basketball player

Chapter 6 006: Henson's Math Lesson

"That's right, there's only one player, because he's the only player at UCLA that deserves our attention this year."

Hearing Henson say that, Pritchard didn't even bother to read the scouting report. Where is UCLA? It is the holy land that the best basketball talents in the United States yearn for.In an arena full of opportunity and talent, this scout brought them just one player report!While the Pacers may not get a high pick this year, there's more than one option.

Bird may not be familiar with Henson, but Pritchard has heard some of Henson's "glorious deeds".It's not without reason that the original team's data analyst was reduced to a small scout who needs to travel around.

After all, not everyone is like Cuban and can find such an excellent data analyst.In this world, there are not many people who can do both mathematics and basketball and still be qualified for this job.And what is there to read in a scouting report written by someone who doesn't understand basketball?
Henson can say that Jrue Holiday is one of the most noteworthy players, but he can't take that one out.After all, Holiday's projected draft pick has never entered the lottery. Did everyone in front of him die overnight?

"Jrue Holiday? I know him. If the league still allows high school students to participate in the draft, he might still be able to squeeze into the lottery zone. But after this guy went to college, he almost disappeared. You also wrote in detail his average data in college, which is very mediocre. A player who can't dominate the game in the NCAA, I really don't know why he became the most high-profile one. When you said this just now, I thought you would give me a scouting report for Darren Collison. But Zhu. Holiday?"

Byrd glanced at the first page of the report, biting his cigar and shaking his head.If it weren't for what Henson said just now that made Bird feel a little interesting, he might have told the scout to get out of the private room.

"Indeed, Holiday's average per game looks average. But you have to know that this data may not reflect Holiday's true level at all, and the data will also lie. Scores, assists, rebounds, blocks, turnovers. There is no problem with Holiday's data. The problem is that these data are not comprehensive enough, not objective enough, and cannot truly reflect Holiday's level! Mr. Bird, please continue to open the second page of the scouting report!"

In the face of doubts, Henson was very calm.With the help of the data analysis module, he can see that Holiday's potential is A-, but others can't see it.In order to convince others, he was thinking about how to persuade others when he was flying from last night to today.After time travel, the owner of this body left Henson with a bright mind and superb mathematical knowledge.So Henson thought, maybe he can use this to make a big fuss.

Bird turned to the second page of the scouting report and was stunned.A lot of numbers and mathematical formulas were densely written on the entire paper, and Bird felt a dull pain in his brain instantly!
"Whether it's points, rebounds, steals, or blocks and assists, all these data have a significant correlation with the team's victory or defeat. For this reason, I used the t-test formula and correlation analysis, and the results all support this view. I also collected data from every game during Holiday's college days, and then comprehensively considered the influence and contribution of Holiday's various data to the team's victory or defeat. I used several mathematical models to construct."

"Hey, stop, Henson! Damn, am I here to listen to your math class? Tell me something I can understand!" Byrd was a little impatient, and Pritchard watched the play silently.The rumors are true, this guy Henson can only fiddle with a bunch of mathematical formulas that the coach can't understand and that don't help the team much.He's not a scout, just a nerd.

But after Bird yelled, Henson still didn't change his face.He knew it would happen, and Henson knew that Bird and the coaching staff couldn't understand and didn't want to hear those annoying formulas.But the reason why he still said this is to prove that Holiday's excellence is not just a matter of words, but is supported by complex data.

"Okay, then let's skip that annoying analysis. To be honest, I was quite annoying when I calculated these formulas last night." Henson first eased the atmosphere with self-deprecation, and then the persuasion really began!
"The data calculated by those complex formulas all point to one result, that is, Holiday's contribution to the team's victory is much greater than that of UCLA's head guard Darren Collison! Yes, Darren Collison averaged 14.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game, making him look more like a star. After all, even Westbrook used him as a substitute for the Bruins. But these data deceived everyone's eyes. , Whether it is ball possession or shooting power, a large amount is in the hands of Collison. I have calculated that if Collison’s ball possession and shooting power are converted to Holiday, his statistics will be infinitely better than Collison! And Holiday is a point guard, but the Bruins put him in the position of shooting guard for tactical needs. Holiday’s scoring ability is indeed better than organizational ability, but one of his dilemmas as a shooting guard is that Holiday can’t touch the ball at all during most of the game. The ball is spinning in Collison's hands!"

Henson paused deliberately as he spoke.At this time on the court, the second quarter of the game between the Pacers and the Spurs had already begun, but Bird was still staring intently at Henson's scouting report and listening to his explanation.Henson knew, Bird listened!This means that his preparations were not in vain.

"You also said that data can deceive people's eyes. Then, how can you guarantee that the numbers you listed will not deceive my eyes?" Bird continued to ask, the world of basketball cannot be described clearly with numbers alone.

"Well, of course I have something else to say. You continue to read, I attached a few pictures of Holiday shooting and layup at the end of the scouting report. Mr. Bird, do you see anything?"

"They are all very ordinary pictures. What do you want to express?"

Henson deliberately waited for Bird to ask him every time before saying, which would increase Bird's sense of participation and leave an impression on Bird.The brilliant mind of a mathematical genius does not only function in mathematics.

Now that Byrd asked the question, Henson no longer kept it close. "Although Holiday shoots with his right hand, he uses his left hand more for layups and dunks! This means that Holiday is the kind of guard who uses his left and right hands in a balanced manner! Most NBA players are left-handed, especially guards. You can hardly tell whether he is left-handed or right-handed just by dribbling. But shooting and layups are the most intuitive way to distinguish a player's left-handed primary and secondary! Most players don't use their non-dominant hand to attack. The purpose of using your non-dominant hand to attack is to make yourself more versatile and make their offense more difficult to defend. To achieve this goal, the hardships and efforts required are unimaginable for ordinary people. Zhu Holiday just happens to be one of them!"

Bird nodded slightly as he listened.As one of the most balanced left-handed players in league history, Bird knows how hard it takes for a right-handed player to perfect his left hand.And you know, Holiday is not as talented as Bird.His sweat may be more than that of Bird back then!

"Isn't a rookie who knows how to use hard work to change his destiny easier to succeed than a rookie who only relies on talent?"

Bird smiled after hearing this, and extinguished the cigar in his hand. Bird agreed with the last sentence Henson said.

Even Pritchard, who was about to watch the excitement, was a little surprised. The Henson in front of him was completely different from the Henson in the rumors!His report really looks like that!

"Another point is that I believe in my intuition as a basketball player! Zhu Holiday, judging by the pick we can probably get, is definitely the best choice!"

Finally, Henson added one more sentence.Perhaps in Pritchard's view, "intuition" is a bit too mysterious.But in Bird's view, a basketball player's intuition is essential.Because Bird's mentor, Auerbach, is a guy who believes in intuition very much!

"I heard that you came here just after you returned to Indianapolis, haven't you had dinner yet?" Byrd closed the scouting report with a slicked back, and from his smile Henson could see that he passed the test!

"Haven't had time to eat, I was almost late. You know how bad the traffic is on game day."

"Yeah, every Indianapolis guy wants to come to the game on game day. Too bad they're going to let them down today. Never mind that. Pritchard, man. Get some food for me and Henson, he must be starving."

"It's a pleasure to have dinner with you, Mr. Bird." Henson let out a sigh of relief. Now he really wants to go back to Long Beach and thank the hotel owner.

That guy is simply a born prophet.

(End of this chapter)