It’s probably better to pass the ball around rather than always shoveling the ball to the best shooter. Fans noticed that when a basketball team’s best player sits out for a while the team will sometimes actually do better than when the star is playing. Concepts from the mathematical science called game theory help to explain why this is. Brian Skinner, a researcher from the University of Minnesota, calculated through the game theory that a team would get a higher score than if you just dish it to your best player. Read more here.
“Game theory seeks to show how complex networks operate — things such as automobiles in a crowded highway, ants in a pile, or bacteria in a colony. For the problem of traffic, if all cars on a road cooperate by moving smoothly — and not cutting each other off — the flow will be maintained even if the density of cars is high. However, as soon as a few drivers aggressively try to move through the formation of cars the whole formation can slow down dramatically, resulting in a traffic jam.”
In summary, pass the ball!
OK thank you for this, but I do have one problem with this. In your first paragraph you said that a team would get a higher score if the best player took every shot. So why would you want to get the ball away from your best player?! In my opinion, passing the ball is always a good thing, but pass the ball to your best player. I believe that is something UNKEST left out of his report.
In summary, pass the ball; to your best player!