Thinking Basketball Paperback – June 29, 2016

This book is *not* a statistical primer. This is *not* a book of stories or history. This is *not* a nitty-gritty x's and o's breakdown of the game.This book is an examination of cognitive biases, how they compromise our ability to understand the sport, and how to understand the game better without them. This is basically "Thinking, Fast and Slow" for basketball (and a lot shorter).Examples include how Wilt's scoring, while dominant on paper, didn't help his team as much as you'd think, about how pumping a huge amount of your offense into one vehicle often has seriously diminishing returns. And about how storylines about games or playoff series are often compromised by who wins: the exact same performance that is praised on a team that won the game is often panned if it's on the losing team. And so on.This isn't a magnum opus. This is merely a primer for understanding the game better (a more thorough exploration of the topics discussed can be found in the author's Top 40 list at backpicks.com). On one hand, the book isn't a lot to look at. On the other hand, it has so enhanced my understanding of the game that it is almost inconceivable to imagine my understanding of the game before.An extremely worthwhile read for anyone who wants to understand the game better.

Thinking Basketball feels like it could have been written yesterday and 30 years ago. Even as sports have entered the analytics age, the way we process information remains hamstrung by the way we watch and process in a sport with almost 200 possessions per game. What gets lost as our eyes follow the ball? Or in our recollections, as we remember only one or two emotional moments? Thinking Basketball helps you rethink a sport that everyone thinks they understand and challenges the narratives of conventional wisdom that lead us astray.This book is prescient. It can help you deliberate you and your friends' late night arguments over who really deserves MVP but also arm you with a healthier approach to statistics, measurements, and popular narratives that crop up everywhere in our lives. Understanding the brain's limitations and the way the brain takes shortcuts, based on studies from psychology and behavioral science, is the first step to not falling for the mirages we create for ourselves.Thinking Basketball will make you smarter but it's not a dry textbook. Taylor introduces original concepts presented in clear prose with the context of sports debates to bring us along for the ride. The conclusions Taylor presents, based on a careful historical study of basketball, lively use of data, and a background in cognitive science, are ones that should disseminate through the basketball-speaking world. The questions Taylor asks, if we keep them in our minds, should keep us on our toes far beyond the world of basketball.

Taylor provides an easy-to-read look at how various psychological blindspots commonly lead people to erroneous opinions about basketball and its players. Why do people think clutch performance is more important than the rest of the game? Why do people overvalue rings? He backs up his arguments with stats and sound logical reasoning.What this book provides: A lens to clarify your own thoughts on basketball and help you avoid common traps. A lance to pierce your buddy's arguments about why a 20 ppg iso scorer is a good addition to a team.What this book doesn't provide: Taylor argues with advanced stats. He explains what these stats measure and a little bit about how they are calculated. However, he does not dig into the details about how they were calculated and developed - this is beyond the scope of the book. If you want a primer on how to perform mathematical analysis yourself, look elsewhere.

This is a great short read that will likely highlight several facts about statistical trends that indicate the best ways to win. A lot of the keys to success really were displayed by the 2014 Spurs team. I especially liked the de-emphasis of the "clutch" mattering more than other times of the game. I've always felt that a missed FT or lay-up in the 1st is the same amount of points as one missed in the 4th quarter, but it was great to have stats to back that claim up. Overall an enjoyable, quick read. I found out about this from his YouTube channel which is amazing! Highly recommend the book and the channel!

Ben Taylor does an incredible job explaining the depths of what makes a basketball player truly relevant for his team. A player could average 20pts per game for his squad which looks great on paper but how efficiently is he scoring for his opportunities. I think the book does a great job of asking if a player is actually helping or hurting his team when on the floor. Individuals whom consider themselves as die hard basketball fans should give this book a chance.