Todd Whitehead

Alex Caruso (a.k.a. Carushow, a.k.a. Bald Mamba, a.k.a. The Accountant) tried to name all seven nicknames on his Basketball Reference page. 👀

Whaaaaaghhhht?! 😍

🐐🐐

Tracing the ball during Sam Hauser's shooting motion on 10 threes he took from the left corner last season. The shot on the left took just 0.5 seconds from catch to release (30 dots). The one on the right took 1 second because the pass was thrown too high (60 dots).

This was a great read. I choose to believe anyways 😅

Very exciting news - we are looking to add senior data scientist to our team. Perfect role if you are passionate about football and skilled in working with tracking data.

Thanks, Tanya!! 🙌

Thanks, Tanya!

Shooters who drew the fastest closeout speeds from opposing defenders last season.

Yea — if you were to sort this group by drive stop rate (with total drives defended as the denominator), Amen Thompson would be at the top.

we're giving a defender credit for a "drive stop" when he's the primary defender on a drive and the ball handler he’s guarding turns the ball over, misses a shot, or passes without creating a shot for one of his teammates.

They don’t even let drives get started.

Defenders who stopped the most drives last season.

🫣

Yea - that’s true. Standing hip height vs. hip height defending drives would be better.

Yea - that would work! I was thinking about just filtering to x=0, but FT release would be better.

Yea - head height is normal standing height and hip height is when they are defending a drive (usually in a defensive stance, presumably). I could have made that a bit more clear with the stick figures.

re. 2: Yea - I thought about that, too, because I’m a long legs/short torso guy 😂 probably a good idea

Using body pose data to compare hip heights for defenders of different heights (among players who defended 250+ drives last season).

Summer League leaders in points created per game, by draft class.

Potential assists by distance and direction.

Drive paths for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

Using the Thunder's record-breaking collection of postseason steals to demonstrate the relationship between the location/direction of the defender at the time of the steal and the likelihood it turns into a breakaway and a quick bucket.

The list of players who've won a ring with more than 1 team is so short. It's interesting to me that this accomplishment feels like just an * for some players' careers whereas for others it DEFINES them. I put Jrue and Caruso in the 2nd group - portability personified, to steal a Ben Taylor phrase.

😂

Leaders in distance traveled *while diving on the floor* during the Finals.

Most time spent diving on the floor this postseason.

The average Pacer was selected with the 21st pick. The average Thunder was taken 30th. Here's how that compares to previous NBA champions:

The Thunder had 45 closeouts during Game 2 - their second-highest total of the postseason.

The Answer to Every Question Is Alex Caruso He’s the NBA’s most turbulent and versatile defender—and he just might be the best, too. From Joker to Ant to the Pacers, there’s no opponent the Thunder’s do-it-all sixth man can’t solve.

New Feature: On why Alex Caruso should be considered one of—if not the—most disruptive, versatile, all-around plus defenders of his generation.

“He’s got an aura to him defensively. It’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to be fine because we’ve got Alex out there’”

www.theringer.com/2025/06/11/n...