It is definitely correlated, but not as strongly as other stats.

A big reason why it is correlated is that turnovers tend to take away from your TOP. And of course, turnovers also make you lose. So in this case, 'A' causes both 'B' and 'C'.

The general perception is that if you have a high time of possession, it leaves less time for the other team to use, which therefore benefits you. That sounds right, until you really think about it.

Would it really be any better for the Lions if they took 10 plays to score and chewed up 6:00 on the clock than if they just ran back the kickoff? Sure, you'd leave the other team with more time on the clock, but when they are done, the Lions would also have more time on the clock... and so on.

Basically, as long as you get the same number of possessions as the other team, you will have an equal chance of winning... provided that the other team is equal to you in ability.


The only time that I think chewing up the clock would be beneficial is if you are an inferior team. In that case, you want to minimize the # of possessions in the game to increase your odds of getting lucky. The examples would be that tons of guys beat Tiger Woods over the course of 18 holes, but not many over the course of 72 holes. This is why some crappy high school teams used the stall tactic.

The other argument that I've heard is that the defensive line gets tired. I guess my problem with that is that I would think that offensive line would as well.

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"I’ll just say this: We’re not talking to teams about their second- or third-best players." Joe Dumars talking about his plan to get other teams' 4th best players.