When I’m playing chess, the fun comes from finding the solution. Doing the work to study and find what works. Part of that fun is removed when the computer tells me what combination works. Assigning a percentage to an action. The same applies to football.

When I find out that I could win eighty percent of my chess games if I open with 1.e4, why would I ignore that? Now, that solution will sit in the back of my mind every time I begin a game. Why am I trying to find my own solution when I can go with the data? Problem solved. But that takes the joy out of the game because the opponent is doing the same. Now the joy comes from beating the computer, and that feels like an empty win.

When a player is told that an action like a shot, pass, or dribble equates to a percentage value chance, why would they ignore it?

Then, what are the chances that other teams have these same values or close to the same values in their data? Then, everyone is avoiding the lower probability chance because they have that stat in the back of their mind.

Data and projection are tools but not the solution. It is necessary today to gain an advantage; fun can still remain, but I don’t like how it can place doubt in players minds when they go to take a risk because there is so much data backing up why they shouldn’t take that risk. And if there’s data backing it up, it becomes hard to defend your case for why you took the risk when you knew it probably wouldn’t work out in your favor.

I have data backing up why I should bench you.