Where do rebounds go? A Michigan State faculty member has the answer

July 19, 2012 in Professional

By Patrick Hayes

OK, I try to stay painstakingly on topic on this site and never veer off the tracks of posting only content that has a tie to basketball in Michigan. So on the surface, although it’s thoroughly interesting, I wouldn’t have a reason to necessarily post research on basketball analytics done by . But thankfully, he’s an assistant professor in the Michigan State Department of Geography, so that’s a a good enough connection for me.

Goldsberry recently published data looking at where the rebounds from more than 26,000 missed shots during the NBA season last year went. The results … well … you just have to look at the beautiful graphics yourself. Here’s a very brief excerpt:

So, where do rebounds happen? It depends. It depends on shot location, rebounder positioning, and rebounder athleticism. In this article I examine the interactions between shot location and rebounding location in the NBA. I think I’ve found some interesting results that are likely to change the ways you think about rebounding and boxing out.

It’s so detailed and the graphics themselves are so amazing to look at, no excerpt here will do it justice. Just go read the entire post, especially if you’re a coach interested in having some data and talking points when you try and teach young players about the art of rebounding.

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