The benefits of using Floor Impact Counter in the NBA

The birth of Floor Impact Counter

Before the 2006-07 NBA season kicked off we saw the then 19-year-old Andrea Bargnani enter the league from Italy and join the Toronto Raptors. At that point, almost all critics in the media were worried that the league was going to go through a major change.

By the end of that season, Brandon Roy was named ROY (Rookie of the Year) after some amazing performances and Toronto made it to the playoffs as the third seed out of the Eastern Conference. This season also happens to be the year one of my peers (Chris Reina) decided to come up with a different way of analysing player impact.

This article is about the advanced statistic measure he created called Floor Impact Counter (FIC). It will provide you with a clear idea about how FIC is calculated, how it is used by analysts when looking at the NBA and its players on a game-by-game basis or collective level and its impact on NBA betting.    

By definition, FIC is a formula that encompasses all aspects of the box score into a single statistic. The intent of the statistic is similar to other efficiency stats, but assists, shot creation and offensive rebounding are given greater value. 

This formula can also be adjusted to fit per 40 minutes if needed.

How Floor Impact Counter is used in the NBA

Since the 2006-07 NBA analysts have been making use of FIC and FIC40 to check how effective players have been in terms of their overall game while being placed in specific line-ups.

This metric is also used to analyse offensive and defensive output against various opponents as well as how certain positions such as Guards, Forwards and Centers, or position-less players, are more effective based on cumulative statistics throughout their careers.

When drawing certain conclusions based on this statistic here are some interesting results:

• LeBron James (LBJ) has been a top five FIC player over the last 12 years with exception of the 2014-15 season when he ended up 9th overall on the list.

• In a more classical approach, LBJ is the only SF that has been consistent and has appeared a total of six times as the #1 FIC player in the NBA over the last 12 years.

• Among the top five players listed in the last 12 years, a player that potentially has an eFG% (effective field goal percentage) of 53% has a strong FIC outcome and is in a consistent winning lineup within their respective team and makes their roster much better.

• Since 2007 as scoring and offensive systems in the NBA have evolved to much more outside and mid-range shooting, players such as Tim Duncan have been replaced by the likes of Karl Anthony Towns (KAT) and Anthony Davis (big men that can shoot the outside shot much more efficiently) in FIC rankings.

• From the trend that the FIC statistics have shown over the last 12 years since its inception in 2007; players who can cause mismatches and force slower players to step away from just guarding big men will carry a major advantage.

Coaches across the league from Stan Van Gundy to Dwayne Casey, from Eric Spoelstra to Coach Pop (Greg Popovic) have all made use of the FIC statistic thanks to their offensive coordinators utilising it much more commonly.

The NBA is the biggest basketball league in the world and the fact that it is constantly evolving and incorporating data-informed changes every season shows how important these performance metrics can be. The current camera system installed in almost every arena is now able to track player movement so counting their effective moves has become much more prevalent in the league. 

Using Floor Impact Counter to bet on the NBA

When taking into account that a singular statistic (FIC) that encompasses so much can be used in combination with the modern-day solutions available across the league, it should make things easier for those that are using it to bet on games, correct? Well, the answer might seem simple but it’s not that easy as you really need to know what to look for and what to consider.

Some of the key points while incorporating betting outcomes and how stats really fit in would be as follows: 

• Rosters and scorers on the respective teams need to be correctly correlated while incorporating FIC.

• The top FIC player on the roster does not necessarily stay the best night in night out.

• Playing time and the opponents faced across the 82 game schedule are always critical points to consider.

For those interested in the data, the table below shows the top five players in each season from the 2006-07 season until last season (2017-18). It should be noted that FlC can drastically impact how players are seen in terms of eFG% (effective Field Goal Percentages), Ortg (Offensive Ratings) and DRtg (Defensive Ratings).