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[Toronto Star] Morey's 'Moneyball' approach paying off

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Water Boy, Mar 13, 2008.

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  1. Water Boy

    Water Boy Member

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    Mar 13, 2008 04:30 AM

    Dave Feschuk

    When the Houston Rockets hired Daryl Morey as general manager, it was said to be a safe bet that Morey could walk into a room full of his fellow GMs and not be recognized.

    The 35-year-old Morey, who took over the GM role in the lead-up to this season after serving an apprenticeship under former GM Carroll Dawson, held a computer science degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from M.I.T. But he hadn't put in the time to earn an NBA PhD; he has never played, coached or waterboyed in the world's best basketball league.

    But Morey is the first NBA GM to be heralded as a disciple of what's been termed the "Moneyball" approach to sports management. He's a self-professed stats geek who has studied the work of both Bill James, the baseball-versed pioneer of sports statistical analysis, and Billy Beane, the Oakland A's GM who famously (and successfully) applied some of James's principles to his team architecture.

    Now that the Rockets have become one of the great stories of the season – tying the Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest win streak in NBA history at 20 games with an 83-75 victory over Atlanta last night – Morey's approach is likely to get a lot more attention.

    Not that Morey's approach has been the story of a remarkable string of wins.

    The skeptics have been waiting for Yao Ming's out-for-the-season absence to finally derail the juggernaut (although only the first 12 games of streak came before the Chinese centre was felled by a stress fracture in his foot).

    They've been waiting for Rafer Alston to implode (although Alston has been an efficient stalwart as Houston's starting point man).

    They've been waiting for Tracy McGrady's usual injury problems, which already kept him out of 15 games before the streak, to sideline him again.

    And they're waiting for the Rockets to revert to the form that saw them open the season 15-17.

    As they wait, Morey has been heralded for fleshing out this season's supporting cast, most notably by acquiring starting power forward Luis Scola from the Spurs in the summer.

    It's far too early to tell not only how serious a championship threat the Rockets can be, but how influential Morey's stat-engrossed approach can become. He has said the Rockets have invested millions in everything from the massive computer servers required to store the hours and hours of digital video from which statistical trends are mined, to the analysts who do the prospecting. And if Morey has hit on something revolutionary, nobody is expecting him to share the wealth of proprietary data.

    The Raptors, like a lot of NBA clubs, dabble in video cataloguing and statistical analysis, although perhaps not to Morey's career-defining extent. Bryan Colangelo, the Toronto GM, has likened statistical analysis to one tool in the toolbox of a successful executive.

    What's en vogue all comes down to winning, of course. When the Rockets got off to their slow start this season after last year's first-round playoff flameout, there were those lamenting how, a couple of summers before, the Rockets had traded the rights to a lottery pick named Rudy Gay, among other assets, to Memphis for Shane Battier.

    But Battier, who has averaged about 10 points and five rebounds a game as an NBAer, may well be the quintessential Morey-type player, a performer whose value to the team goes far deeper than the conventional numbers. He is, in the vernacular, a glue guy. And Morey presumably has the esoteric numbers to prove it.

    Traditionalists will argue that you don't need an exhaustive database to make that kind of beyond-the-boxscore observation, which is why Battier was a sixth-overall pick in the NBA draft.

    Traditionalists will also understand that if the Rockets roll in the playoffs the way they've been succeeding in the past six weeks, exhaustive databases compiled by Morey clones are likely to quickly become a very fine idea in the minds of NBA CEOs.
     
    #1 Water Boy, Mar 13, 2008
  2. Water Boy

    Water Boy Member

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    #2 Water Boy, Mar 13, 2008
  3. scottlaw

    scottlaw Rookie

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    10% Statistic, 90% Luck

    I like Morey, dont get me wrong. I just cant have the same respect to a GM that never plays the game.
     
    #3 scottlaw, Mar 13, 2008
  4. Jeffrey

    Jeffrey Member

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    Yeah! All those other GMs who played the game deserve more respect! Like Isiah Thomas, and Larry Bird, and Kevin McHale, and Steve Kerr, and Jim Paxson, and so on...
     
    #4 Jeffrey, Mar 13, 2008
  5. Nelly

    Nelly Contributing Member

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    You can't call it luck if the guy goes with the "safe" choice almost every time. Battier, Brooks, Landry all produced in college and didn't have a bad track record. Drafting Rudy Gay and thinking he might be the next Tmac requires luck.
     
    #5 Nelly, Mar 13, 2008
  6. user

    user Member

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    I want to know the reaction toward the Scola trade from the Spurs fans, after the 20 game strike and the Rockets passing the Spurs to the top of the South West.
     
    #6 user, Mar 13, 2008
  7. London'sBurning

    London'sBurning Contributing Member

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    Spursreport has a enormous thread dedicated to Scola. It's funny how you can see Scola doing poorly at the start of the season and Spurs fans saying Matt Bonner is the better choice. Then they gradually realized how good Scola was and what a steal he was as well. They even have a V-Span thread now hoping he comes into the NBA. I don't post there but its humorous how many topics there are from other teams about the Rockets. Almost every one of them thinks we're still an overrated team that's not doing anything special. I'm just enjoying every game at this point and whatever happens happens.
     
    #7 London'sBurning, Mar 13, 2008
  8. Chronz

    Chronz Member

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    You really are a weird person, if you know and love the game, it shouldnt be held against you that you werent good enough to play in the NBA. I would be a great GM
     
    #8 Chronz, Mar 13, 2008
  9. Dkny_112

    Dkny_112 Member

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    That has to be the most flawed viewpoint of all time.

    Put it this way, would your rather have some former superstar (Isiah Thomas) or an MBA MIT graduate running your 500 million dollar company?

    Just because you can put a ball in the hoop and understand the game well doesnt make you a great GM. A lot of these GMs lack negotiation skills and don't understand simple business model concepts.

    Look at the best GMs in the league. They're smart, educated and delegate appropriately. They hire good head coaches (who really determine the product on the floor).

    I'm sure you'll all agree that a few of the best Gms around the league are Bryan Colangelo, Morey, Popovich, Geoff Petrie and Sam Presti (though still somewhat unproven but doing a fine job in seattle stocking picks). What do they all have in common? They've never played in the league. Does that make them any less successful?

    Look at all the garbage GMs out there right now.... Mchale, Bird (whose team hasn't had any direction since 2005), Isiah, Danny Ferry, Elgin Baylor and Steve Kerr (that shaq trade isn't looking so hot but he deserves a little more time in the seat).
     
    #9 Dkny_112, Mar 13, 2008
  10. Air Langhi

    Air Langhi Contributing Member

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    What does having a MIT MBA have to do with talent evaluating. I rather have someone who is good at evaluating talent. Up until this year he had not proven anything. Now he has.
     
    #10 Air Langhi, Mar 13, 2008
  11. VesceySux

    VesceySux Contributing Member

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    Uh, ever heard of scouts? Teams have them for a reason, y'know...
     
    #11 VesceySux, Mar 13, 2008
  12. Tuan

    Tuan Member

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    To be honest, I wouldnt put my franchise in the hands of an ex player. I am not implying that most athletes arent bright, but I would prefer a guy like Morey any day :D!
     
    #12 Tuan, Mar 13, 2008
  13. cmellon

    cmellon Member

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    Yeah, Our GM should have been ex Rockets like Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.
     
    #13 cmellon, Mar 13, 2008
  14. thelasik

    thelasik Contributing Member

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    Right on. Some people are so damn delusional.
     
    #14 thelasik, Mar 13, 2008
  15. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN
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    He played the game. He just wasn't good at it. Personally, I think your statement is pure idiocy. "I just can't have the same respect for a GM that isn't an ex-jock, because we all know that ex-jocks are the smartest people alive. I mean, they didn't get through high school and on to college just for being athletic... oh wait..."

    Now, obviously, I don't mean to disparage all jocks. There are plenty of jocks/ex-jocks who are brilliant. I'm just saying that being good at basketball does not equal being a good GM. If being good at basketball automatically means you'd be great at running a franchise, I think it's safe to say Michael Jordan wouldn't be running his second franchise into the ground. Instead, he'd be the greatest guy ever to have running your franchise. Guys like Isiah Thomas would be up there too. Larry Bird hasn't done anything to impress me either.

    I could probably go on and on about this, but I suppose I've gotten my basic point across. In case I didn't, let me reiterate: It's *****ing r****ded to respect Morey less because he didn't play pro-basketball. He's a genius.
     
    #15 Williamson, Mar 13, 2008
  16. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN
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    Agreed. Thanks for making my point better than I did. :D

    Also, note the success of the Phoenix Suns when Bryan Colangelo was their GM. Now look at them since Steve Kerr (who is about as smart a basketball player as I can think of) took over. Case closed.
     
    #16 Williamson, Mar 13, 2008
  17. Precision340

    Precision340 Member

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    i think he's had a lot of help, it's just not the gm making decisions on his own.. not all players make great gm.. you see that in coaching also
     
    #17 Precision340, Mar 13, 2008
  18. duluth111222

    duluth111222 I.D.I.O.T

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    Well, to be fair, this is his rookie season as a GM. Assistant GM doesn't count IMO, cuz you don't know who's in charge behind the scene.

    So how could he prove anything before this season?
     
    #18 duluth111222, Mar 13, 2008
  19. kona-

    kona- Member

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    Sorry, but I LOVE this sport and have followed it relentlessly starting about 10 years ago.

    Who where the best college players, watching other teams games which I didnt care about. Reading every article on ESPN, local news and wherever else I could get more info from.

    I love basketball. But I am also a 5'7 white guy who cant jump.

    Am I claiming that I would be a good GM. No im not.

    Being a GM and being a basketball player is 2 totally different things. Basketball players just need to go play ball. GM's need to know what too look for in a ball player. (Money, Heart, etc etc)
     
    #19 kona-, Mar 13, 2008
  20. johnstarks

    johnstarks Member

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    I think you're confusing the role of a GM and scout. Scouts and coaches need to know the nitty gritty of the game. They need to know how to evaluate a player's potential. GMs need to do a little evaluation, but usually they can rely on their scouts. A GM's main job is to juggle contracts for chemistry, budgetary constraints, and time as well as negotiating with players and other GMs. This is where a numbers guy is way more important than having someone who knows about how to play the game.

    In coaching, often the best coaches are former NBA players who were not so athletic so they had to really learn to think about the game. They have to know the details of the game.
     
    #20 johnstarks, Mar 13, 2008
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