Play by Play entry tool prototype

[kpascual]

I've been prototyping a play by play data entry tool, primarily because I thought we haven't been capturing enough useful data (publicly) to do more interesting kinds of data analysis. I couldn't find many existing tools, so I selfishly created one for myself. I would LOVE feedback, because I have no idea if I'm reinventing the wheel.

It turns out that tracking a game is pretty hard in real time. Things move VERY fast, and you often miss data points along the way. I tried using an interface with a bunch of buttons for play types and for players, but that proved too hard, because you had to move your eyes down to the screen, and away from the action.

Because of this, I designed the workflow around a single text box... kind of like a command line. You type text as you go, and the app will parse what you think it means. Typing proves better because you don't have to take your eyes off the action. This all assumes you're a competent typer.

http://vorped.com/wbball/index.php/temp/playbyplay

And here's a sample game (D-league finals game 2):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyKBI5ZntRk

Some features:
- Shorthand to describe events faster (i.e. type 'reb' for 'defensive rebound', 'oreb' for offensive rebound)
- Scores update based on the plays you've entered
- Tells you which team currently has the ball, based on the last play
- Relatedly, there's an auto-guess for each play that guesses which team had the ball
- Update prior plays by editing that play's text

Current limitations (because it's a prototype)
- Player parsing doesn't exist yet
- I haven't figured out fouls yet
- Team parsing is still kinda wonky, esp. on prior play updates
- No game times
- No shot charts (yet... I have the code, I haven't figured out the workflow)

List of shorthand plays (regex is what you type, name is what it resolves to):

Code: Select all

                // Canonical play-by-play types
                {regex:'oreb',name: 'offensive rebound',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'reb', name: 'defensive rebound',points:0,pc:1},
                {regex:'made 2', name: 'two pointer made',points:2,pc:1},
                {regex:'made 3', name: 'three pointer made',points:3,pc:1},
                {regex:'miss 2', name: 'two pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'miss 3', name: 'three pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'made2', name: 'two pointer made',points:2,pc:1},
                {regex:'made3', name: 'three pointer made',points:3,pc:1},
                {regex:'miss2', name: 'two pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'miss3', name: 'three pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'missed 2', name: 'two pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'missed 3', name: 'three pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'2 missed', name: 'two pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'3 missed', name: 'three pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'2 miss', name: 'two pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'3 miss', name: 'three pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'2miss', name: 'two pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'3miss', name: 'three pointer missed',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'2 made', name: 'two pointer made',points:2,pc:1},
                {regex:'3 made', name: 'three pointer made',points:3,pc:1},
                {regex:'2made', name: 'two pointer made',points:2,pc:1},
                {regex:'3made', name: 'three pointer made',points:3,pc:1},
                {regex:'ft made', name: 'free throw made',points:1,pc:0},
                {regex:'ft miss', name: 'free throw miss',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'madeft', name: 'free throw made',points:1,pc:0},
                {regex:'missft', name: 'free throw miss',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'ftmade', name: 'free throw made',points:1,pc:0},
                {regex:'ftmiss', name: 'free throw miss',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'foul', name: 'foul',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'stl', name: 'steal',points:0,pc:1},
                {regex:'tov', name: 'turnover',points:0,pc:1},
                {regex:'to', name: 'timeout',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'24s', name: '24 second violation',points:0,pc:1},
                {regex:'8s', name: '8 second violation',points:0,pc:1},
                {regex:'5s', name: '5 second violation',points:0,pc:1},
                // Special play-by-play types
                // Defensive schemes
                {regex:'23z', name: '2-3 zone',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'32z', name: '3-2 zone',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'131z', name: '1-3-1 zone',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'m2m', name: 'man to man',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'box1', name: 'box and 1',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'3/4press', name: 'three quarter court press',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'fullpress', name: 'full court press',points:0,pc:0},
                // Offensive schemes
                {regex:'isopost', name: 'isolation in post',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'isowing', name: 'isolation on wing',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'pnr', name: 'pick and roll',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'pnp', name: 'pick and pop',points:0,pc:0},
                {regex:'horns', name: 'horns',points:0,pc:0},

[Gaines]

I stumbled upon your site and have to say it is quite impressive. Have you read Basketball on Paper by Dean Oliver before? It covers this pretty well and I love your idea of setting it up like this. You could include which zone the player shot from at the end of the line. If you haven't read the book, I would be more than happy to email you a photo of an example of how he does this (granted its on paper, but I think it could be done better on the computer due to typing speeds vs hand writing speeds).

[kpascual]

I stumbled upon your site and have to say it is quite impressive. Have you read Basketball on Paper by Dean Oliver before? It covers this pretty well and I love your idea of setting it up like this. You could include which zone the player shot from at the end of the line. If you haven't read the book, I would be more than happy to email you a photo of an example of how he does this (granted its on paper, but I think it could be done better on the computer due to typing speeds vs hand writing speeds).

Yup. I have Basketball on Paper. I wanted to think a bit outside the current basketball dogma and apply current technologies to the problem. But your point is well-taken, the Dean Oliver way is compact and information-dense. I am a little worried that it would be too labor-intensive for the average basketball fan, and am wondering if there's a less-labor-intensive method that supplies most of the useful analytical value.

[Gaines]

Oh I understand now, I didn't know that you were making it for the casual fan. It is a great idea, you do some great work regardless.