Daily Dictionary: Possessions

Daily Dictionary: Possessions


Team: FGA + .44FTA + TOV - OREB
Individual: FGA + .44FTA + TOV - 1/3*Missed FG (included because 1/3 of FGA result in an offensive rebound)


The goal of these first few dictionary posts are to introduce some of the major concepts that will be applied in our game reviews.  We started with a few individual level statistics that more completely measure a players offensive contribution.  True Shooting and Usage are extremely valuable tools, but they fail to measure the impact of Offensive Rebounding and Turnovers on team success.

One key point to understand is that teams will generally have an extremely similar number of possessions in a given game (+/- 1 or 2).  This places a premium on the ability to score efficiently, crash the offensive glass, and limit turnovers.  Matt W. will have a post up shortly on the impact of offensive rebounds and turnovers, so I'll instead focus on scoring.

As I referenced yesterday, many fans tend to overrate pure bulk scoring, and in doing so, they neglect to take into consideration how many possessions are used to get these points.

Player A: 25.3 Points/Game
Player B: 26.7 Points/Game

Player A Possessions Used: 20 + .44(7.1) + 3 - .33(11) = 26.124 - 3.63 = 22.494 Possessions/Game
Player B Possessions Used: 17.5 + .44(7.8) + 3.3 -.33(8.6) = 24.232 - 2.838 = 21.394 Possessions/Game

Player A Points Per Possession = 25.3/22.494 = 1.12
Player B Points Per Possession = 26.7/21.394 = 1.25

Player A is Kobe Bryant, Player B is LeBron James

All of this information is readily available in the boxscore, and can be done for single games or for an entire season (or career).  These simple calculations provide a deeper insight into the offensive contributions of a specific player.