You get handed play by play with the box score after every game, so how can you best use this? Here are five things you can learn from taking a closer look at it.
- Points of inflection – Of course we’re going to start with a math term! A point of inflection is the point on a graph when it changes direction – going from up to down or left to right. Looking at the play by play, you can see when your team or opponents went on a run to cut your lead down or flip the game to their advantage. Looking at the circumstances around those points may indicate something that you can adjust in practice or the next game.
- Substitutions – If your last sub happened with 7:30 left on the clock and you walked away with two timeouts in your pocket, it shouldn’t be surprising that your team tired down the stretch but sometimes that’s hard to see in real time, especially in a close game.
- Clutch stats – A three-point game with four minutes left can show you how your team does in a close game scenario and the general reaction is ‘we did great’ if you won or ‘we did horrible’ if you lost – looking at the play by play – you can see exactly what you did during those last few minutes. Easy enough when watching the film, but good to see some numbers behind that.
- Elements of a Run – That 12-0 run early in the second half? What was a part of it? Several turnovers for the other team? Great offensive rebounding? A few big three’s from a hot hand? Our memory has a tendency to just remember the big plays in a run but the play by play illuminates all of it and it’s easier to mark off before even watching the film.
- Start and Finish – Everyone talks about a fast start and a strong finish – the play by play outlines exactly what you did in that first 3-4 minutes of each period as well as at the end.
As you can see, there’s a ton of things to see in that play by play and can even tee up your film study later that night. Of course, if you want even more from your play by play, check out our Lineup software to turn it into advanced stats, five-man lineup data and more!