5 Ways Sports Agents Can Get More Value from Twitter

Last year in The Sports Resource Newsletter, we detailed why Twitter is awesome for agents. Since then, many more agents have established a Twitter presence. 

If you took that step, how can you get more out of Twitter? Here are five ways for sports agents to build value with Twitter for both your agency and clients. 

1. Make it visual. Twitter changed its profile format to make it easier to display photos. It’s also great for sharing links to YouTube videos. Why not post a video on your Triple-A closer mowing down a batter? Infographics are  big now as well. They are ideal for sharing stats on your clients, which leads to…

2. Share your own content. Many agents use Twitter to share links on their clients from popular sports websites. While this carries some benefits, we recommend an approach that builds your brand and your clients’ brands far better. Since agents have insight into their clients like nobody else, you can provide insight without needing the media.

3. Tell your agency and client stories. Can you tell a story in 140 characters? It takes time, but it can be done. Share information gradually. What do your players do better than anybody else? With tools like advanced metrics, Pitchf/x, and SportVU, there is plenty of information to create interesting posts. 

4. Timing is everything. Sports insiders, athletes, and fans all engage on Twitter most when games are going on – the bigger the event, the greater the engagement. If you can’t post during games, you can easily schedule key tweets in advance as explained below.

5. Leverage technology. Free tools like Hootsuite make it simple to schedule posts in advance. It’s also a great way to program tweets you want to repeat. This is valuable because – given the amount of Twitter traffic – it’s unlikely anybody will notice that you repeated the same tweet. If it’s a key message, your followers are more likely to see it.  

Building value with Twitter takes consistency and volume. One tweet a week won’t do  it, so tools like Hootsuite become valuable.

For agents and sports businesses just getting started or yet to establish a Twitter presence, we offer a free 15-minute consultation to get you started. Sign up at marketing@sportsresource.net.

The Real Reason Spurs Players Are Underrated

In the next two weeks, we’re going to hear all the explanations for why the Spurs get so little publicity. The most popular reasons – they’re businesslike, they feature an unselfish balanced attack, and they play in a small market – are somewhat accurate. However, the main reason Spurs players get so little publicity is simple – they don’t play a lot.

San Antonio did not have a single player average 30 minutes per game during the regular season. Every other NBA team had at least two, and most clubs had three or four. What does this have to do with publicity? Most of the media still uses meaningless per game stats for evaluation, and it is hard to shine in these categories while getting so few minutes per game.

Only one Spurs player, Tony Parker, ranked among the league’s top 50 in points per game (minimum: 1,000 minutes played), and he placed 45^th. Points per 40 minutes, which evaluates scoring far better, tells a completely different story. San Antonio placed four players in the top 50 in points per 40 minutes – Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Patty Mills) – which tied the Suns for most in the league.

The Spurs had five players among the top 50 in John Hollinger’s PER (Player Efficiency Rating), with Kawhi Leonard joining the aforementioned group. That led all NBA teams. Their NBA Finals opponent is the only other team with four. PER also does not get impacted by playing time.

Parker ranked just 15th among point guards with 16.7 points per game. However, he placed seventh with 22.7 points per 40 minutes. He doesn’t play nearly as much as other elite point guards, and that’s the main reason he gets less attention.

Given the rapid growth of the San Antonio market – combined with the soaring population of Austin just an hour and a half to the north – it’s not exactly remote. The Spurs also do not possess a balanced attack. Four San Antonio players attempted 15 or more field goals per 40 minutes. Only the Pistons (five) had more. The Spurs scoring appears balanced because Gregg Popovich distributes playing time so evenly, but Parker, Duncan and Ginobili all have high usage rates.

Like so many topics in sports that get overanalyzed, the truth is in the numbers.

 

The Accelerators: Point Guards who Pick up the Pace

When Pooh Jeter took the court for the Sacramento Kings last season, his teammates had to be ready to run. Based on a metric comparing team pace with and without each NBA player on the court, Jeter increased the pace more than any other point guard.

The Kings had 4.1 more possessions per 48 minutes when Jeter played versus when he sat. Only three players at any position – who saw at least 750 minutes in 2010-11– surpassed him.

This stat is just one way to put words into numbers and tell a story. While a scouting report saying a player pushes the ball is strong evidence, it becomes even more powerful when hard statistical information backs it up.

Three starting one guards followed Jeter in this category: Jose Calderon, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry. Jeff Teague, another backup point known for his quickness, placed fifth.

This metric may not always demonstrate speed. Calderon, for example, could excel at getting the Raptors a good shot early in their offensive sets. So while he’s not the type of guard who usually pushes the ball, Toronto still played faster with Calderon in the game.

This stat does get influenced by who shares the court with each point guard. Obviously, you can’t run if your teammates can’t keep up. It also matters who plays the same position for their team.

Nonetheless, NBA agents now have another tool to show how their free agents can impact clubs looking to up the tempo.

Better Sports Statistics and Missed Opportunities

Moving beyond core statistics has immense benefits for anybody associated with or interested in sports. Advanced metrics – or even relatively simple per minute stats – bring greater insight and understanding.

It takes a look inside the numbers to see the value of players like Joel Anthony. The ABC announcers missed a great chance to do so in Game Two of the NBA Finals. When Anthony made an amazing block, commentator Jeff Van Gundy joked that play-by-play man Mike Breen would have been far more expressive had LeBron James made the play. Did anybody on the broadcast realize that Anthony is the second-greatest shot blocker in Miami Heat history? Don’t the viewers deserve such insight?

Among Heat players with 1000 career minutes played, only Alonzo Mourning (3.67) blocked more shots per 40 minutes than Anthony (3.01). They rank one-two in block percentage as well, which estimates the percentage of opposing two-point shots a player swats while on the court. Unfortunately, that’s not the type of information provided during telecasts, at least not yet.

Anthony is so good defensively that it enables him to contribute despite obvious shortcomings in his game. According to ESPN.com’s Tom Haberstroh, the Heat outscored their opponents by over 19 points per 100 possessions during the regular season when Anthony played with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. With this sensational shot blocker positioned down low, the Heat can play tight defense on the perimeter and force turnovers.

Anthony has increased his blocks per 40 minutes figure during the playoffs (2.85 through June 6) compared to the regular season (2.54). He also had Miami’s best postseason plus/minus figure (+88).

As detailed in a recent post, analytics tell a great story. None of these statistics are confusing or difficult to explain, and they show the impact Anthony has on the game.

Agents and clubs officials see the value of advanced metrics, and use them because they increase bargaining power and influence lucrative contracts. It will take some time before sports analytics has a major presence on game broadcasts, stadium and arena video boards, and sports talk radio. But it will arrive, and it won’t be long.

The Problem with Per Game Statistics

With so many better metrics available, it’s hard to believe the mainstream sports media still uses per game statistics to evaluate player performance.

ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd recently compared Derrick Rose to Allen Iverson. The comparison makes sense on some levels. Both players are shoot first, pass second point guards. Both are incredibly quick and great finishers. Cowherd’s mistake was using per game statistics, which made the players appear closer in performance than they really are.

Cowherd started by saying Iverson had the edge in points per game over Rose in their third NBA seasons: 26.8 to 25.0. This brings up the biggest reason per game numbers fall short: starters vary tremendously in how many minutes they see per game. Iverson played 41.5 minutes per game versus 37.4 for Rose. Using points per 40 minutes to even the playing field, Rose (26.7) has actually scored more than Iverson (25.8).

Rose had a huge edge in assists per game (7.9) over Iverson (4.6) in their third seasons. That difference increases with the more revealing assists per 40 minutes figures: 8.4 to 4.5. Iverson did spend extensive time at shooting guard that year while Eric Snow played point for the Sixers, which impacted his assist numbers. Still, Iverson never came close to matching Rose’s assists per 40 minutes figure in any career season. Rose had also shot for the higher percentage from both two-point (47.2 to 44.0) and three-point range (33.2 to 29.1) in season number three.

Rose had the advantage in John Hollinger’s PER as well, 23.4 to 22.2 over Iverson. Both players have high usage rates – which estimates the number of their team’s plays they use while on the court – of nearly 33 percent. So while they both use a high percentage of their team’s possessions, Rose produces more in those opportunities.

Iverson did have a big edge in steals per 40 minutes in his third season. And while he reached the foul line more often than Rose, they made nearly the same number of free throws per minute due to Rose’s far superior free throw percentage.

Most importantly, Rose is younger than Iverson was in his third season by one year and four months. It makes more sense to compare Rose’s third season to Iverson’s second campaign, which would cause the gap between the players to widen even further. Finally, Rose stands three inches taller than Iverson and weighs 25 pounds more.

While they have some similarities, Rose holds a decisive edge over Iverson at the same stage of their careers. That becomes clear when taking a look beyond their per game statistics.

Iverson was a great player. But in both performance and from a branding perspective, Rose is on track to soar much higher than Iverson ever did.