Nylon Calculus

Analyzing a new cache of NBA rebound tracking data can help identify optimal strategies for shot selection and positioning rebounders. It’s been said that the NBA is a ‘make or miss’ league. And that’s true — shot-making is a crucial factor in determining the outcome of every game. But it could also be said that

With the NBA season more than half over, what does each team’s offense look like? Which offenses need fixing? Modern NBA offenses are incredibly complicated. They have to be, seeing as (and don’t let any basketball boomers hear this) NBA defenses are very, very good. Teams constantly change, expand, and improve their offensive arsenals to

In a season full of sparkling individual performances, Damian Lillard just raised the bar significantly. Damian Lillard has thrown up some monster games before, but his 61-point effort against the Warriors on Monday night was exceptional. He earned those points, the most anyone has scored in a game this season, on 17-of-37 from the field,

Jaylen Brown’s burgeoning proficiency as a spot-up shooter has supported growth in other areas of his offensive game, helping him take an enormous leap. Jaylen Brown’s third season in the NBA was a seesaw in production. Despite the Celtics reaching the second round of the playoffs, Brown had his share of struggles adjusting to a

Jaylen Brown has taken an enormous leap on offense this season, in large part by developing his off-the-dribble game. In terms of offensive priority, Jaylen Brown still takes a backseat to Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum for the Celtics. He ranks in third in usage, third in scoring, third in field goal attempts per game,

After two seasons of questions, Markelle Fultz has proven himself a useful NBA player. What have we seen so far and what does it mean for his ceiling? After a meandering first two seasons that included mysterious injuries, conspiracy theories, a disappearing jumpshot and plenty of missed games, former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz

Making quick decisions can give an NBA player an offensive edge. But some players excel by taking their time and holding the ball. Every time an NBA player catches the ball, they are faced with a trio of options — dribble, pass or shoot. A player’s triple-threat tendencies can dramatically affect both the structure of

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 1: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks on March 1 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to

Ben Simmons is having a special defensive season and his ability to stretch his positional range has helped keep the 76ers afloat. Ben Simmons‘ combination of size and skill is an exercise in cognitive dissonance. He measures out at 6-foot-10 with the bulk of a power forward but his quickness, ball skills, passing and vision

The Raptors have been among the most successful teams in the NBA at taking and making wide-open 3-pointers this season. Who else is making it work? Whenever Giannis Antetokounmpo dashes towards the rim, the rationale for the modern NBA’s emphasis on floor spacing becomes abundantly clear. As that burst of size, speed and strength picks

Brandon Ingram’s box score stats are scraping career-highs. But are all his points really helping the New Orleans Pelicans? Somehow, Brandon Ingram is only 22 years old. The shine of the Hollywood spotlight was unrelenting throughout the former second overall draft pick’s first three seasons in the NBA, allowing the burgeoning basketball populous insight into

Year four of the Kenny Atkinson era in Brooklyn was not supposed to start like this. Why are the Nets struggling? Six years removed from that infamous trade with the Boston Celtics for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Brooklyn Nets completed an incredible rebuild with a “clean sweep” this offseason, signing Kyrie Irving, Kevin

The Timberwolves are off to a surprising 7-4 start and the evolution of Andrew Wiggins and the team’s previously stagnant offense has been striking. After a relatively quiet offseason, not much was expected of the Timberwolves in a Western Conference crowded with hungry contenders looking to take advantage of the Warriors’ injuries. But a 7-4

As the NBA season moves through its second week, a new Nylon Notebook looks at Kawhi Leonard’s playmaking and other statistical outliers. Kawhi’s playmaking Kawhi Leonard has long since established himself as one of the most potent offensive players in the NBA but this season he’s working on another tier. Through five games, Leonard has a

The NBA‘s regular-season kicked off in earnest on Wednesday night with 11 teams playing their first game. Here are some quick statistical takeaways from the league’s first big slate. Kyrie goes off Kyrie Irving‘s 50-point explosion was a nice way for him to formally introduce himself as a Net. He finished 17-of-33 from the field

The Thunder and Pelicans received numerous future first-round draft picks in trades this offseason. What can we say about the value of picks far in the future? In the few years before the 2019 offseason, front offices seemed reticent to part with future unprotected first-round draft picks. No one wanted to repeat the mistakes of

The proliferation of advanced analytics has meant we now judge a scorer by volume and efficiency. It’s time to really add consistency to the mix. The proliferation of basketball analytics has exponentially increased the number of ways in which we can describe, analyze, and understand the game of basketball. Advances over the last decade have

Shooting 3-pointers is often treated as an essential skill in today’s NBA. But you can still be a positive contributor on offense without shooting. Talk about Ben Simmons or Giannis Antetokounmpo long enough and you’ll eventually hit the rhetorical brick wall of their jump-shooting. Both are insanely talented and neither has a reliable 3-point shot,

Spacing and shooting are cornerstones of modern NBA offenses. The art of the drive and kick has become essential. How can defenses stop the drive-and-kick? Modern NBA offenses rely on spacing and 3-point shooting in a cascade of effects — placing shooters in corners and spacing others around the arc creates room for ball handlers

Don’t worry about your favorite team’s schedule. Research shows the NBA’s regular-season schedule isn’t going to have a major impact on the final standings. Every August, the NBA releases its schedule for the upcoming year. It’s an exciting time as fans pour over the games to see which stretches will be particularly hard or forgiving

The Clippers added two elite two-way perimeter stars but neither Paul George or Kawhi Leonard has much track record as a passer. Could this be a problem? After a summer full of seismic shifts and full-out Steve Ballmer enthusiasm, the Clippers are entering the 2019-20 season as favorites to win the title. And those high

What will Jimmy Butler’s role in Miami look like now that he’s back as an offensive centerpiece? Over the offseason, Jimmy Butler signed a four-year, $142 million max deal with the Miami Heat. This included a sign-and-trade that sent Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers. Combine that with Dwyane Wade’s retirement and Butler is the

3-point percentage is the most commonly used statistic to measure shooting in the NBA. By adjusting for defensive attention, we can create a more accurate figure. If you asked any 100 NBA fans who is a better shooter, Damian Lillard or Pascal Siakam, all 100 would say Lillard. However, if you asked those same fans

Introducing triple-threat charts, which visualize a team’s propensity for dribbling, shooting and passing from different locations. Earlier this week Nylon Calculus contributor Senthil Natarajan had a fantastic idea for a new basketball chart. He suggested mapping players’ dribble-pass-shoot tendencies by court location, something we might call a triple-threat chart. I had some fun experimenting with

While auctions are not what most people think of around NBA general managers, some principles of auction theory could be used in governing negotiations of superstar trades. When the general public thinks of an auction, basketball is not at all the first thing that comes to their mind. Shows like A&E’s Storage Wars, in which

The Indiana Pacers have decided to go against the grain, putting two centers in their starting lineup. What will it take for their two-big lineup to work? The looming longterm question for the Indiana Pacers last year was whether Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, both young centers and among the team’s best prospects, could work

The threat of 3-point shooting has a powerful effect on defensive positioning. So, how is NBA shooting gravity defined and how can we visualize it? Since the dawn of the modern 3-point era, NBA teams have been on a quest to improve their outside shooting and that evolution has brought the phrase “gravity” into the

It’s been a pretty weird last three years for Jayson Tatum, particularly with regards to his career trajectory, and how people feel about his shot-taking and his shot-making. In his lone collegiate season at Duke, Tatum demonstrated a proclivity for — and in fairness, something of a knack for — operating in isolation. Per Synergy