Can someone please explain what's +/- ?

[atomicblue224]

I seems to find that in basketball stats everywhere. I couldn't figure it out.

 

[imported_ankle23]

Context?

 

[BILLYBOBSTEXAS]

over/under relating to the final score. (betting lines)

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Single game, individual plus minuses are dumb and pretty worthless. However I love 3/4/5 man group plus minuses especially once you have a decent sample size, but alas no free sites have those for the NCAA.

 

[FredN]

Let's say you are a sub and come into a game tied at 10-10. You play a few minutes and leave the game with your team up at 17-14 - you are +3.

Let's say you come back in when your team is up 56-50, then you leave a few minutes later with the game tied at 60 - you are -6 for that stint.

If you don't play any more for the rest of the game, you'd be -3 for that game.

In theory, it's an objective measure of whether you are a net benefit for your team. In practice (as Mike points out), it can be a bit flukey.

 

[atomicblue224]

Let's just say if you score 15 points in this one game you get - 17 and another player from the same team also scored 15 points he get +3. What is that?

 

[Robowe]

Let's just say if you score 15 points in this one game you get - 17 and another player from the same team also scored 15 points he get +3. What is that?

Point differential while that player is on the floor. In the above example, 1st player who scored 15 points, his team scored 17 less than the opponent while he was playing. It first began as a hockey statistic, but has made it's way to basketball.

 

[atomicblue224]

So player A got minus for being bad player, while player B get positive for being good player? Isn't that the whole point?

 

[atomicblue224]

Let me give an example here, If Fran decided Matt Gatens need to sit down on bench because he has minus sign and he decided to play J.R. Angle because he has plus sign. Is that what its purpose for?

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Let me give an example here, If Fran decided Matt Gatens need to sit down on bench because he has minus sign and he decided to play J.R. Angle because he has plus sign. Is that what its purpose for?

False, JR Angle is an acute angle which would always equate to a minus value since it's less than 90 deg so your equation is invalid.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Let's say you are a sub and come into a game tied at 10-10. You play a few minutes and leave the game with your team up at 17-14 - you are +3.

Let's say you come back in when your team is up 56-50, then you leave a few minutes later with the game tied at 60 - you are -6 for that stint.

If you don't play any more for the rest of the game, you'd be -3 for that game.

In theory, it's an objective measure of whether you are a net benefit for your team. In practice (as Mike points out), it can be a bit flukey.

So in actuality, it's really subjective?

 

[atomicblue224]

False, JR Angle is an acute angle which would always equate to a minus value since it's less than 90 deg so your equation is invalid.

Ha I get your point here.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Let's say you are a sub and come into a game tied at 10-10. You play a few minutes and leave the game with your team up at 17-14 - you are +3.

Let's say you come back in when your team is up 56-50, then you leave a few minutes later with the game tied at 60 - you are -6 for that stint.

If you don't play any more for the rest of the game, you'd be -3 for that game.

In theory, it's an objective measure of whether you are a net benefit for your team. In practice (as Mike points out), it can be a bit flukey.

The biggest problem with it is, it doesn't do a good job capturing who's really making a difference on the court. Your best players often times have lower +/-'s because they may have to spend significant chunks of time anchoring a bench unit. While maybe your fifth starter has a really high rating because he spends 80% of his mins on the floor with the starting line up. That's why I'm much more of a fan of the lineup +/- ratings

 

[kicker22]

I like the stat when used for team/lineups, but as stated not so much for individual players. In my opinion a great stat that can be used to evaluate both offense and defense efficiency.

 

[DodgerHawki]

The biggest problem with it is, it doesn't do a good job capturing who's really making a difference on the court. Your best players often times have lower +/-'s because they may have to spend significant chunks of time anchoring a bench unit. While maybe your fifth starter has a really high rating because he spends 80% of his mins on the floor with the starting line up. That's why I'm much more of a fan of the lineup +/- ratings

The measurement is fine if it's understood in context. How does the team do when a player is on the court? That's what it's answering. Of course, there could be a lot of other factors that go into how the team does, but over time +/- ratings can be a factor in determining a player's effectiveness (not the only factor, but a factor).