Kai
02-24-2010, 01:05 AM
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ar25ZymOTj9QlNUXoTgInFG8vLYF?slug=tsn-researchersfindthatg&prov=tsn&type=lgns
Researchers Find That Good Teams Like to Touch Each Other
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tsn/6d/fullj.d854a6216004418e3f6202bac111924c/tsn-researchersfindthatg0.jpg?x=225&y=290&xc=1&yc=1&wc=225&hc=290&q=100&sig=Ngcx9X8muM6U0AIn4sX.jA--
NBA players make a habit of showing each other love, whether it be in pre-game introductions, with a high-five after a free throw, or just a good old-fashioned hug. It’s such a big part of the league that most fans don’t even pay attention to it anymore.
Psychology researchers do pay attention to this sort of thing, though, and a group of UC Berkeley scientists has attempted to figure out just how much touching your teammates matters. From The New York Times:
Michael W. Kraus led a research team that coded every bump, hug and high five in a single game played by each team in the National Basketball Association early last season.
In a paper due out this year in the journal Emotion, Mr. Kraus and his co-authors, Cassy Huang and Dr. Keltner, report that with a few exceptions, good teams tended to be touchier than bad ones. The most touch-bonded teams were the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, currently two of the league’s top teams; at the bottom were the mediocre Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats.
The same was true, more or less, for players. The touchiest player was Kevin Garnett, the Celtics’ star big man, followed by star forwards Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors and Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz. “Within 600 milliseconds of shooting a free throw, Garnett has reached out and touched four guys,” Dr. Keltner said.
Four guys? Does that include people on the other team?
A few notes on methodology: to make sure they weren’t just observing what happens when a team wins, the research team measured performance based on how well a team shared and controlled the ball—assist-to-turnover ratio, from the sound of things. That seems like an odd metric to choose considering it indirectly measures how well a team plays together on the court and is often tied to winning. It stands to reason that a team with a lot of assists will give each other more high-fives, because they have more things to thank each other for.
Similarly, it’s no surprise that the three players listed as "touchiest" are all big men—they create fewer plays on their own and must acknowledge their teammates for getting them the ball. Maybe Garnett isn’t a shocking name to see at the top of the list, but how do we know that Carlos Boozer didn’t just score on a lot of assisted baskets or shoot an especially high number of free throws that game?
For this study to carry any weight, performance needs to be measured by a less dependent stat—like opponents’ shooting percentage, for instance—across a number of games, not just one. Otherwise, it’s little more than a curiosity.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Nets won’t start giving each other bear-hugs at every opportunity from now on. They need to seize any advantage that presents itself.
Maybe there's a method to all the Cavs' douchebaggery? :lol
http://fast1.onesite.com/cavfanatic.com/user/bigdog1002/cavs_pose_3.jpg
Researchers Find That Good Teams Like to Touch Each Other
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tsn/6d/fullj.d854a6216004418e3f6202bac111924c/tsn-researchersfindthatg0.jpg?x=225&y=290&xc=1&yc=1&wc=225&hc=290&q=100&sig=Ngcx9X8muM6U0AIn4sX.jA--
NBA players make a habit of showing each other love, whether it be in pre-game introductions, with a high-five after a free throw, or just a good old-fashioned hug. It’s such a big part of the league that most fans don’t even pay attention to it anymore.
Psychology researchers do pay attention to this sort of thing, though, and a group of UC Berkeley scientists has attempted to figure out just how much touching your teammates matters. From The New York Times:
Michael W. Kraus led a research team that coded every bump, hug and high five in a single game played by each team in the National Basketball Association early last season.
In a paper due out this year in the journal Emotion, Mr. Kraus and his co-authors, Cassy Huang and Dr. Keltner, report that with a few exceptions, good teams tended to be touchier than bad ones. The most touch-bonded teams were the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, currently two of the league’s top teams; at the bottom were the mediocre Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats.
The same was true, more or less, for players. The touchiest player was Kevin Garnett, the Celtics’ star big man, followed by star forwards Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors and Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz. “Within 600 milliseconds of shooting a free throw, Garnett has reached out and touched four guys,” Dr. Keltner said.
Four guys? Does that include people on the other team?
A few notes on methodology: to make sure they weren’t just observing what happens when a team wins, the research team measured performance based on how well a team shared and controlled the ball—assist-to-turnover ratio, from the sound of things. That seems like an odd metric to choose considering it indirectly measures how well a team plays together on the court and is often tied to winning. It stands to reason that a team with a lot of assists will give each other more high-fives, because they have more things to thank each other for.
Similarly, it’s no surprise that the three players listed as "touchiest" are all big men—they create fewer plays on their own and must acknowledge their teammates for getting them the ball. Maybe Garnett isn’t a shocking name to see at the top of the list, but how do we know that Carlos Boozer didn’t just score on a lot of assisted baskets or shoot an especially high number of free throws that game?
For this study to carry any weight, performance needs to be measured by a less dependent stat—like opponents’ shooting percentage, for instance—across a number of games, not just one. Otherwise, it’s little more than a curiosity.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Nets won’t start giving each other bear-hugs at every opportunity from now on. They need to seize any advantage that presents itself.
Maybe there's a method to all the Cavs' douchebaggery? :lol
http://fast1.onesite.com/cavfanatic.com/user/bigdog1002/cavs_pose_3.jpg