search "statistics formulas" in this blog and consult the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > eBA System.

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  Prouty Rating
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The Best Show in the World !
NBA Games Top 10 Plays of the 2009-2010 Season ~ Week 20 !

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest   ~  basketball games  ~  2010 NBA
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Basketball Registering Stats Referred Questions:
About the Excessive Swinging of the Elbows & Statistics

"... Team is up by 3 with ball control at the end of 4th. quarter, running the clock out waiting for the defensive foul to stop the clock.
Player with the ball, close defender two handed mildly pushed him and the ball-handler, trying to protect the ball, swings his elbows not in an aggressive way but in a defensive way.
The referee blew the whistle and said no foul but it is a
turnover against the ball-handler for "excessive swinging of the elbows".
"Swinging elbows" Turnover is a real rule or an official error ? Forced or Unforced ? Stats Register ? ..."

Photograph: Lenny Ignelzi from Daily Herald

Rule Statement: "A player shall not excessively swing his/her arms or
elbows even without contacting an opponent." The rules penalty was changed to a violation from a technical foul in order to encourage it's being called more.

Rule Interpretation: Throw-in for the opponents

eBA Statistical Register: Forced ( by the opponent's aggressive defense ) Turnover against the ball-handler and Forced Steal in favour of the close defender.

See in our forum the 'forced turnover' topics and the exposition "Basketball Turnovers Statistical Analysis" at eBA ONLINE.

All the terms in this answer are explained widely at The Global Basketball Encyclopedia and in eBA ONLINE.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > eBA System

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball statistics analysis  ~  shooting foul
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

March Cover ~ Basketball Beautiful Faces:
When Basketball Meets Ohad Redlich's Art !

Photograph: Ohad Redlich Gallery

Our Basketball Beautiful Faces of March 2010 Cover
from the excellent Photograph Gallery by Ohad Redlich
When Basketball Meets Art ...!

tags: basketball ~ beautiful faces ~ great basketball photographs ~ Ohad Redlich
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February 2010 eBA Best Seller:

Hard Work: My Life On and Off the Court
By Roy Williams and Tim Crothers
with foreword by John Grisham

Roy Williams, head coach of the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team, the Tar Heels, has the highest
winning percentage in NCAA history.
Over the last seven years, the 58-year-old Asheville, N.C., native—who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007—has won 205 games, including 24 in the NCAA Tournament.
That’s more Final Fours, more wins, and more NCAA Tournament victories than any basketball coach in the nation.

Hard Work tells the story of Roy Williams’ life that few people know, in Williams’ own distinct and colorful way—his troubled upbringing, his college years, his years of trying to make ends meet before becoming a head coach.

It reveals how determination took him from an impoverished home in the mountains of North Carolina to the very pinnacle of coaching success, culminating in the 2009 NCAA National Championship (his second in five years).
And it pulls back the curtain on one of college basketball’s most guarded programs as witnessed by one of the most successful, dominant coaches, at the prime of his power.

 • Authors: Roy Williams and Tim Crothers
 • Binding: Hardcover
 • Number of Pages: 288 pages
 • Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
 • Publishing Date: November, 2009
 • Language: English

Read more about eBA Best Sellers in English and Spanish
in the Books & DVD Sections of the ...

eBA Portal, the eBA Blogs, the eBA Store, and at the eBA Library

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest   ~  basketball coaching  ~  NCAA  ~  Roy Williams
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Sunday's Reflexions on Basketball Statistics:
About the Basketball Individual Statistics Underrated or Overrated

Are the individual statistics of good players on bad teams underrated in raw form ?
Are the individual statistics of bad players on good teams overrated in raw form ?

Some reflexions to begin the discussion:

1) Most teams without their best player will turn down the averages than with and probably lower than league average with the best players still included, so an adaptation must be overdone it in the team analysis in the cases of best players off.

2) There is team influence on player FG% and the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis performs adaptations either in the score or in the evaluation of the score. But our System takes always in account that the player is utmostly agent or cause of the shots he takes.

3) A player on a bad team may take more hard shots and fewer not hurried ones and vice versa on a good team, so the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis takes all of these shots out and analyze the remaining shooting precision.

4) Efficiency connected with statistics might become greater on a better team when the defense needs to move outward and defend so many other menaces. However, from another point of view, the percentage of touches might grow worse. When you're encircled by better players, you might get less touches than if you are the exclusive talent on a bad team.

5) And finally, good teammates among the good players will still get some recognition, bad teammates on the court will not gain as many bonus points and look inferior in individual ratings because of their unsatisfactory influence on other teammate shooting.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > The Articles

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tags:  basketball  ~ basketball statistics ~  basketball analysis  ~  basketball individual statistics
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eBA 2010 Best Basketball Clip Candidate

' Mid-Suburban League Championship '

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball video clips  ~  basketball clips  ~  MS League Championship
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Friday Press Clippings: Statistics and the Human Element

From Basketball Statistics.com
by Jon Nichols
Download source here: 'Statistics and the Human Element '

"... How far can we go? Can we truly measure everything that goes on in a basketball game? More importantly, can we use those measurements to evaluate individual players and project how they will do on other teams?

As crazy as that may sound, I would bet there are a few people out there that think it’s possible. Play-by-play and game tracking data open up many possibilities. Throw in shot charts and you can come up with a whole bunch of different numbers. ..."

"... My hypothesis is this: numbers do the best job of conveying how a player has performed in the past and how he will do in the immediate future, since this will most likely be dictated by his past performance. If a guy has been shooting 45% on three-pointers this season, there’s a good chance he’ll make some long range shots against you if you leave him open. ..."

"... In addition, scouting isn’t as subjective and random as you may think. Jack Mula, formerly of the New England Patriots, discussed how the team always used “systemic scouting” to establish their dominance. With this system, the coaches made it clear what they needed from each position, and it was the scouts’ job to find players that met this criteria. ..."

"... To sum it up, it’s all about balance. Teams that are relying solely on subjectivity and scouting are probably making a big mistake, and the same thing goes for teams that only use numbers (although I doubt any of those teams exist). The premise of Composite Score is that when multiple people have different ideas about the same thing, they’re all probably right about some of the issues, so you need to combine all of their knowledge. The same thing goes for the interaction between scouting and statistics. ..."

Read more articles in Basketball Statistics.com.

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' Evaluación del jugador en los partidos de baloncesto ' by Manuel António Janeira and Eurico Brandão .

tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  Jon Nichols
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Basketball Statistics Analysis Referred Concepts:
About the Points Created and the Player Contribution

How much value is placed on an assist ? Like the problems with rebounds and blocked shots, standard formulas try to arbitrarily assign a value to assists that would give credit to the 'assistant' and simultaneously take the same account of credit away from the 'assisted'. Assists, though, unlike rebounds or blocked shots, have a definite scoring possession associated with them: there is no assists without points scored.

Photograph: Day Life

An individual floor percentage could be a way for not only evaluate the offensive efficiency of players, but also to calculate the points created by each player.

"Individual Floor Percentage"= scoring possessions by a player divided by his total possessions.

"Player's Scoring Possessions"=
field goals that weren't assisted on
+ a not specified percentage of his field goals that were assisted on
+ a not specified percentage of his assists
+ free throw made that represent a team scoring possession.

"Player's Total Possessions"=
all his scoring possessions
+ his missed field goals
+ free throws that weren't rebounded by his team
+ turnovers.

The question to go on with this topic resides in the value of that "not specified percentage" in each field.

Read More at eBA CLINICS ONLINE, search "basketball possessions" in this blog and consult the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > eBA System.

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball analysis  ~  basketball possessions analysis
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

The Best Show in the World !
NBA Games Top 10 Plays of the 2009-2010 Season ~ Week 19 !

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest   ~  basketball games  ~  2010 NBA
visit:  eBA Portal  ~  eBA Forums  ~  eBA Encyclopedia  ~  eBA Clinics

Basketball Registering Stats Referred Questions:
About the Bench Scoring Percentage - Value & Analysis

"... How to measure the influence over the 'Bench Points Percentage', in the case of a season starter which in any o some games, by some reason of injury or coach decision, come from the bench and plays nearly its minutes played average ? ..."

Photograph: Doug Lemoine.com

A relevant contribution of the eBA System is to take the bench points of our team AND from the opponents not only as a Stats quantity, but as a center part of a game basketball analysis.

You can see it's analysis and discussion of the Bench Points Percentage Stats at the eBA Basketball Statistics Creative Analysis area, which includes, among others, the following aspects:

Bench Scoring= game's total, by quarter, at each quarter by separate, at game' last five minutes, shooting averages, changes quantity by game, etc. from our team and from the opponents teams all over the season.

Commentary: The Bench Scoring Stat are more relevant at the college level. Most players who goes on to the NBA may scores 20 points a game at least once a season. Nevertheless, many a winning college team gets exposed in the NCAA for its lack of depth at their bench.

See in our forum the 'bench points' topics and the exposition "Basketball Shooting Statistical Analysis" at eBA ONLINE.

All the terms in this answer are explained widely at The Global Basketball Encyclopedia and in eBA ONLINE.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > eBA System

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tags:  basketball  ~  statistician's digest   ~  basketball statistics analysis  ~  shooting foul
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Basketball DVD Review:

Steve Nash MVP Basketball:
Fundamentals of Basketball
By Steve Nash

2 Disc Set ~ 2 Hours Long ~ Studio: Varsity Films

DISC 1: Individual Fundamentals Steve Nash, NBA's 2005 MVP, teaches the fundamentals of basketball in his step-by-step program designed to give every basketball player a competitive edge on the court. You'll learn first-hand from Steve the training secrets needed to become a complete basketball player. This instructional video includes the drills Steve personally used to become a great shooter, passer, ball handler, defender and the game's best all-around point guard.

DISC 2: Team Play and Practice Organization Steve Nash has designed a complete basketball instructional program centered around team play and practice organization. Steve enlists the help veteran AAU Coach Roch Weilbacher, whose AAU teams have won 9 National Championships. Their unique presentation teaches every parent/coach dozens of tried and proven basketball team drills that they have successfully utilized throughout their careers. You'll learn step-by-step from proven winners how to run an effective and efficient basketball practice that will improve any team's skills, from youth to adult, and give it a competitive edge. Also included as a bonus is a printable MVP Basketball Guide which will help you customize your own workouts and practices.

"...This DVD is the best basketball instructional DVD on the market. Disc one covers the most basic fundamentals from ball handling, shooting, passing, and defense. This DVD has improved my game dramatically.

It has help me with my shot, especially my release, he offers secret ways to help perfect that soft touch shooting release that has made him so successful.
He shares his very own ball handling practice drills consisting from crossovers, spins, behind the back dribble, and between the legs. I am 6ft6 and handle almost like a point guard because of this DVD.

While Steve primarily works with kids, aging from 8 to 13 years old, this DVD will help anyone's game. The DVD is very professional with use of certain camera angles while drill routines are being performed.

Disc two is more focused on team play and practice organization, Steve, along with a fellow coach, demonstrate drills of fast breaks, defensive stops, offense, and much more. This could be helpful for any young aspiring coach.
You can insert this disc into your PC DVD-ROM drive and download the entire team play and practice organization guide.

Overall I would recommend this DVD to any aspiring basketball player and / or
coach. ..."
R. Schuster's Review

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tags:  basketball  ~  basketball fundamentals  ~  Steve Nash ~ basketball DVD
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