What Points and Rebounds Really Tell You

## Points — the visible metric Points are the most-watched statistic in basketball, but they are also the most misleading in isolation. A player who scores 25 points on 10-of-25 shooting (40%) may be hurting their team more than helping — each missed shot is a possession that yields zero points instead of an average return. ## Efficiency matters more than volume Always pair points with shooting percentages: - **Field goal %** — overall shooting accuracy - **Three-point %** — shooting accuracy from beyond the arc - **Free throw %** — shooting accuracy from the line A player scoring 18 points on 50% shooting is almost always more valuable than a player scoring 25 on 38%. ## Rebounds — context is everything Rebounds are split into offensive and defensive. Defensive rebounds are routine at the professional level. Offensive rebounds are significantly rarer and far more valuable: they extend possessions and reset the shot clock. ## What the box score hides Standard box scores completely miss: - Shot creation for teammates - Defensive positioning and help defense - Screen-setting effectiveness - Off-ball movement that draws defenders This is exactly why advanced metrics exist — to capture what counting statistics cannot.