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Analyzing Statistics -- What the Reports Tell….It is important to have the ability to see tendencies and "red flags." Statistics are only as good as your ability to interpret and implement them. We are now living in a world of information; however, to be of value this information must be presented in a meaningful and useable manner. This is where Cybersports for basketball reports excel. Shot Chart Reports Team and individual player shot charts are powerful reports. They graphically illustrate the exact shot locations. Teams and players have a tendency to prefer to shoot from certain areas. Some teams will predominately use one side of the court. Individual players will have favorite spots along with weak spots. When analyzing shot charts you want to look at the team’s collective shot chart as well as each individual player.
Cybersports for basketball has the advanced capabilities of rating shot selection. Every shot can be rated as being Easy, Open, Contested or Bad (rushed). A shot selection profile of each player is generated along with the team’s overall shot selection as well as the opponent’s shot selection. Offensively, the majority of shots should be easy and open. Obviously you what to eliminate taking any bad or rushed shots. Defensively, the majority should be contested or bad. You never want to give up an easy shot on defense. Points Scored Sports media have traditionally used average points allowed as their sole basis of rating teams defensively. However, a more accurate way to determine a team's defensive performance involves using the number of actual ball possessions. Points allowed per possession takes into account a game's tempo. Defensively, teams should try to limit their opponents to less than 0.85 pts/possession. Conversely, the same is true for analyzing offensive performance. Points scored per possession is a much more accurate way to determine offensive performance than points scored. The goal offensively is to score +1.0 pts/possession. Scoring can also be analyzed to determine team and player profiles. A player with a high number of three point shots and a low number of free throws would indicate a non-penetrating, outside set shooter. A player with a high percentage of scoring coming off free throws and two point field goals with a very low number of three point attempts would indicate a driver or penetrator. A balance of three point, two point and free throw scoring would indicate a triple threat player. Rebounding Stats "We out rebounded them 48 to 39." The number of total rebounds are of little value. Offensive and defensive rebounding are two distinct endeavors that must be evaluated separately. Offensive rebounding primarily relies on agility and individual effort, while defensive rebounding requires strength and total team effort. Defensive Rebounding: The importance of defensive rebounding to the outcome of the game cannot be over emphasized. A rebound on defense is equivalent to a made shot on offense. In fact, "Defense is never over until you get the rebound." A team can play tremendous defense forcing a bad or rush shot, but this defensive effort will be wasted any time the offense is allowed to rebound the missed shot. To analyze a team's defensive rebounding performance coaches must look at the team's defensive rebounding percentage (Def Rebs/Def Rebs + Opponent Off Rebs) along with the points allowed on second efforts. A good defensive rebounding goal is +67%.
Offensive Rebounding: To evaluate a team's offensive rebounding performances coaches must look at the team's offensive rebounding percentages (Off Rebs/Off Rebs + Opponent Def Rebs) along with the points scored on second efforts. Over 50% of field goal attempts and 35% of free throws are missed. Very rarely will a team ever win a game getting one shot per offensive possession. In addition, to be successful a team must score off their offensive rebounds. Where defensive rebounds are a MUST, offensive rebounds are a BONUS.
Ball Handling Stats - "We turned the ball over 22 times tonight!" Similar to points scored and rebounds, the number of turnovers is a misleading statistic. For turnover statistics to be of value the number of offensive possessions must be considered. Turnovers percentage (turnovers/possessions) is the true indication of a team's ball handling performance. Normally, you would like to keep your turnovers percentage under 10%. However, if you play an up-tempo game you can expect a higher turnover percentage (15% to 20%). This higher turnover percentage, in most cases, is offset by a higher field goal percentage resulting from more transition lay-ups. When analyzing ball handling performance, it is also vital to look at the number of opponent points allowed off turnovers. Similar to an offensive rebound, teams must capitalize and score off turnovers for them to be of value. If a team recovers and makes a defensive stop after a turnover, that turnover is cancelled or erased. Conversely, on defense, you need to evaluate the opponent’s turnover percentage and the points you are scoring off their turnovers. Analyzing & Evaluating Ball Handling Performance. Lineup Combination Analysis The Lineup Combination report is an exciting tool to assist coaches in tracking and evaluating the effectiveness of various lineups used during a game or season. Often times, a player may not have any significant statistics, yet their presence on the floor is vital and they are consistently listed in the top lineup reports. On the other hand, players with big scoring and rebounding numbers can, on occasions, actually be detrimental to a team and will be listed in negative or non-productive lineups. The lineup analysis reports are also a valuable scouting tool. Knowing the various lineups that your opponent uses is definitely a big advantage.
Line up reports also include detailed box scores showing the offensive and defensive performances of the various line up combinations used during a game. These reports are basically the same as the individual boxscores except that lineup combinations are used in lieu of individual players.
Goals and Tendencies CyberSports allows you to set game goals for the tracking of 12 different categories: Pts/Possession, FG Percentage, 3FG Percentage, FT Percentage, Opp Pts/Possessions, Opp FG Percentage, Off Reb Percentage, Def Reb Percentage, Productivity, Assists, Ball Handling Err percentage, and Opp Ball Handling Err Percentage. Individual player and team Goal Reports are then generated and graphically displayed as bar graphs. These categories are broken down by period as well as over all performances. A summary of goals achieved is also included on the game report. In the season goal report, the goals are graphically represented as a line graph, and are excellent tools for analyzing individual player and team tendencies. You can quickly determine which categories the team or individual player is improving and which ones need to be improved. Crunch Time Stats Crunch time reports are comprised of stats for the final three minutes of a game. Leader reports provides the coach with player ranking, such as free throw percentage. But don’t rely on free throw percentages alone. Having a good free throw percentage does not necessarily mean that a player will be successful in a pressure situation. In crunch time, some of the best free throw percentage shooters perform badly; while some of the lower percentage free throw shooters suddenly excel. Points per shot (P/S ) indicates how proficient a player or a team is in scoring. You definitely want players on the court with high P/S's at the end of a close game.
Learn More:© 2005 Ernie Woods, HoopTactics
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"More Than Just Stats"