Going for 2... (a statistics point of view)

Duke took a 3 in a similar situation tonight, definitely the right call. You have to go for the win on the road.
 
Forget paying grad students, I am actually shocked you don't have coaches breaking down your door to pay you to do this in-depth statistical analysis!

You hate when coaches don't follow the statistics you are making up? Want to know what I really hate? When a HS role-player sits back and second-guesses a 10 year NBA vet who also happens to have his team poised for its best season in 7 years.

Maybe it was a gamble. But if I have the choice, my money is on Hoiberg instead of you. Sorry to disappoint.

The End
So your argument is "he's the coach, you're not, therefore he's right"...? Wow, what a great argument you make. You really owned me. Coaches aren't perfect and Fred would be the first one to tell you that.

Since you dismiss statistics so willingly, let me guess, you thought it was a good decision when Tom Coughlin DID NOT tell Ahmad Bradshaw to slide at the 1 so the Giants could kick a FG (Eli did as he was handing the ball off, but Ahmad didn't slide soon enough). The Giants can run the clock out and win the game as time expires, which by the way, kicking a FG at the 1 has a 97%+ chance of going in. Instead they give the ball back to Tom Brady with 57 seconds left and a timeout. While I don't know what the chance of Tom leading the Patriots down to score, I'm going to guess it was >3% (according to AdvancedNFLStats.com, the Giants win probability actually went down when they scored). Just because it worked out for the Giants, doesn't mean it was the best decision at the time.

Please provide statistics or, if you're incapable of comprehending them, provide logical reasoning that shows why taking a 2 is a better shot than a 3. I may have made assumptions, as anyone who has taken Stat 101 knows that every model has assumptions, but my assumptions were based on actual statistics and I was VERY generous towards the side of making a 2. And despite that, it was still 50% better to go for a 3.

By the way... what happened in the Duke/UNC game tonight? I rest my case.
 
So your argument is "he's the coach, you're not, therefore he's right"...? Wow, what a great argument you make. You really owned me. Coaches aren't perfect and Fred would be the first one to tell you that.

Since you dismiss statistics so willingly, let me guess, you thought it was a good decision when Tom Coughlin DID NOT tell Ahmad Bradshaw to slide at the 1 so the Giants could kick a FG (Eli did as he was handing the ball off, but Ahmad didn't slide soon enough). The Giants can run the clock out and win the game as time expires, which by the way, kicking a FG at the 1 has a 97%+ chance of going in. Instead they give the ball back to Tom Brady with 57 seconds left and a timeout. While I don't know what the chance of Tom leading the Patriots down to score, I'm going to guess it was >3% (according to AdvancedNFLStats.com, the Giants win probability actually went down when they scored). Just because it worked out for the Giants, doesn't mean it was the best decision at the time.

Please provide statistics or, if you're incapable of comprehending them, provide logical reasoning that shows why taking a 2 is a better shot than a 3. I may have made assumptions, as anyone who has taken Stat 101 knows that every model has assumptions, but my assumptions were based on actual statistics and I was VERY generous towards the side of making a 2. And despite that, it was still 50% better to go for a 3.

By the way... what happened in the Duke/UNC game tonight? I rest my case.
you're right. statistics decide who wins or who loses. just kidding, you're an idiot.
Hoiberg is the coach, you're not, and there is a reason for that. if you think you're so good why not coach somewhere? seeing as how you are "in the know"
 
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Wow.

Well it's pretty clear that Fred is perfect and should not be questioned, so I'll just move along, because clearly intelligent conversations are impossible here.

So what happens if Allen makes his layup and we win in OT? You probably wouldn't have made an outrageous post about how the "statistics" say that you would've rather Allen took the three. And why not? The statistics wouldn't have changed in that situation regardless of whether it worked out or not.
 
So what happens if Allen makes his layup and we win in OT? You probably wouldn't have made an outrageous post about how the "statistics" say that you would've rather Allen took the three. And why not? The statistics wouldn't have changed in that situation regardless of whether it worked out or not.

Lol and you get on me about my assumptions? You just openly assumed my response based on nothing. Maybe you should read what I write. As I said above regarding the Giants slide, just because it works out does not mean it was the correct decision. I still would've said that going for 3 would've been the smart play.

Once again, I invite you to rip my statistics up and debate with me why they're so offbase and why they're bad assumptions. If you think my statistics are "outrageous" surely you have a reason why you think so?
 
Player had the chance to shoot a 3 or 2 based on the play called. He has a fraction of a second and had to use his instincts. In that fraction of a second he made a decision and did the best he could to put himself into a good position to take a shot.

That's it, nothing more. He did the right thing, but odds says we lose most the time either way.

I was glad he took control, let his instincts take over, and gave us a chance to extend the game into overtime.

Well done Allen!
 
Lol and you get on me about my assumptions? You just openly assumed my response based on nothing. Maybe you should read what I write. As I said above regarding the Giants slide, just because it works out does not mean it was the correct decision. I still would've said that going for 3 would've been the smart play.

Once again, I invite you to rip my statistics up and debate with me why they're so offbase and why they're bad assumptions. If you think my statistics are "outrageous" surely you have a reason why you think so?

Because your statistics are not relevant! If you were able to run that exact play 1000 times and have CA take a 2 500 times, and a 3 500 times and compared that data I would listen to you. However, the data you have is for different situations where the game is not on the line, there is more than 5 seconds on the clock, CA doesn't have to dribble 3/4 of the court, the defense doesn't have to respect a pass or pump fake because there is not time to execute those moves, ect.
 
If I had to guess I'd say Allen had the option on the play to pull up or take an opening to the basket if given one. Watching it live I was shocked he didn't pullup, but upon watching it again there were two OSU defenders waiting for him at the spot where he was headed to pullup for the 3. The defense was essentially inviting him to drive left at that point. He might be a 37% 3 pt shooter when he's got an open shot, but I highly doubt he'd shoot that % a few feet back with two guys in his face.

So I had no problem with the decision he made to take it to the cup. The thing that upset me was he should play to contact in that situation instead of driving away from the defender when you know damn well that guy wants no part of fouling him at that juncture. Should have been a dunk with the possibility of and 1, or a hard foul and two shots.
 
My guess is fred told him to take what the defense gave him. If he had an open 3 or no lane to get to the hoop, take the 3. If there was an opening to the hoop, take it. Allen thought there was an opening and he took it. Nash just made a great play.
 
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I would have liked to see a 8-10 foot jumper with the way Nash was defending. If CA made a quick pullup, he would have had an open shot since Nash wouldn't have had enough time to recover. Either way I realize that was really hard either way.
 
CA is also an excellent free throw shooter. Going for the layup give him a chance at 2 AND a chance of 2 free throws or a plus one.

I liked the call. I'm guessing Okie St was going to defend the 3 at all costs.

I'm usually in agreement about going for the win on the road, instead of overtime, but I also assumed OSU expected a 3-point attempt. It'd be different if ISU had only 1 reliable shooter from that range, and they could key on him. What were there, 4 such players on the floor at the time? (Don't recall if McGee was in — I caught the action just before the inbound)

I didn't read anything postgame from coaches or players about the strategy they wanted to use. So my assumption was it was a counter-strategy because Hoiberg thought OSU would crowd the 3-point line.

Also, I hadn't even thought about the FT shooting aspect — maybe he doesn't convert 3-point play, but may draw a foul.

I have to admit, it was a heckuva defensive play. If Chris went off-******, I'm not going to lay everything on his shoulders, especially considering his overall performance.

You could just as easily criticize the team for allowing OSU's final basket.

It was a missed opportunity for another road win, a bummer. But everyone needs to remember Iowa State pulled off late-game heroics twice in recent weeks in home games we really needed to have vs. OSU and KSU. Could have quite easily lost both.

I'll accept the 2-for-1 tradeoff with those 3.
 
First things first - Chris Allen is a 3 point shooter on the offensive end. That's it. He's our best ball handler outside of Royce, but he really is below average at finishing so it makes his drives somewhat pointless. Chris Allen shoots 37% from the field and 38% from 3. That means he is better at shooting 3's than 2's, that rarely is the case for obvious reasons. His specialty is set, spotup 3 point shots. He probably does that better than anyone on the team, but he is not a finisher at the hoop.

The end.

A few things, to demonstrate that you're a clown:

1) The difference between Allen's FG% (37) and his 3P% (38) is not statistically significant. For all intents and purposes, they're identical, so what exactly is your point?

2) Allen's FG% includes everything from jump-shots with a toe on the 3-point line to easy layups, and there's variance across those different types of shots. His (like most any player's) FG% is probably much higher than 37% for layups.

3) A player's more likely to draw a foul on a drive to the basket than he is shooting a 3. I.e., if Allen shoots the 3, it's all or nothing...but driving to the basket gives him a chance to score and/or the chance to shoot free throws. Did you work this into your super-complex statistical model?

4) You're correct in that Allen is a good set shooter, and getting him an open look could have paid off big. The only problem is that this requires us to run the offense to set Allen up, which isn't something a team has the luxury of doing with 5 seconds left on the clock.

5) Taking my point in #2 further, a player's shooting percentage doesn't just vary according to whether they're attempting a three or a two, but changes depending on many factors. For example, what's Allen's 3P% when he's being guarded as opposed to being left open? How likely is he to score when he's also bringing the ball up the court? Does he shoot better or worse when there's little time on the shot clock? Does he score more in transition or on set plays?

If you're going to argue for the use of statistics in situations like these, you can't just apply broad generalizations without considering the many other relevant circumstances of each situation.
 
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We weren't hitting threes to start the game when they were expecting it, we had to power it in with Royce and/or the other guys had to drive it in to open up some three point shots. Why do you think the three would be open when they were expecting it again?
 
I actually thought the play worked pretty well, Allen was able to cruise all the way down court in no time. Just thought he saw an opening and took it instead of popping the three (I believe it was his decision to drive it in as he said in the post game interviews).
 
A few things, to demonstrate that you're a clown:

1) The difference between Allen's FG% (37) and his 3P% (38) is not statistically significant. For all intents and purposes, they're identical, so what exactly is your point?

2) Allen's FG% includes everything from jump-shots with a toe on the 3-point line to easy layups, and there's variance across those different types of shots. His (like most any player's) FG% is probably much higher than 37% for layups.

3) A player's more likely to draw a foul on a drive to the basket than he is shooting a 3. I.e., if Allen shoots the 3, it's all or nothing...but driving to the basket gives him a chance to score and/or the chance to shoot free throws. Did you work this into your super-complex statistical model?

4) You're correct in that Allen is a good set shooter, and getting him an open look could have paid off big. The only problem is that this requires us to run the offense to set Allen up, which isn't something a team has the luxury of doing with 5 seconds left on the clock.

5) Taking my point in #2 further, a player's shooting percentage doesn't just vary according to whether they're attempting a three or a two, but changes depending on many factors. For example, what's Allen's 3P% when he's being guarded as opposed to being left open? How likely is he to score when he's also bringing the ball up the court? Does he shoot better or worse when there's little time on the shot clock? Does he score more in transition or on set plays?

If you're going to argue for the use of statistics in situations like these, you can't just apply broad generalizations without considering the many other relevant circumstances of each situation.

Exactly. Comparing that last shot situation with a normal game situation with set plays and set shots without a hand in his face is a lot like comparing a normal game situation with warm ups. Apples and oranges.