FAQ

What are advanced statistics?

Traditional basketball stats only show a fragment of the story, while advanced stats go into much more detail. Advance stats takes into consideration how many minutes a player played and what the pace was of the team. A higher pace means more possessions, and more possessions means more opportunities to score, rebound, etc. For more information about advanced stats, you can read the post on our Newspaper site by clicking here.

What are basketball metrics?

Basketball metrics is a term used by a few to refer to the analysis of basketball through objective evidence, especially (advanced) basketball statistics.

What is basketball analytics?

Most people use terms such as advanced stats, basketball metrics and basketball analytics interchangeably, but the experts like to differentiate between them. Those experts say traditional and advanced statistics are a part of basketball analytics but they are only a pieces to a much larger puzzle; two types of data within a collection of basketball analytic tools. One can also say that the following terms and activities are part of "basketball analytics":

  • Scouting reports
  • Psychological profiles
  • Film study
  • Coaching staff reports
  • Market evaluations
  • Medical reports

Therefore one could conclude that basketball analytics is the art of using all available types of data to solve a problem and help people make better decisions.

How do I know if the advanced statistics of a team, or a player, are above or below average? Is there some kind of reference or rule of thumb?

Every league is different. Some have alternative formulas to calculate possessions because a variation regarding free throw situations is used. If you rank the teams or players within the same league and compare their data, then you will quickly be able to determine what is average, below average, and above average. In the NBA the PER (Hollinger’s player efficiency rating) is set at an average of 15. Players with a higher PER are above average. Michael Jordan’s career high PER was 31.7.

Are there variations in the calculations of advanced statistics?

Yes, that’s possible. The number of possessions during a game is a very important factor in advanced statistics but the calculation depends on several factors. First of all there is an ongoing debate whether an offensive rebound is a new possession or simply the continuation of the offense. Secondly, part of the calculation is based on (a very) accurate estimation. In the NBA however, nothing is estimated because they have a sophisticated video tracking system that records every detail. On our site we also disregard games with box score errors. Therefore, it is possible that the advanced stats are calculated over less games than the team or player actually played that season.

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Where do I find an explanation for the advanced statistics abbreviations and terms?

Click on "Glossary".

How do I use the advanced player search?

The advanced player search is built in three stages marked in gray by the numbers 1, 2, and 3. You do not have to use all three. You don't even have to use all subsections under 1. But the more criteria (filters) you add, the more specific is the result of your search. When you simply click on 'G' regarding the position you are looking for and then click on 'search', the number of results runs in the tens of thousands. If you, under 1, add specifics such as 'available players', height and/or age and/or nationality parameters, your search will already be narrowed down to a much more manageable number.

If you subsequently add statistical filters (regular and/or per 40 min and/or advanced) under 2, the resulting search will list the players in an extremely detailed fashion and to your exact wishes. You can add as many filters as you like. You can delete a filter by simply clicking on the red 'x' and the results are immediately corrected. You can also skip 1 (leave all parameters under 1 unchecked/unspecified) and search among all players in the world merely on statistical values.

Under 3 you can then choose to rank your results according to three different criteria. Use the first drop down menu for the most important ranking parameter.

Lastly: Under your search criteria, but above all your results, are tabs with additional information about the players.

How do I use the advanced team search?

Similar to the advance player search, the advanced team search can help you find a team in three stages clearly marked by the numbers 1, 2, and 3 in gray. You do not have to use all three steps, but the more you use the more specific your results will be.

Under 1 you can simply choose a country in the first drop down menu and hit search. You get to see all the teams from that country from all it's leagues. You can specify that search by adding the league and/or season.

Then, when adding the desired statistical parameters under 2, you can narrow down the search as specifically as you would like. You can also skip 1 (leave all three drop down menus at '- all -') and search among all teams in the world merely on statistical values.

Under 3 you can then choose to rank your results according to three different criteria. Use the first drop down menu for the most important ranking parameter.

Lastly: Under your search criteria, but above all your results, are tabs with additional information about the teams.

How do I get back to the posts on the Newspaper site?

Click on "News".

What does sort order mean in the advanced search for players and teams?

You might sort by more than one column or row when you have data that you want to group by the same value in one column or row, and then sort another column or row within that group of equal values. For example, if you have a League and Team column, you can first sort by League (to group all the teams in the same league together), and then sort by name (to put the names in alphabetical order within each league) or some other criteria. You can sort by up to 3 columns.

Why are there some discrepancies in the number of games played in advanced stats and traditional stats?

We don't use play-off games and incomplete box scores when calculating advanced stats.