77815209_thread.json

{
 "id":"77815209",
 "name":"Brian Skinner",
 "screen_name":"gravity_levity",
 "tweets":[
  {"id":"1206018094847680512","timestamp":"1576372095","retweet_count":"14","favorite_count":"172","in_reply_to_status_id":"null","in_reply_to_user_id":"null","in_reply_to_screen_name":"null","text":"I have been commissioned by @vgr: \n1 like = 1 opinion about the physics/math of basketball\n\n(maximum 100, or whenever I get tired) https://t.co/VgGjqtukGW"},
  {"id":"1206018266596093952","timestamp":"1576372136","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"4","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206018094847680512","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr Bear in mind:\nhttps://t.co/fXIlY5YdbL"},
  {"id":"1206018680611577862","timestamp":"1576372234","retweet_count":"0","favorite_count":"20","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206018094847680512","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 1. Physics is not obviously useful for basketball. Someone who wants to apply physics to the game has to continuously and strenuously justify what they are doing."},
  {"id":"1206018953119703040","timestamp":"1576372299","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"22","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206018680611577862","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 2. The usual college-level kinematics (flight paths of the ball, etc) is useful in principle. But this level of optimization is more or less already done naturally by players, and will have very limited impact."},
  {"id":"1206019430712516608","timestamp":"1576372413","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"22","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206018953119703040","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 3. Players/coaches are right to resist when math nerds tell them how to do things better. All but the most cautious theorizing is likely to do more harm than good."},
  {"id":"1206019814885658624","timestamp":"1576372505","retweet_count":"0","favorite_count":"17","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206019430712516608","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 4. Physics is best used only as inspiration for how to approach a problem in a new way"},
  {"id":"1206023483974705152","timestamp":"1576373380","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"26","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206019814885658624","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 5. Physics could be used a lot more in our discussion of injuries and injury risk in basketball"},
  {"id":"1206023759884439552","timestamp":"1576373445","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"29","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206023483974705152","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 6. Most professional basketball players are too heavy (and, relatedly, too strong). Joint stress scales with weight"},
  {"id":"1206024361041367040","timestamp":"1576373589","retweet_count":"4","favorite_count":"25","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206023759884439552","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 7. Every jump is a liability. Great players learn to score and defend well with little to no jumping."},
  {"id":"1206024570962096128","timestamp":"1576373639","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"19","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206024361041367040","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 8. Michael Jordan's shot was flatter than optimal\nhttps://t.co/MVeq8jLQjh"},
  {"id":"1206024716131217409","timestamp":"1576373673","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"11","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206024570962096128","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 9. That said, there is no \"optimal release angle\". This depends on the player height, strength, and distance from the basket"},
  {"id":"1206025150984011776","timestamp":"1576373777","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"16","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206024716131217409","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 10. Someone should do a kinematic theory of the optimal way to use spin on backboard shots and layups. There is significant room for optimization and improved training here"},
  {"id":"1206025826061443072","timestamp":"1576373938","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"18","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206025150984011776","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 11. The only purpose of \"advanced metrics\" (like PER) that give an overall ranking of players is for fans' entertainment. But the whole business is about entertainment, so I'm fine with the creation of such metrics as an industry."},
  {"id":"1206026504016220160","timestamp":"1576374100","retweet_count":"4","favorite_count":"21","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206025826061443072","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 12. There is essentially no hope for a useful grand theory of optimal strategy in basketball, despite the hubristic attempts by people like me https://t.co/ziFEnTy2Ta"},
  {"id":"1206026809298554880","timestamp":"1576374172","retweet_count":"4","favorite_count":"48","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206026504016220160","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 13. Playing great basketball is more like being a fighter pilot than an engineer: it requires a player to collect hundreds of little heuristics and hunches, to have near-perfect situational awareness, and to make decisions quickly"},
  {"id":"1206027109476556801","timestamp":"1576374244","retweet_count":"0","favorite_count":"10","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206026809298554880","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 14. There is still room for significant optimization of many of these heuristics. Relating, for example, to transition defense, group rebounding, off-ball rotation, etc."},
  {"id":"1206027310312382464","timestamp":"1576374292","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"30","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206027109476556801","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 15. Nearly all the people who apply math/physics to basketball do so because they have frustrated athletic ambitions of their own"},
  {"id":"1206027523542401031","timestamp":"1576374343","retweet_count":"4","favorite_count":"21","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206027310312382464","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 16. On net, machine learning is going to reduce our understanding of basketball theory rather than improve it"},
  {"id":"1206027881870249985","timestamp":"1576374428","retweet_count":"6","favorite_count":"33","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206027523542401031","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 17. I am sure that machine learning is already being used in wildly inappropriate contexts in nearly every NBA front office"},
  {"id":"1206028881804824576","timestamp":"1576374667","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"22","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206027881870249985","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 18. The Kareem style hook shot has essentially never been replicated because it's an intrinsically inaccurate way of shooting that requires a body like this to really pull off https://t.co/umGdM7eRvt"},
  {"id":"1206030943540121600","timestamp":"1576375158","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"24","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206028881804824576","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 19. A shorter NBA schedule would have enormous benefits to players, because the probability of stress fracture (and other injuries) grows either exponentially or as a very high power of the number of load cycles."},
  {"id":"1206031669863632896","timestamp":"1576375331","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"13","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206030943540121600","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 20. Someone should make a histogram of the (arm length)/(height) ratio for NBA players, as compared to regular humans. I suspect that the mean ratio for an NBA player is about 10% larger, which is crazy if you think about it."},
  {"id":"1206032596766998528","timestamp":"1576375552","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"19","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206031669863632896","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 21. An NBA player who looks like a chubby schlub on tv will look like Captain America if you actually stand next to them"},
  {"id":"1206033081221689345","timestamp":"1576375668","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"25","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206032596766998528","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 22. The last time I attended, about half of the speakers at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference were charlatans. (I hope this ratio has improved, but I but that it hasn't, at least not much)"},
  {"id":"1206033197617860608","timestamp":"1576375695","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"6","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206033081221689345","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 23. Among the people who actually work for NBA teams, I bet this number is only around ~10%."},
  {"id":"1206033795629105153","timestamp":"1576375838","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"7","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206033197617860608","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 24. This paper that I wrote is wrong, and probably useless, but interesting: https://t.co/DrQkCiloKk"},
  {"id":"1206034008108351489","timestamp":"1576375889","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"11","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206033795629105153","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 25. This paper is wrong, useless, and probably actively misleading: https://t.co/fVUvywl07H"},
  {"id":"1206034205324521472","timestamp":"1576375936","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"8","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206034008108351489","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 26. This paper is not even wrong, and I would never encourage anyone to read it: https://t.co/4tiBg7a7Tz"},
  {"id":"1206034534980096006","timestamp":"1576376014","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"12","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206034205324521472","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 27. This paper is correct but useless: https://t.co/T7uMXJT4Gk\n\nI won an actual monetary prize for it, almost entirely through a piece of bullshit salesmanship."},
  {"id":"1206034781902901249","timestamp":"1576376073","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"15","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206034534980096006","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 28. My entire motivation for doing all that basketball research was to entertain myself. In that sense it was a great success and I would do it all again in a heartbeat."},
  {"id":"1206035446498807809","timestamp":"1576376232","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"23","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206034781902901249","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 29. After statistics, the most useful branch of mathematics for studying basketball is linear algebra."},
  {"id":"1206035521862094848","timestamp":"1576376250","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"9","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206035446498807809","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 30. Second-most-useful is calculus."},
  {"id":"1206036298055770112","timestamp":"1576376435","retweet_count":"4","favorite_count":"29","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206035521862094848","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 31. James Harden's ridiculous beard is probably actually useful, both as a visual distraction and as a concealer of microexpressions"},
  {"id":"1206036785266118657","timestamp":"1576376551","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"15","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206036298055770112","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 32. Tim Duncan-style bank shots are more accurate than normal jump shots when taken from the right range of angles, but not enough research has been done to prove this convincingly"},
  {"id":"1206039014928797696","timestamp":"1576377082","retweet_count":"5","favorite_count":"35","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206036785266118657","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 33. By just about any reasonable standard, LeBron is an actual genius. People think he's just genetically gifted, but I struggle to come up with anyone who did more intelligent things on a basketball court."},
  {"id":"1206040876226662400","timestamp":"1576377526","retweet_count":"3","favorite_count":"15","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206039014928797696","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 34. The trend of shooting moving farther and farther beyond the three-point the line will come to an end soon. There is a strongly super-linear growth in required precision with distance."},
  {"id":"1206042427242565632","timestamp":"1576377896","retweet_count":"0","favorite_count":"8","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206040876226662400","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 35. I don't really see much point to getting basketball players to think about math/statistics. But I think they could benefit from understanding the concepts of energy (potential and kinetic) and momentum."},
  {"id":"1206044261780729856","timestamp":"1576378333","retweet_count":"2","favorite_count":"15","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206042427242565632","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 36. Playing NBA-level basketball has become much more difficult since the 90s. Less so physically than mentally. Elite basketball requires much more (and much more intricate) thinking than it used to."},
  {"id":"1206045607233802240","timestamp":"1576378654","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"13","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206044261780729856","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 37. The \"granny shot\" free throw is not actually more accurate, except maybe for a very small number of players with the the most gigantic hands\nhttps://t.co/ApgUaWS09O"},
  {"id":"1206045846497832966","timestamp":"1576378711","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"11","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206045607233802240","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 38. Hand size is a surprisingly good predictor of ability in players 6'2\" and shorter."},
  {"id":"1206047010211717120","timestamp":"1576378989","retweet_count":"1","favorite_count":"15","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206045846497832966","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 39. Goaltending calls are wrong all the time because referees interpret \"the top of the ball's trajectory\" as \"the point in time when I can visually see the ball coming down\", rather than as \"the midpoint between visibly going up and visibly coming down\""},
  {"id":"1206048373272465408","timestamp":"1576379314","retweet_count":"4","favorite_count":"25","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206047010211717120","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 40. After all the \"advanced stats\" revolution, points per game is still the strongest correlate of player salary. I will believe more in the effectiveness of the revolution when this has changed."},
  {"id":"1206049064720228352","timestamp":"1576379478","retweet_count":"7","favorite_count":"32","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206048373272465408","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr 41. The case for Dennis Rodman as the most valuable player in NBA history is actually pretty compelling: https://t.co/YwpjPsi5qW"},
  {"id":"1206049141018767363","timestamp":"1576379497","retweet_count":"0","favorite_count":"8","in_reply_to_status_id":"1206049064720228352","in_reply_to_user_id":"77815209","in_reply_to_screen_name":"gravity_levity","text":"@vgr okay, I'm spent for the evening. I might get back to this tomorrow"}
 ]
}