Player defense has been one of the hardest elements to quantify in basketball since the rise of analytics. The box score stats for player defense are limited to steals, blocks, and defensive rebounds, with no context for the number of shots defended and how many turnovers a player actually forced. However, recent tracking statistics have … Continue reading Tracking Defensive Plus Minus: Ranking the NBA’s Best Defenders
Most of NBA analysis is pointed towards offense. Popular stats like points, assists, turnovers, and shooting efficiency all evaluate offensive ability, while defensive stats are often neglected. However, a great defense can lead a team to a deep playoff run: in the last 5 seasons, 64% of the teams with a top 5 regular season … Continue reading The Keys to a Successful NBA Defense
The 2020-21 NBA season has concluded, and it's time to look towards the upcoming offseason. The first major event in the offseason is always the NBA Draft, where college and international players are selected by teams looking to improve their roster. Most of the attention is focused towards the top few selections, where the worst … Continue reading 3 And D: The Best Two-Way Players in the 2021 NBA Draft
On draft night in 2018, the Phoenix Suns picked Deandre Ayton with first overall, making the former Arizona Wildcats center their new franchise cornerstone in addition to Devin Booker. However, just two picks later, the Dallas Mavericks picked Luka Doncic 3rd overall. Doncic went on to win Rookie of the Year in 2019. The very … Continue reading How Deandre Ayton Went From Disappointment to Domination
The image of Ben Simmons passing up a dunk will live in the mind of 76ers' fans for a long time. That one play encapsulated Simmons' struggles throughout his career, showing his refusal to shoot the ball, especially in the 4th quarter. In the 4th quarter of all the games in the 76ers' series against … Continue reading Should the 76ers Trade Ben Simmons?
The Western Conference Semi Finals between the 1 seed Utah Jazz and the 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers was set up to be an entertaining series. The Jazz had the best record and net rating during the regular season, ranking in the top 4 of both offensive and defensive efficiency, while the Clippers were looking … Continue reading How the Jazz Blew a Chance to Force a Game 7 vs the Clippers
It is the simplest play in the playbook. A player calls out: "Iso!" His other 4 teammates clear space for the player to go one on one against his defender in order to try to score a basket. Isolation basketball is a style that is popular among fans, allowing them to watch their favorite players … Continue reading Isolation Basketball: An Inefficient, yet Necessary Offense
Basketball is a team sport. Despite the popularity of stars in the NBA, the results of games do not solely depend on the performance of one or two players. Championship contending teams need to have efficient and helpful role players that can benefit from the plays created by stars and keep the team afloat while … Continue reading The Best Low-Usage Players in the NBA
The NBA Playoffs begin in under three weeks, and it will be time for another champion to be crowned. The main contenders for this year's championship include the 76ers, Nets, and Bucks from the East, and the Jazz, Suns, Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets from the West. One common theme among these contenders is that they … Continue reading Players that Excel in the NBA Playoffs
With the new NBA season beginning within a week, many NBA fans and analysts have begun to present their preseason predictions, choosing which teams will make the playoffs, finals, and win the championship. I have devised a method of predicting the best NBA teams this coming season using the stats of each team's players. Using … Continue reading 2020-2021 NBA Pre Season Predictions
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