2014 NBA Finals: Who Will Win the Big Game?

Below is an excerpt from our analysis of this year's NBA Finals. We quantify statistics related to sports psychology to study the importance of key concepts such as leadership, experience, focus on fundamentals and defense, and minimizing errors.  Over the years, we have been able to predict the winners of major championships at a rate of 63.5% -- while sometimes going against the grain and selecting underdogs.

Together with Dr. Jay Granat, a psychotherapist, I quantified factors related to sports psychology. Our “quant facts” have successfully predicted the winner of this year’s Super Bowl and NCAA Men’s Final Four. Over the past several years, our predictions have been correct 63.5 percent of the time for major championships, while sometimes picking underdogs.

In part one of the series, we learned that the Miami Heat have an edge over the San Antonio Spurs in important factors such as big game experience and defense. What do the numbers say about other factors related to sports psychology?

Read more at: 
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2014/06/05/2014-nba-finals-numbers-predict-who-will-win/?ft1A1QzGxUPoyZVu.99

Please also read our analysis for the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

2014 Stanley Cup: Who Will Win?

Here's an excerpt from our analysis on this year's Stanley Cup.

Together with Dr. Jay Granat, a psychotherapist, I quantified factors related to concepts of sports psychology. Our “quant facts” have successfully predicted the winner of this year’s Super Bowl and the NCAA tournament’s Final Four.  In total, our predictions have been 63.5 percent correct in major championships — while sometimes going against the grain and picking underdogs.

Our research has shown that big-game experience is related with winning the big game. Over the past 34 years, teams that appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals over the previous three years have compiled an 85 percent winning percentage in Finals. The Kings have the edge in this department, winning the Stanley Cup just two years ago. Edge: Kings.

Read more at:
http://www.rantsports.com/nhl/2014/06/04/2014-stanley-cup-finals-numbers-predict-who-will-win/#mQlmKXKo3Kfg0iCA.99