Does anyone know how NBA.com calculates pace adjusted stats? When pulling data, there is a pace_adjust option -- I'm wondering how that differs from non pace adjusted. Conceptually I understand what it means, just wondering how they account for it. Thanks!
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Pace adjusting is as simple as normalization. The rationale behind it is quite simple: To fairly compare two NBA teams, we have to normalize the number of game opportunities that they generate against common ground. Otherwise, it would be impossible to properly correlate game statistics between them. For example, that would be the case if you'd want to compare statistics coming from a fast-paced team like the Los Angeles Lakers (3rd highest pace in 2021/22 at 100.36) and a slow-paced team like the New York Knicks (bottom last pace in 2021/22 at a mere 95.11).
Formally, if M is a generic NBA player/team's metric, then its pace-adjusted value M_adj would be:
s = pace_lg / pace_tm
M_adj = s*M
where pace_lg and pace_tm are the league's and the team's pace, respectively. To calculate the league's pace (LP), we simply have to average the number of possessions of all NBA teams and adjust that for a full game (or 48 minutes). Instead, to calculate a team's pace (TP), we follow a slightly different formulation: We average the number of possessions of the team with their opponent's, and only then adjust for 48 minutes. Why? Because LP can be interpreted as a census of all possessions, whereas TP is a sample from the population of all possessions.
For practical use of pace adjusting, you can check out my breakdown of the player efficiency rating (PER).
P.S.: When I say "we" I refer to ESPN's J. Hollinger formulation of pace adjusting in the NBA. Different organizations or sports analytics services may slightly alter its computation.
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