The seventy-two-game NBA season is due to wrap up in May, which isn’t far away at all. After such an amazing season, we will be left with a series of stats that are useful to learn going forward. You may not think that these numbers are important when it comes to basketball; however, you would be very wrong. These stats can help us to predict how the teams will perform during the next full season, but there are other reasons to pay attention to post-season NBA stats.
Why Look At Post-Season Stats?
As a basketball fan, you will often go into a game with a clear idea of the outcome. This is because the current stats dictate the probability of certain events, which means that you have a good chance of predicting the winner. Plus, it makes it more enjoyable when something unexpected happens. However, there is another benefit to looking at these NBA stats.
Top Point Scorer
Scoring points is the key to winning a game. Therefore, it should be fairly obvious that the top scorer of the previous season is going to win the most games. While there is an element of truth to this, there is more to think about when looking at which player scored the most points.
Anything can happen during a game of basketball. If that top scorer has to take time off with an injury, it is up to the rest of the team to rack up the points. How did they perform last season? Basketball games only require twelve players to work on a small court, which means that one player can make a huge difference. This means that a team may struggle without their top scorer and that you should look at other player stats to inform your predictions.
Points Conceded
A good defense is equally important as an attack when it comes to a game of basketball. If the other team cannot score, then chances are they will not perform well. That is why it is imperative to look at the points conceded stat at the end of a season to give yourself an idea of a team’s defensive capabilities.
If you wanted to take this further, you can look at specific players as well as a single stat. Once you know which team has conceded the fewest goals, it is worth researching further as to why. It could be due to a good defensive line, or because one player is more dedicated to blocking than others. Again, you can find this information by looking at the average block stat. It is important to know these things if you are making bets based on defensive strategy alone.
3 Point Average Vs 2 Point Average
The post-season stats will show you how many points a team has scored, but they also split this information into two categories. These are three-point goals and two-point goals. The three-point goal is the result of a shot that is taken outside of a specific area, and the two-point goal is awarded after a successful dunk. You may not think that this information is relevant; however, there is a big distinction between the two types of points.
Basketball is a fast-paced, strategic game. If the player can get the ball from one end of the court to the other and score two points, it suggests that this is a team of well-rounded players that are more likely to follow a fixed list of tactics. On the other hand, a three-point requires accuracy but is often a shot taken out of opportunity, rather than strategy. Therefore, you can get a good sense of how a team plays by looking at the type of points they tend to score, not just the overall number.
Steals And Possession
You should now be aware of how tactical a player must be in order to win a game of basketball. One key tactical choice that many people dismiss is the ability to steal. If the other team cannot hold onto the ball, then their chances of scoring are greatly diminished.
Stealing is basketball’s alternative to tackling, and it doesn’t happen as often as you may think. It takes a skillful player to know when to steal the ball without causing a foul, and these teams often end up with a higher possession stat overall. The longer you have possession of the ball, the more likely your team is to score. It is simple maths.
Fouls
There are two post-season NBA stats that you need to look at when it comes to fouls. The first is the average fouls committed during the season. A foul will result in a free throw for the other team, which means that they are likely to rack up more points against a team that routinely commits fouls.
The second important stat is a team’s free-throw percentage. This number will tell you how often a team succeeds with their free throws. If this number is low, then you may want to re-think betting on that team with a high foul per game average.
Conclusion
The NBA post-season stats are to be used as a guide more than anything. However, you can clearly see how a small bit of information can radically improve a team’s chances of success. Try to pay attention to these and you will have much more luck when predicting the outcome of a basketball game.