First, a message from Matt Moore, Editor Emeritus of Hardwood Paroxysm and the HPBasketball Network.
I love stats. Metrics. Data. I’m not an expert, though, which is why throughout the history of Hardwood Paroxysm I’ve reached out to the brightest minds who do understand the fascinating world of advanced analytics. Before I started the blog, I used to lurk in the APBR Metrics board, seeing all the ideas and analysis and debates flow back and forth. It was fascinating, and in my writing I’ve always tried to be open to the newer, fresher ways of looking at the numbers the game produces.
Several of our metrics writers have gone on to have full-time positions with teams. Some have gone on to bigger media positions dealing with data. It’s in that spirit that we present Nylon Calculus.
TNC is the next generation evolution of Hickory High, and will be lead by the incomparable Ian Levy. You’ll know his work from 538, from ESPN, from all over. He’s a leader in the field, and he’s assembled a crew that’s going to present some cool stuff, that’s going to present data in interesting ways, but more than anything, they’re going to ask the right questions.
This isn’t data for data’s sake. It’s data to entertain, to inform, but mostly to push forward the concepts of what advanced analytics can do in the NBA. The revolution has already arrived, even if the battle’s still being fought against the stubborn old guard. This site’s for the new republic of smarter basketball analysis.
This isn’t about teaching you things, it’s about bringing ideas and helping you to ask the right questions. We want your involvement, your engagement, you feedback. This isn’t a lecture, it’s a workshop.
And class is in session.
Welcome to the Nylon Calculus.
And now, the editor of TNC, Ian Levy.
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For those of you who don’t know me, I spent the last four years running Hickory-High, a charming little niche basketball website that dabbled in everything from analytics to collaborative haiku. Having also been a part of Hardwood Paroxysm for the past few season I was thrilled when Matt offered me the opportunity to roll things over to the Hardwood Paroxysm Basketball Network and bring the Hickory-High staff with me.
Although I’ve done plenty of work with analytics during my time in the basketball blogosphere, I have very little in the way of formal math education. I’m an elementary school teacher by day, ironic because elementary school was around when I stopped paying attention in my math classes. But I’ve always been fascinated by numbers and statistics, particularly their intersection with sports. When I first started Hickory-High it was because I was curious. I had a question about basketball statistics and, embarrassingly, how they related to Troy Murphy. I couldn’t find the answer and no one seemed to have the time to help me find it — so I set out looking for it myself. More than four years later, I find myself running the basketball analytics site for the best damn little sports network on the Internet. At the risk of veering into sentimentality, that journey has shaped all of the plans for the Nylon Calculus.
The fundamental element underlying all our intentions here at Nylon Calculus is curiosity. We are a diverse group of individuals, with that diversity reflected in interests, backgrounds and skills. The one thing we all have in common is curiosity about the game of basketball and a thirst to learn more. That curiosity naturally takes us to hypothesis and then the search for evidence, hence our interest in analytics. We are all seekers.
We are also a community, and hopefully a growing one. There were resources and explanations to help me with my initial Troy Murphy quandary, but I didn’t know where they were, or who to ask. I know understanding basketball analytics can seem like an iceberg, too enormous to begin chipping away at and with something else always lurking beneath the surface. We’re here to help. Our plan is to make Nylon Calculus a place where anyone interested in analytics can find something that connects with them. Interested in cutting edge research with visualizations that will make your eyeballs bleed? We’ll have it. Interested in learning a little bit more about your favorite team and why they just can’t seem to get over the hump? We’ll help you find out. Curious about basketball statistics and just looking to get started? We’ll help you get caught up.
We have tried to be intentional about what this site will look like and have (under my ridiculously silly guidance) laid out Mission and Vision statements for the site, supported by our Guiding Beliefs. This may seem like overkill for a silly little basketball website, but these ideas are important to us and we intend to treat them that way.
The site is up and running today with a fabulous core staff. You’ll see some familiar faces from Hickory-High (assuming you were one of our 17 regular readers) and also some extremely talented newcomers. But we will still be looking to add more contributors as the site continues to grow. If you have an interest in writing about basketball analytics, send me an email at TheNylonCalculus@gmail.com and tell me what I need to know about you.
We have some terrific stuff planned for this first week and a wondrous web of ideas are already being spun together for the rest of the summer and beyond. We don’t have all the answers and we won’t ever tell you that we do. But we know a little about statistics and we’re on a journey to learn more. Along the way we’d like to help answer your questions, tell you some stories, deepen you knowledge about basketball and maybe even entertain you a little. We would love for all of you to be active participants. Let us know what we’re doing well and what we’re not. Let us know what you’d like to learn more about and why. We’re on Facebook and Twitter and comments are always welcome on everything we do.
Welcome to the Nylon Calculus. Make yourself at home.