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Reverse Enigma

@reverseenigma.bsky.social
173 followers 882 following 137 posts
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
For my next Substack article: a Q&A with the author of one of my favorite recent Sloan papers : deep RL + Shapley for NBA player valuation. Drop any questions you'd want me to ask Link to paper: tinyurl.com/2p9kupez
tinyurl.com
Deep Reinforcement Learning for NBA Player Valuation: A Temporal Difference Approach with Shapley Attribution
We are proud to continue the great tradition of bringing together the leading figures in sports analytics, business, and technology.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Oh I think it’s a bad comp too. I just mean I can logically see how lanky dude who moves well and takes some mid rangers and looks like he might be a good defender can be comped to KG. Kind of the same way every tall lanky dude that takes long twos gets comped to KD.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I can at least somewhat see the train of thought with one. The more egregious one was someone saying AJ could be KG with a jumper.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
What about who the 9th best player is. And why is it Ron Harper Jr.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Here is my 26 Draft Board. Unfortunately, no write-up this year, been busy with life.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Havent posted here in a while. Here is my latest article. open.substack.com/pub/hardscre... My Attempt at trying to Quantify Gravity
open.substack.com
An Incomplete Theory of Gravity
How do you weigh something invisible? A five-step crawl from a rubber band around five players to a neural net — measuring the pull of a shooter, with all the wrong turns kept in.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
To where Im ok with chalking it up mostly to health. Maybe there is some significant long term concern, but at this point, im ok with betting on the prior. Plus hes still been very good this year, and in a ery different role, so there is some felxibility with him.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Hey, sorry I haven't been posting on here for a bit. I'll post an full update soon. Here is where my board stands as of a few days ago. With DP, hes dropped a little bit with how good Boozer has been, but im still fairly optimistic with him. I think hes just played so differently this year
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
New article out: a broad look at my Top 20 guys for the 2026 draft. hardscreenherald.substack.com/p/early-2026... #NBASKY
hardscreenherald.substack.com
Early 2026 NBA Draft Big Board: Top 20 Prospect Overview
The 2026 NBA draft class is shaping up to be an exciting group, headlined by elite talent across positions.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
“Everyone runs pick-and-roll and jacks threes.” Kinda… but not really. I clustered team styles from iso/DHO/PnR to transition + O-glass and found 11 distinct identities. Dive in: open.substack.com/pub/hardscre... #NBASKY
open.substack.com
Thirty Teams, Eleven Dialects
Clustering playtypes to decode how each offense speaks
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
New article up: LASER (shooting threat, not just %) + BOOST (team spacing compounding). Top LASER seasons: 2015–16 Curry, 2014–15 Korver, 2024–25 LaVine. Top BOOST teams: 2023–25 Celtics, 2017–18 Rockets, 2016–17 Cavs. Full piece + interactive tables: tinyurl.com/yck7n5u4
tinyurl.com
LASER: A Metric for Capturing Shooting Threat and Spacing
Why 3-Point Percentage Falls Short as a Threat Metric
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Just published: a deep dive into my player style clustering tool. From Dragic’s 2014 breakout to Giannis’s one-of-one profile, from OKC’s balance to the Lakers’ gaps - mapping the NBA by how guys actually play. Shoutout @gabriel1200.bsky.social for hosting the tool. tinyurl.com/2p9rp8wm #NBASKY
open.substack.com
From Dragic to Giannis: A Data-Driven Map of NBA Play Styles
Clustering player seasons shows who plays alike, and what teams are missing
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Just dropped the new Shot-Making Model 2.0 - now covering 1996–2025 with play-by-play data, arena bias fixes, and era adjustments. Curry ‘16 is still untouchable, KD has multiple all-time seasons, and some hidden gems pop up too. 🔗 hardscreenherald.substack.com/p/shot-quali... #NBAKSY
hardscreenherald.substack.com
Shot Quality in High Definition: The Play-by-Play Upgrade
Recap: The Old Tracking-Based Model (Bins and Baselines)
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Gonna finish the write up on shotquality model v2 soon. This version goes back to the 96-97 season, and should be more comprehensive. Here are the top guys from that season
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Gabriel Guzman @gabriel1200.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
New release for #NBAKSY, just in time for your morning coffee. courtsketch.com/shotmaking This is CourtSketchs's shotmaking page. Based upon @reverseenigma.bsky.social 's modeling work, it allows you to assess player shotmaking relative to shot quality for any player season over the last 12 years.🧵
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Castle on the other hand, I think has a bit more of an avenue to improve. Honestly big boost would just be not giving him the ball as much and using him more as a connective wing. Let him take more spot ups(which need to improve) and attack closeouts more, and run hard
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Especially with Sarr. My concern with him was that he’s kind of a big, who can’t “big”. Not a great finisher, not much of a rim runner etc. So you kind of end up really banking on him being this pseudo wing on offense. And he doesn’t have a great baseline to fall back on.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
New article on trying to measure Shotmaking and Shot Quality open.substack.com/pub/hardscre... The data will be available soon on nbavisuals.com
open.substack.com
Beyond the Box Score: How Good Are You Really At Making Shots
Who actually adds points once you account for the kinds of shots they take?
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
New piece is up: on Tyrese Haliburton, the echoes of John Stockton, and why he feels so different from other stars. Tyrese Haliburton: The Modern Stockton – Master of the Advantage open.substack.com/pub/hardscre...
open.substack.com
Tyrese Haliburton: The Modern Stockton – Master of the Advantage
Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t attack you so much as he takes what you give him.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Just launched my Substack 🏀 First piece dives into the NBA CBA - what the first/second apron rules actually do, the panic they’ve caused, and why some of the loudest fears are a bit overblown. open.substack.com/pub/hardscre...
open.substack.com
The New NBA CBA: Panic, Reality, and the Game Behind the Rules
Separating Fact from Fiction
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Here are the east teams.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Inspired by @iztokfranko.bsky.social latest post, wanted to see how the western conference teams looked broken down using the clusters from nbavisuals.com/player_style Cluster names still need some work.
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Iztok Franko @iztokfranko.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
How are the top 10 teams in the West really built? I ran a clustering model on 300+ players to break down offensive archetypes. And reveal strengths, gaps, and roster building shifts from last season. Lakers, Mavs, Nuggets, OKC, Rockets... all included👇 digginbasketball.substack.com/p/nba-west-p...
digginbasketball.substack.com
How the West Is Built
A data-driven look at player archetypes for the top 10 Western Conference contenders including the Lakers and Mavericks
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I kind of trust the raptors to figure out how to make it work. They have liked these kinds of guys in the past, and figured out ways to slot them in.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
I have questions, but i think its workable. The raptors like playing multiple guys that can handle and drive, and CMB can slot into that pretty well. I think there are ways to make it work with him at the 4 next to Poeltl, but he will also thrive as a 5 next to B arnes.
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Gabriel Guzman @gabriel1200.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
New feature out! This is Court Sketches's playlist tool. Give it any team, player and date range combination across the last 5 seasons, and it will serve you a stylized playlist of filterable clips, one you can share with the click of a button. Let me know what you think! nbavisuals.com/playlist
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
The draft cycle continues. Very early look at my board for 2026. Should be a fun class
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Warriors: Alex Toohey. Big wing with feel who rebounds, cuts, and keeps the ball moving. Reminds me of Otto Porter Jr’s plug-and-play value in Kerr’s motion offense.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Celtics: Amari Williams. Boston values bigs who pass up top; Williams makes quick reads in delay sets, screens, and protects the rim. Good depth behind Horford and Kornet.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Pacers: Kam Jones. Indy lands a steady decision maker who scores or spots up and keeps pace with Haliburton’s tempo. Loved his off-movement shooting at Marquette; great fit for the Carlisle system
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Lakers: Adou Thiero. Best move was adding a defensive wing, sorting the big spot later. Thiero is a live-wire slasher who can guard 1-4 and finish above the rim. Even without a jumper he can be their DJJ-style spark.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Some second round steals I loved: Charlotte: Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Hornets grab the draft’s most NBA ready rim protector plus a connective wing who moves the ball and defends. Nice mix of spacing and interior presence. Been a while since I thought Charlotte nailed the draft. Good change
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Jase Richardson ➜ Magic Orlando craved shooting and quick decision making, and Jase Richardson supplies both. Lethal shooter, zips the extra pass, and thrives as a secondary handler. The Magic’s length blankets his small frame and amplifies his strengths.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Asa Newell gives Atlanta the vertical punch it lacked. 6-10 pogo finisher who sprints lanes and hammers lobs from arguably the best lob passer in the NBA. Gives them a nice counter to the KP outside presence, and some much needed finishing to the worst team in that area last year.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Kasparas Jakucionis ➜ Heat Kasparas Jakucionis sliding to Miami feels inevitable. Tall Dragic vibes: crafty pace shifts, slither drives, slick PnR reads. Can steer bench units or play off Bam handoffs, and Heat infrastructure should harden some of his deficiencies.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Walter Clayton Jr. ➜ Utah Walter Clayton Jr. lands in Utah where Will Hardy’s motion offense shines. Elite bomber with deep pull-up range that forces tighter tags and opens lanes for their grab bag of guards. Even if he never runs the show, that shooting gravity is real.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Thomas Sorber ➜ OKC OKC grabs Thomas Sorber and the devastating defense gets another drop anchor. 7-6 wingspan, soft hands, great passer. Vacuums boards, sets walls for SGA, and can fill a Hartenstein-style role on a rookie deal.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Some of my favorite draft fits so far: Cedric Coward to Memphis is pretty seamless. With Bane gone they needed a rangy wing who can spot up, cut, and guard 1-3.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
VJ Edgecombe: 6'5 wing with electric first step, pogo-stick hops, and nonstop motor. Turns steals into dunks, slices through tight lanes, and hounds guards on D. Jumper is catching up, but he’s a nightly highlight reel. Perfect spark to revive your joy.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Most puzzling teams tonight have been the Pels and Nets. New Orleans gave up an unprotected first to snag Derik Queen and just built what might be the league’s worst defense. Brooklyn is stacking point guards and bigs who think they’re point guards.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Biggest risers so far: Hansen Yang (I had him 25) and Yanic (52). Both skyrocketed past almost everyone’s projections.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
• Rasheer Fleming - board rank 19 • Noah Penda - 21 • Adou Thiero - 25 • Kam Jones - 27
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Fun first day of the draft! Wild and sometimes baffling choices all over. Twenty-six of my top 30 prospects are gone. Here are the four still waiting:
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Final draft board is set. More movement than expected: some late risers, a few tough drops. Took a step back to reassess the big picture. Tried to balance film, data, and role projection, and especially who I trust to earn a second contract in the new CBA. 🔗 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com
NBA Big Board 2025
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Yeah, updated my board since the databallr update. The version on Gsheets is up to date
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Gabriel Guzman @gabriel1200.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
New tool out, in collaboration with Owen Phillips of the f5! This is our League Rankings tool. Based on a graphic from a recent f5 piece, it allows you to select up to 80+ stats, and see where every team ranked in that stat for the past 12 nba seasons. nbavisuals.com/leagueranks Lmk what you think!
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Stats from databallr.com/nbadraft. Fantastic resource for all your draft needs. @databallr.bsky.social
databallr.com
databallr | NBA Stats & Analytics
Advanced NBA statistics, player analytics, and matchup data for basketball fans and analysts.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Built like a tank at 6'1.5", but plays much bigger. Not a PG, not a wing, but just finds ways to impact the game. If the shot stays stable, he’s got enough juice off the catch or bounce to stick. If I had an open two-way spot, this might be my first call.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Alijah Martin One of the most physical perimeter defenders in the class. Explosive athlete, great screen navigator, and tough as nails at the point of attack. Fought through everything for Florida. Hit 35.8% of his pull-up 3s this year. Just wins possessions.
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Reverse Enigma @reverseenigma.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Also showed real craft as a driver and finisher: 57.8% at the rim, despite not being a top-tier athlete. 4.0 AST to 1.7 TOV. He’s not flashy, but he’s productive, tough, and knows how to fit in. If you're betting on skill + IQ, Shulga makes a lot of sense in the 2nd.
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