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Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets was having a conversation with a basketball savant via Twitter when the latter dropped some basketball statistics. Durant, seemingly caught off guard and turned off with the graphs, sent out an assertive response.
Who the fuck wants to look at graphs while having a hoop convo?
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) October 15, 2019
Their conversation revolved around the evolution of the game and the teams' predilection for hoisting up 3-pointers and driving for layups. Players now don't take midrange shots as often as before. Though the Nets' superstar is aware of this, he believes that a player should be able to make any type of shot — whether it's a midrange, a 3-pointer, or a layup.
So there’s this data point, and this isn’t some complicated metric, but it shows how players have shot mid-range over time. Even when they took more mid-range shots, they shot basically the same percentage.https://t.co/NLuWf5aUJC
It just hasn’t really changed.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) October 15, 2019
Yet as observed in the thread, the conversation took a turn when Hardwood Paroxysm replied with a graph showing how players have shot mid-range jumpers over time.
Teams have been looking at such statistics in an effort to bolster their chances of winning. They look at these data points to see how they can apply it to their system. They also look at the opposing team's advanced statistics to see what's the best strategy against them.
However, like Durant, some teams opt to depend on their eyes and instincts. Though these metrics tell them something, they certainly don't reveal the entire picture. And when Durant — one of the most potent scorers that the game has ever seen — tells one to not entirely depend on statistics, he should listen with all ears.
