#nba statistics

Beyond the Box Score

It is time to stop evaluating players based on statistical feats. The ubiquity of statistical data has brought with it a ready supply of historical comparisons. In today’s NBA, one can hardly turn around without running into a stat trumpeting a player as “the first player since MJ to have 18 consecutive games of 20-5-5”. Who can ignore the box score aggregators, with their perpetual lists of “top…

2.28.2013                                                                                                                                                                            

  Why The Heat’s Only Apparent Weakness Isn’t Really A Weakness

Bryan Waronker

The Miami Heat are currently last in the league in rebounds per game, and have been for pretty much the entire 2012-13 season thus far.  This statistic speaks more to their style of play than their inability to rebound the ball effectively.  Their opponent’s numbers against them perhaps may be something which would provide for better context.  At the moment, while the Heat are in last place in rebounds per game their opponents this season have recorded an amount that ranks for the second fewest total in the league.  The only team that gets rebounded on less is the Memphis Grizzlies.  This is because the Heat take fewer shots than any other team in the league, which allows for fewer attempts at rebounds to be gathered.  That the number of rebounds against them is low also has to do with the fact that the Heat are the best shooting team in the NBA, at just a shade under 50% from the field.  On average, the rebound differential per game for the Heat is in fact in the red, and does place them just below the middle of the pack at 19th best in that regard, but that number is hardly daunting at -1.5.  REPEAT:  On average the Heat are rebounded by just one and a half boards a game on average.  Moreover, they hold opponents to 44.4% shooting and in that regard, they are tied them with Dallas for tenth best among all teams.  This allows for the opportunity for teams to garner more rebounds against them, and affects the rate at which teams grab offensive boards against the Heat.  According to Hoopdata.com, which provides advanced data for statistics the Heat obtain the ball on potential defensive rebounds 72.8% of the time.  As a point of reference the Orlando Magic lead the league in this category at a clip that is roughly 2.5% better.  In other words, for every 100 available defensive rebounds on average the league leader collects just two and a half more than the Heat.  It’s less of a concern for Bron, Wade, Bosh, and Co., that the average rebounds are low because there are less of them available.  That they get five less offensive rebounds than those they face because their opponents miss more shots, and because the Heat make more of the shots that they take than anybody else.