Guess the Shot Chart: Big man edition
By Ian Levy
We all know that there can be a disconnect between what our eyes see when watching a basketball game and what the numbers reflect. There can be a third aspect to this distortion — the data visualization. Even if we can reconcile our observations of a player’s shooting characteristics with the hard numbers, seeing those numbers splayed out on a shot chart can create incongruity with both statistics and the eye test.
I thought it would be fun to play with that disconnect a little bit, with another rousing game of Guess the Shot Chart. Below are five player shot charts from the 2015-16 season, courtesy of Austin Clemens, each with the player’s name blacked out. In this edition, all five shot charts are from big men.
I offered a brief description of each player below the shot chart. See if you can use the description and the visual to guess the player. Tweet us @NylonCalculus and let us know how many you got right. Grand prize is an absurdly over-inflated sense of self-worth.
1. How stretchy am I?
This big man has a reputation for stretchiness that seems rather unfounded, given his shot chart. Excellent around the rim and very good from the top of the key, this player had precious few hot spots from behind the arc. A lot of his three-point attempts came from the corners and even there he was generally below the league average.
2. An unsightly jumper
This is a young big man with lots of potential but who is still working on finding a way to contribute offensively. He is an excellent finisher in the restricted area but the spay of blue highlights his inconsistent jump shot and the fact that he doesn’t yet appear to have defined comfort zones on offense.
3. Close, but no cigar
This big man is extremely active from behind the three-point arc but shows a fairly even mix of hot and cold spots. A significant portion of this three-point attempts come from the right corner and he is a very comfortable shooter from that location. This player also displays an interesting pattern where he is cold around the basket, but very good a step or two outside that area.
4. Getting warmer
This shot chart is from another young big man whose career is on the upswing. Primarily a complementary player on offense, he appears to have very solid potential as a stretch big with several hot spots beyond the arc. He’s also the inverse of the player in shot chart No. 3 — very good around the rim but less effective a step or two outside the restricted area.
5. A fiery volcano
Continuing a pattern, this is another young big man who is still developing. His offensive activity is completely contained inside the three-point arc. This player is very good inside the paint, but also appears to have some range on his jumper with hot spots along the baseline and and a fewer around the top of the key.