Daily Dictionary: Pace

Pace


48*((Team Possession + Opponent Possession) / (2*(Team Minutes/5)))


Pace is another team-level statistic that cannot be gleaned by simply viewing a boxscore.  Pace is important to note during an analysis, because it can sometimes skew counting stats such as Points, Rebounds, Assists. Pace roughly estimates the number of possessions used by a team in a given game.

Here are the Top 5 and Bottom 5 teams in pace:

1. Minnesota - 96.5
2t. New York - 95.6
2t. Denver - 95.6
4. Sacramento - 95.2
5. Golden State - 94.8

26. Charlotte - 89.6
27. Atlanta - 89.3
28. Detroit - 89.2
29. New Orleans - 88.7
30. Portland - 87.9

It goes without saying that when holding usage constant, players will use a higher number of raw possessions when in a high pace offense.  This, of course, will lead to more opportunities to accumulate bulk statistics.  Later on in the week I will address in greater detail the impact of pace.