〈 Berger | Dillon 〉

I have been commissioned by @vgr: 1 like = 1 opinion about the physics/math of basketball (maximum 100, or whenever I get tired)https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1205971281096560640 …

1. Physics is not obviously useful for basketball. Someone who wants to apply physics to the game has to continuously and strenuously justify what they are doing.

2. The usual college-level kinematics (flight paths of the ball, etc) is useful in principle. But this level of optimization is more or less already done naturally by players, and will have very limited impact.

3. Players/coaches are right to resist when math nerds tell them how to do things better. All but the most cautious theorizing is likely to do more harm than good.

4. Physics is best used only as inspiration for how to approach a problem in a new way

5. Physics could be used a lot more in our discussion of injuries and injury risk in basketball

6. Most professional basketball players are too heavy (and, relatedly, too strong). Joint stress scales with weight

7. Every jump is a liability. Great players learn to score and defend well with little to no jumping.