I wanted to mess around with some NBA player stats, specifically Jayson Tatum’s first-half performance. It’s been a minute since I’ve dug into sports data, so I thought, why not? Plus, Tatum’s been killing it on the court, and I was curious about his early-game impact.
First things first, I needed the data. I hit up a few sports stats sites and got my hands on game-by-game logs for Tatum. It wasn’t too hard to find; the dude’s a star, so his stats are everywhere. Once I had the data, I wanted to see how many points he usually scores in the first half, how consistent he is, and if there’s any trend.
So, I started by checking out his recent games. I noticed in one game he scored 26 out of 28 points in the first half! That’s wild. Then I found another game where he dropped 18 of his 23 points in the third quarter, but hey, we’re focusing on the first half here.
- Filtering the Data: I focused on isolating the first-half points from the total. It was pretty straightforward, just a bit of data wrangling.
- Calculating Averages: Next, I did some simple math to figure out his average first-half points.
I also came across some interesting tidbits, like Tatum having played in 5 games with 50+ points. That’s some serious scoring power. And his true shooting percentage is at 62.4%, which is pretty impressive for a perimeter player.
Diving into the Process
After getting the numbers in order, I started to look for patterns. Like, does he usually score more at home or away? Is he more aggressive at the start of the season? Stuff like that. It’s kinda like detective work, but with basketball stats.
One thing I realized is that looking at single games can be misleading. Like when he started a game 2-7 with only 5 points in the first half. It happens. But overall, he’s been pretty consistent, especially in big games. There was this one playoff game where he grabbed a ton of rebounds, showing he’s not just about scoring.
By the end of my little data adventure, I had a better appreciation for Tatum’s early-game dominance. It’s clear he sets the tone early, and his first-half performances often dictate how the game goes for his team. Also, I found out he and his girlfriend, Ella Mai, celebrated her 30th birthday recently. Good for them! Anyway, analyzing these stats gave me a deeper understanding of his playing style and impact.
