Welcome
The eleventh issue of Unexpected Points Added!
The penalty-kill shortened edition last week has concluded, and we're back to normal again. We have historical scoring updates for NFL and NBA, another Python baseball package, visually appealing tennis heatmaps, and a look at how much fan attendance matters in NBA game outcomes.
Cheers!
This Week's Lineup
Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference
There is an unofficial new single-season sack record from a rookie in 1978! As well as a newcomer into the all-time top three. Great work from their team.
Historical NBA Box Scores Upgraded
Sticking with the theme of updating data, lots of updates here, including field goals made, free throw attempts, field goal attempts, total rebounds, assists, personal fouls, games started, minutes played, and three-point attempts—all dating back to varying years.
pybbda, a Python Baseball Data and Analysis Package
Use pybbda as a Python Baseball Data and Analysis package. Do it!
A Spatial Exploration of Serve Patterns
Tennis is a sport I've admired from afar, and this one visually explores the top men's and women's serves. Heatmaps are shown for serves, match pressure situations, and the handedness of server and returner.
How Much do Fans Matter for NBA Games?
It turns out, fans make a statistically significant difference in home-court advantage, as we now have data to measure empty stadiums due to the pandemic. On average, a home team with fans beat its opponent by 1.74 more points than a home team without fans during the 2020-21 regular season.
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Unexpected Points Added is curated and maintained by Patrick Hayes. If you have questions or suggestions for the newsletter, just reply to this email. I answer every single one.