Project objectives:
Determine which stats should be used to compare players.
Analyze and compare results for Chris Paul and Russel Westbrook.
Determine who is the best asset for Houston Rockets.
Backround:
This off-season Chris Paul was traded to the Thunders for Russel Westbrook (OKC).
Chris Paul is a good performer and Russel Westbrook is more controversial.
Is trading C. Paul for Westbrook a good deal?
Data:
NBA api stats.nba.com (no key needed)
This data is recorded by the NBA, so it is therefore the most accurate
Analysis:
Linear Regression was used to first find a correlation between a common player stat (Plus Minus(+/-)) and a players Win Percentage since winning is the goal
We then used linear regression to see if there was a correlation between a players +/- and the other stats a player records
Chris Paul:
Russell Westbrook:
Team Comparison:
Rockets in general had higher number of wins than Thunders
Both teams were a better away team
Their records overall were similar
Player Comparison:
Comparative analysis used career stats from Westbrook and Paul, merged them by Season and Age, matplotlib plots were used to support the analysis
Offense
Defense
- Westbrook fills a different type of role than Chris Paul does because of how different the 2 players are.
- At this point in their careers, Westbrook provides the most value based on his statistics on the offense and defensive side of the ball
- Westbrook regularly scores more points and rebounds more balls in a game than Chris Paul, which provides more opportunities for his team to score.
- The statistical analysis shows us that there are many variables in a basketball game that can make it impossible to quantify players against players that are in different situations on their team.