A useful basketball conclusion connects the number to a role, a source, and a limitation. These standards explain how to read analysis on CourtsideIQ and the checks a draft needs before it is treated as a reported story.
Three different kinds of statement
- Reported information: a roster move, salary, game result, or contract term. It needs a source and the relevant season or date.
- Calculated information: a CourtsideIQ metric, ranking, fit score, or projection. It depends on model inputs and is not an official league judgment.
- Interpretation: what a pattern might mean for a player or team. It should explain the reasoning and plausible alternatives rather than turn an estimate into certainty.
Automated analysis is not independent reporting
The site includes calculated summaries and tools for generating story and scouting-report drafts with AI assistance. A generated paragraph is not a new source. Readers should not infer that an article has been independently reported or individually fact-checked simply because it appears beside a metric.
Before publishing a draft as reported analysis, check player identity, team, role, season, contract basis, source links, and whether the conclusion follows from the displayed inputs. Do not attribute interviews, scouting visits, quotes, or insider knowledge that did not occur.
Sources and model changes
The About page describes the source families used by the pipeline. The methodology explains the scoring framework. An upstream data update, a role correction, or a salary change can alter a ranking without a new game being played. Comparisons should use the same season and model context wherever possible.
Small samples and missing information
Minutes, games, and input coverage matter. A strong score built from a small sample is a research lead, not the same evidence as sustained performance. Missing salaries make salary-value judgments unreliable. Missing defensive inputs should not be silently treated as zero ability.
A role label is an analytical choice, not a permanent description of a career. If the job changes, reassess the role before interpreting movement in its score.
Corrections should be specific
A useful correction identifies the page URL, player, season, disputed field, proposed correction, and a primary source where possible. Separate an incorrect fact from disagreement with a model assumption. Correcting a salary is different from changing how salary is weighted.
Readers can cross-check the source information and use the public formulas to challenge a conclusion. A correction should not be presented as newly discovered player improvement when it merely fixes an input.
Advertising and independence
Advertising is not an analytical input. Ad placement does not constitute an endorsement of an advertiser, and an advertiser's message is not CourtsideIQ analysis. Paid or sponsored editorial relationships, if introduced, should be disclosed on the affected content.
For practical examples, read how to read the five lenses and why contract value is not a salary forecast.