[David Locke "Jazz" Podcast] - Special Guest Jason Friedman

wtf, 100 trades on hand at the trade deadline? that just doesn't sound right...

 

So I guess only crappy teams are allowed to have podcasts for their fans??? Locke mentioned trades, players on other teams, and took a small zing at Stern... wonder if they are getting a 50K fine for this??...

 

Rockets are allowed, but I think the Rockets and/or Jason may be nervous about fines after last incident.

 

WHat incident is this?

 

Rockets were fined in June for free agent profiles that Jason wrote for the Rockets website. The Rockets (or Morey) were also fined for comments Morey made during the moratorium concerning Dwight Howard.

 

Anyone have a quick summary for those who can't watch? Appreciated

 

They started off talking about the Nets game in which the Rockets ONLY took rim shots and 3-pointers for the entire game. Talked about the "no mid range shots" philosophy.

Talked a little bit about moneyball/moreyball, and how the entire organization from the players/coach/gm are all on the same page, analyzing the data and working it into the gameplan.

Talked a little bit about Morey's player evaluations but stopped short because of the fine incident mentioned above.

 

Most of the stuff they discussed has been discussed already, so no real "groundbreaking" info, but some interesting keypoints that I liked:

Rockets still use traditional scouting methods to complement the statistical analysis.

The NBA in general is behind the curve in proper statistical analysis.

When reviewing games, Rockets are not satisfied with "end result" but are more concerned with "following the method"... (sometimes bad plays produce a good result, but the play is still bad)

 

Wow, crash, what a find! It pains me to say it (Locke being part of the Jazz radio team), but I have to admire David Locke for conducting such a good interview of Jason, and getting so much out of him. Jason didn't say anything that would have a negative impact on the team, yet gave us a nice look "inside" the Rockets coaching staff and how they work to prepare before games, a look at some of what they do on the sidelines during games, how the front office operates (with some mindblowing stats about their preparation for the trade deadline), and how it interacts with McHale and his staff. Just a really enjoyable 30 minutes of conversation between two huge fans of the game, fans intimately connected to their respective teams. I've said this more than once, but have to say it again... Jason Friedman is easily the best thing to happen to Rockets.com. Not only is he an excellent wordsmith, but he's very good "live," as we see here. Folks should give this a listen. It's well worth it.

 

Anyone know if Friedman and Ackerman might start doing their podcasts again after the trading deadline?

 

OK. That was so worth my time I cannot even formulate how instructive it was. 31 minutes of honest banter between two very knowledgeable NBA semi-insiders. One thing I took away from the conversation is that the job Morey and McHale and the organization is doing is now envied by other teams in the NBA. Why cannot the - insert NBA team here - emulate the Houston Rockets and take only 22.6% of their shots from the dead zone known as mid-range? Morey and McHale seem to have a great working relationship, and it is benefiting the Rockets team in a number of ways.

 

Name this bobble-heads!

 

fixed

 

Great. Friedman wouldn't do a podcast for the Rockets but joins the Jazz podcast. Traitor.

 

Just one more thing to blame on David Stern, semi-forcing Rockets Cast live off the air

 

The funny thing is that the times I've visited other teams' fan sites, opposing fans generally lament the fact that their team doesn't operate like the Rockets. They complain about taking too many long 2s, not getting out in transition, etc. When the Sixers hire Sam Hinkie, Sixers fans were thrilled that they don't have to watch the team jack up 20 footers as part of the Doug Collins offense. Yes, Doug Collins offense actually has that long 2 as part of his sets, astonishingly enough.

 

I think it was Morey that said they had 3 possible trades going into last years deadline. No wonder they weren't confident in making a deal even though they made 2.