Basketball Analytics
a curious case of misuse
I am a voracious reader of anything related to sports analytics and specifically basketball analytics. In my professional life I have been exposed to all manner of machine learning and artificial intelligence and there is some merit in them. We still are only embracing a small amount of the analytics that are available to us.
We have been promised so much by so many snake oils that it is hard to recognize when we on the precipice of change.
We have moved well past Moneyball (the precursor to our current obsessions with sports data) and have quickly arrived at a door slightly ajar.
Here is what I think is a curious case of misuse when it comes to data analytics and sport.
A large majority of basketball teams use analytics in pursuit of game strategy but many are failing to use analytics, not just in their practice, but in the pursuit of practicing better.
Teams that incorporate analytics not just in their practice but in their practice plan development with a keen eye as to ‘how do we practice better so that we are better in game situations’ are the teams with the highest potential for success.
There will be an expanding distance between those that are using analytics in game and practice and those who are not. That distance will widen and deepen at a rate that will force the democratization of sports data analytics. We are currently in a space that requires significant expense in order to deploy player tracking technologies that provide detailed breakdowns of all kinds of variables. We are expected to be in this space for another 48 months.
The democratization that is coming will place these powerful tools in the hands of everyone with an iPhone or iWatch or simple sensors in sweatbands or shoes. Having the data is one thing, knowing how to construct a plan to take advantage of the data is another. At Edge Flow Analytics we are pursuing ways to put analytical tools in the hands that matter most in this quest - the athletes themselves.
For information on some companies that are pursuing athlete tracking, see;