This is a review of the neural networks research conducted by Kuan-Chieh Wang and Richard Zemel. Offensive strategies in basketball are complex and dynamic, ever changing in response to the defense. Not only do the plays evolve but also players can change roles as the play on the court continues. A further complication is that…
Variation can be determined using different sources of data. Three typical sources that are often compared are overall variation, between-team variation and within-team variation. You can use all three types of variation when analyzing points scored in the National Football League. Overall variation is determined using all of the points scored by all of the…
Some measurements can be difficult to work with and understand. In these cases, it can be useful to transform them to another function. Linear and logarithm transformations are two possible ways of accomplishing this. The transformation does not change the information, but rather displays it in a way that makes it easier to analyse and…
This is a review of the research using predictive model weights conducted by Joel Brooks, Matthew Kerr, and John Guttag. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, however, its statistics are not as sophisticated as those used in other sports. Players are evaluated using simple stats like number of goals, shots and assists. A new…
Today’s blog takes a look at sports analytics frequency distribution and how this analytics method is applied in sports. Once data has been collected, it needs to be organized in a manner that makes it easy to analyze. The simplest way to do this is by summing up the information and entering the sums into…
This article focuses on sports analytics point distributions and expected points. One probability distribution that is especially useful in sports statistics is the distribution of the points scored. This distribution analyzes the probability of scoring points in any given situation. In a football game, a team could be on second down at their opponent’s ten-yard…
Sports analytics best practices are techniques and methodologies, proven by top teams around the world, to lead to a team’s desired results. In the Sports Analytics Maturity Model, Victor Holman, founder of Agile Sports Analytics, outlines 26 sports analytics best practices that every team with national or global reach should strive to implement. These best practices…
Probability is defined as a measure of how often a particular event will take place if the experiment occurs repeatedly. Probability ranges from zero to one. Zero indicates that the event is impossible, and one indicates that the event definitely will occur. The higher the probability the more likely it is that the event will…
Sports statistics regularly use the theory of probability. It is important to have a good grasp of the concept in order to use the information appropriately and understand the meaning behind it. The starting point in sports probability is an experiment. An experiment is any course of action where the outcome is random. An experiment…
This is a review of the thesis written by Jonathan Mills regarding sports analytics decision making in the national basketball association. For years, coaches in the NBA have used basic statistics and experience to evaluate teams and players. More advanced analytics continue to become more readily available. The trick is deciphering what these statistics mean…