All posts by Eric King

2019 Wide Receiver Draft Model

Our Wide Receiver draft model incorporates player and team level college statistics and NFL Combine metrics to generate predicted probabilities of possible outcomes for each player’s NFL career. We focus on each player’s likelihood of making a Probowl, becoming a starter, becoming a role player (3rd – 5th wide receiver), or not making it in the NFL. Continue reading 2019 Wide Receiver Draft Model

NBA Elo Ratings and Simulation

Below is a table of our NBA Elo ratings for the 2018-2019 season along with win totals and playoff probabilities derived from 500 simulations of the 2018-2019 season. Check back over the course of the season as we will continue to update our elo ratings, along with win projections and playoff probabilities.

Elo ratings are a zero-sum rating system where teams are rewarded points after a win and subtracted points after a loss. The magnitude of this adjustment is larger for more unexpected outcomes. For instance, the Golden State Warriors would not receive much of a boost in their elo if they beat the Phoenix Suns because this is what we would expect to happen, but the Phoenix Suns would receive a larger increase in their elo if they managed to upset the Warriors. At Model284, our elos take into account each team’s prior elo rating, margin of victory, home court advantage, and the number of days off for each team prior to the game. Elo ratings do not immediately adjust for injuries, or roster changes from free agency and trades.

TeamEloWinsPlayoff Probability
Milwaukee Bucks174460.8>0.99
Golden State Warriors170656.7>0.99
Houston Rockets170652.6>0.99
Portland Trail Blazers167552.2>0.99
Toronto Raptors165857.3>0.99
Utah Jazz164950.2>0.99
Philadelphia 76ers164653.2>0.99
Denver Nuggets162954.1>0.99
Los Angeles Clippers159849.2>0.99
San Antonio Spurs159647.3>0.99
Orlando Magic1574410.83
Oklahoma City Thunder154246.5>0.99
Detroit Pistons154142.70.99
Boston Celtics152847.5>0.99
Indiana Pacers151747.9>0.99
Miami Heat151540.30.42
Brooklyn Nets149540.90.75
Los Angeles Lakers146936.5<0.01
Minnesota Timberwolves145936.6<0.01
Sacramento Kings145740.3<0.01
Charlotte Hornets145337.20.01
Washington Wizards141434.4<0.01
Atlanta Hawks137329.1<0.01
Memphis Grizzlies137232.5<0.01
New Orleans Pelicans136533.5<0.01
Dallas Mavericks136032.7<0.01
Chicago Bulls130222.8<0.01
Cleveland Cavaliers129320.4<0.01
Phoenix Suns120118.3<0.01
New York Knicks117515.4<0.01

*Last update on April 1st.

2018 Fantasy Football Rankings

FOOTBALL IS FINALLY BACK! And since there is such a shortage of Fantasy Football content out there, we thought we needed to give the people some material to prepare for their drafts. The following rankings are loosely based on model predictions for each position, which use historical player/team data to predict fantasy points for the coming season (i.e., separate models for QB, RB, WR, TE, K, DST). That said, there are plenty of factors that any model will have trouble capturing perfectly (injury status, team depth charts, suspensions, QB/Coach changes, etc.), and thus we have made some subjective adjustments to the rankings where necessary. For example, if a model weighs last year’s cumulative statistics too heavily, Odell Beckham Jr. is not going to come out very high since he only played 4 games. Our rankings can be found below, along with a short description of the model we used for each position. All rankings reflect PPR scoring.

To download our rankings, click here Continue reading 2018 Fantasy Football Rankings

My Model Monday: Modeling NFL Injuries

Injuries are inevitable in a game as physical as NFL football. Every season, numerous star players and important contributors are sidelined, leaving their fans and fantasy owners disappointed. Injuries appear to strike at random; an elite athlete can have his knee blown out in one cut like Dalvin Cook last season. However, is there a way to identify if certain players are more injury prone than others? I dug into the data to find out how well we can predict injuries among skill position players in the NFL.
Continue reading My Model Monday: Modeling NFL Injuries

Prospect Profiles: Kevin Huerter

Leading up to the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21st, we will be using our NBA Draft Models (PNSP Model, Role Probability Model, and Similarity Scores) to investigate this year’s top prospects. These Prospect Profiles look at which stats affect NBA projections, present unique data points from a player’s stats, and give relevant comparisons to current NBA players. You can find all of our Prospect Profiles here or through the header menu above (NBA –> NBA Draft –> Prospect Profiles). In today’s article, we look at Kevin Huerter.

Continue reading Prospect Profiles: Kevin Huerter

Prospect Profiles: Robert Williams

Leading up to the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21st, we will be using our NBA Draft Models (PNSP Model, Role Probability Model, and Similarity Scores) to investigate this year’s top prospects. These Prospect Profiles look at which stats affect NBA projections, present unique data points from a player’s stats, and give relevant comparisons to current NBA players. You can find all of our Prospect Profiles here or through the header menu above (NBA –> NBA Draft –> Prospect Profiles). In today’s article, we look at Robert Williams

Continue reading Prospect Profiles: Robert Williams

Prospect Profile: Kevin Knox

Leading up to the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21st, we will be using our NBA Draft Models (PNSP Model, Role Probability Model, and Similarity Scores) to investigate this year’s top prospects. These Prospect Profiles look at which stats affect NBA projections, present unique data points from a player’s stats, and give relevant comparisons to current NBA players. You can find all of our Prospect Profiles here or through the header menu above (NBA –> NBA Draft –> Prospect Profiles). In today’s article, we look at Kevin Knox.

Continue reading Prospect Profile: Kevin Knox

Prospect Profiles: Miles Bridges

Leading up to the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21st, we will be using our NBA Draft Models (PNSP Model, Role Probability Model, and Similarity Scores) to investigate this year’s top prospects. These Prospect Profiles look at which stats affect NBA projections, present unique data points from a player’s stats, and give relevant comparisons to current NBA players. You can find all of our Prospect Profiles here or through the header menu above (NBA –> NBA Draft –> Prospect Profiles). In today’s article, we look at Miles Bridges.

Continue reading Prospect Profiles: Miles Bridges

Prospect Profile: Collin Sexton

Leading up to the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21st, we will be using our NBA Draft Models (PNSP Model, Role Probability Model, and Similarity Scores) to investigate this year’s top prospects. These Prospect Profiles look at which stats affect NBA projections, present unique data points from a player’s stats, and give relevant comparisons to current NBA players. You can find all of our Prospect Profiles here or through the header menu above (NBA –> NBA Draft –> Prospect Profiles). In today’s article, we look at Collin Sexton.

Continue reading Prospect Profile: Collin Sexton