Five Thoughts That Won’t Change Basketball Forever

“Basketball watchers, myself included, are obsessed with the notion that good players perform well at the end of close games. I guess the thinking is that of course your team will be in close games that matter, so it’s good to be ready for that.”

Skip over the possessions stuff, it’s been done better by others, but the last point is something that gives hope to stats people everywhere.  Much like the realization that a good “closer” isn’t so important.

Basketball watchers, myself included, are obsessed with the notion that good players perform well at the end of close games. I guess the thinking is that of course your team will be in close games that matter, so it’s good to be ready for that.

But stat experts generally insist that it really doesn’t make any difference when in the game you play well. If you play great in the first quarter, that same game that would have featured crunch time would quite probably be a comfortable lead for your team. So why obsess on players who close well? Just get the ones who play well, and you’ll be fine