As a coach, nothing will hold back your players more than ignoring the metrics that detail their performance.

Yes, there are some intangibles that can't be measured in sports but the analytics are there for a reason. If your goal is to win games then you should be using any available information to make that happen. If you're not using the analytics then you're falling behind other coaches and teams as time goes on.

If you're new to the analytics portion of basketball, here are 5 key metrics to pay attention to:

1. Player efficiency rating (PER) to evaluate individual player performance.

PER is self-explanatory. It's a formula used to determine how "efficient" a player is. Here is the formula to determine PER:

(Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - (Missed FGs + Turnovers + Missed FTs) / Games Played

This number becomes more solidified as a season goes on and it's a good all-in-one indicator of a player's performance.

2. Field goal percentage to measure shooting accuracy.

Can your players put the ball in the hoop? This one is super easy to measure and an obvious signal of what you need to work on in practice if the number is low. Depending on the level you're coaching at, anywhere from 45% - 50% is good place to be as a team.

3. Assist-to-turnover ratio to assess ball handling and decision-making skills.

This metric is especially important for players who have the ball in their hands a lot. Assists are great and indicate that players are getting their teammates involved, but if they're giving the ball to the opposing team at the same clip then you have a problem. Good decision-making builds trust among the ball handlers and the rest of the team.

4. Rebound rate to evaluate a player's ability to secure rebounds.

Players with a high rebound rate are your go-getters and most likely to be your big men (but not always). Utilize this metric to make sure certain players are positioned the way you want them depending on your gameplan.

5. Defensive rating to measure a player's impact on the defensive end.

Ya know the old saying, "defense wins championships"? Defensive rating is a stat that determines if your defense is good enough to win a championship. The lower the rating, the better your defense is. You can't expect to win games if you can't stop anyone.

What are some of your favorite basketball metrics? Let me know!