http://nba-facts-and-rumors.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/27030243 fairly good article. surprised to see gordon as the #2 most consistent scorer
Sure.. Kobe is consistent in his scoring PPG. But how consistent are his shot attempts in relation to his points?
really cool article, thanks for posting. I like how the numbers tell a great story, Beasely being last and Durant being first by a long shot,
the story of Kobe the chucker is totally out of proportion with his actual stats. Yes, if you take the top20 scorers, then his shooting % is among the bottom...and yet it's no where near the blowout ppl make it to be. Carmelo and Westbrook have far worse AFG% than Kobe and yet no one talks about how inefficient they are.
If a player shoots 30 times to score 20 points one night, and he shoots 15 times to score 20 points the next night, is he consistent?
it's still 20 points either way. it would only be inconsistency if he shot 15 for 20 one night but 15 for 10 on another. i think the word your looking for is efficiency.
How good you are at scoring the ball goes beyond putting points on the board, though. If your efficiency swings wildly from one game to another, you're not consistent.
i think you're mixing up consistent scoring and consistent efficiency. this article is about consistent scoring.
Actually, I remember a number of articles being written when the Carmelo drama started about how inefficient he is as a scorer.
What are we talking about here: consistency in putting up x number of points, or consistency in being a good scorer? Because being a good scorer is not independent of efficiency. I think it would be better to look at both consistency in points scored and also consistency in scoring efficiency. Looking at only one or the other doesn't fully capture what it means to be a consistent scorer, IMO.
He went in consonance to the blog article which studies consistency in putting up x number of points without regard for efficiency; it's funny that I have to say this because one time I got caught up arguing with a poster who erroneously kept repeating this: It's just a matter of semantics.
This is an interesting stat, but you have to take it at face value. The stat is simply variance in points scored. Efficiency is not measured here! It's still interesting to see that the good scorers we know are great like Kobe or Durant do the same things every night, and streak shooters like Beasley or Ellis rank low. Still disregarding efficiency, the best players seem to bring the same thing every night. It is really hard to score 30 points on a poor shooting night. The higher the points go, the higher the efficiency, usually. I don't have a stat for this, but I imagine that there is a strong correlation between points and FG %.
Its not just a matter of semantics. There is no confusion or disagreement over what the author means by consistency. The author writes that coaches value consistency -- true, but only looking at consistency of a player's point total can be deceptive. A player who is consistent both in points scored and also number of shots taken will help stabilize the consistency of his team's performance. But a player who is consistent in points scored but wildly inconsistent in number of shots taken will not make his team's performance more consistent. In my view, such a player is not a consistent scorer. You can't only look at consistency in a player's makes game to game, you must also look at consistency in the player's misses. Both impact the outcome.
Efficiency is very important indeed. Without looking at the stats, my hunch is, most volume scorers have pretty consistent shot attempts. So consistency of point scoring and consistency of efficiency is likely well-correlated. It's hard to imagine a guy would shoot more when he's cold and shoot less when he's hot. If you are the first scoring option, you just shoot your shots whether you are hitting or not.
Perspective and use of the noun consistency: Author: Consistency in putting up x number of points. durvasa: consistency in being a good scorer. I’m blaming the author on this one, even though it is worthy of publication because it sheds some light, it only shows half the picture. I can say we all agree with what you’re saying durvasa but when it comes to this thread you have taken the word consistency out of the context it was used in the first place. Do I think the author’s analysis is better than what you’re suggesting? No, what you’re asking for gives a better picture of overall consistency.
I think you're wrong. This study doesn't show that Kobe or Durant do the same thing every night, while "streak shooters" rank low. In fact, you couldn't rule out from this data that Kobe or Durant are streak shooters. It could just as likely be that Beasley gets yanked from the game or told to stop shooting if he's not hitting, whereas Kobe or Durant are allowed to put up 30 shots to get their numbers, if that's what it takes. Any scorer on this list could score 25 points just about every night if that's what he really wanted to do and if the coaching staff let him get away with playing that way.
