One of the hardest tasks for NBA defenses are to guard All-Star type point guards. Players like Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Chris Paul, and Kyrie Irving give defenses fits every night by being a threat to pull up, drive, or pass for the open shot. However, like all other players, these versatile playmakers can be … Continue reading How to Guard the NBA’s Best Players
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
The NFL Playoffs begin on Saturday after a wild final week of the season. Using a variety of stats, the players at each position can be ranked, allowing us to look for mismatches and big matchups. Offense Quarterbacks To rank the quarterbacks in the NFL, I used a combination of four advanced stats. Three of … Continue reading Ranking the Players in the NFL Playoffs
The College Football Playoff has been controversial since its conception. By including only the top four teams in the entire FBS (just 3% of 130 teams), several deserving and skilled teams are left out annually. Furthermore, the seemingly inconsistent approach of the CFP Committee has left college football fans confused. Just earlier this year, the … Continue reading Ranking College Football Teams by Strength of Record
As a football game progresses, players get more and more tired. While players are usually fresh at the beginning of a game, they are usually fatigued by the end after having played for hours. Even though we know that NFL players get tired as a game goes on, we do not know how their fatigue … Continue reading Why NFL Teams Should Use Running Backs by Committee
It's a common scenario in football. A team has the ball, trailing by one possession with limited time. They have to drive down the field in order to score and tie the game or take the lead. Without a score, the team will squander a game in which they had a chance to win. Countless … Continue reading Need a Comeback? These are the Quarterbacks you Want
Fourth downs are one of the most intense situations in all of football. A fourth down conversion or failure can change the outcome of a game. Just look at last week's Ravens vs Chiefs game, for example. The Ravens were faced with one of the most difficult decisions in football: go for a 4th & … Continue reading 4th Down: How Aggressiveness Relates to Better Offensive Efficiency
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
Every March, as the NCAA Tournament rolls around, sports fans get ready to watch 67 games where the winner advances and the loser goes home. There are buzzer beaters, crazy upsets, and unexpected Final Four runs. Many people make brackets to try to attempt to predict what will happen, although no one has succeeded in … Continue reading March Madness Predictions
One of the most overlooked aspects of football is the kicking game. Almost no one pays attention to the kickers throughout a game barring an extraordinary bad performance unless there is a game on the line with a field goal attempt. An offense can march down the field and put their team in a good … Continue reading Finding the NFL’s Best Kickers
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