[Andrew Sharp] Shooting for the moon: Why Rockets, 76ers have failed to launch

It's both, but aren't they somewhat interrelated? None of us know the inner workings of Morey's mind, so we all have to speculate to an extent, but it certainly appears that Morey believes in The System of focusing on the high-efficiency areas of the court (both offensively and defensively) and all that he needs is a coach to manage personalities and let his system take care of the basketball.

Let me say here that I'm not at all anti-analytics. I love advanced stats and I love the ideas that Morey was on the vanguard of (the No-Stats All Star profile of Morey with Battier as a case study is a seminal piece of basketball literature, IMO). But I don't think that's sufficient. You still need a smart basketball mind at coach who can take these concepts and figure out interesting new ways to attack, offensively and defensively. Morey's efficiency metrics should inform what coaching does, not completely dictate it.

Guys like Greg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Rick Carlisle and Brad Stevens (the needle-moving coaches in basketball today, IMO) aren't really revolutionaries who create completely novel offensive or defensive concepts. They're simply smart about incorporating all the new information constantly flooding into the industry and snap familiar pieces of offensive and defensive basketball together into systems that are successful against the existing league. I don't feel like Morey prioritizes that in a coach, or prioritizing coaching at all. He wants game and people managers, because he believes grabbing talent and having them focus on the highest yield areas on the court is sufficient...even though every other team (minus the Bobcats) does the same.

 

Or maybe, just maybe, that's some of that risk taking you keep talking about. They take risks, Royce White, Lawson, even bringing in Terry. They don't always pan out, but keep swinging for the fences.

 

I can't agree more with this. Like I've said before, it was Game 2 of the WCF last year that I knew McHale wasn't right for this team. Unfortunately JB isn't right either. If Morey stays put with JB, then I'll be inclined to agree with you that he doesn't value coaching enough. Until then, I think he is playing the hand he's dealt.

 

Yeah right,

Luke Walton must be the best coach ever in the history of basketball.

 

All gets back to coaching.

 

You still have a hard time at comprehension

so when they won the title a year ago Bogut was the best C, DG was the best PF, Barnes was the best SF, Klay was the best SG in the league right. Even then Curry wasn't even considered the runaway mvp when JH had a very good case to be. So they simply won because they have the best players is completely false.

Just because you fail to understand what intangibles are and the variables that go along with them doesn't mean they don't exist

 

This article isn't ANTI tanking. It isn't even anti analytics.
It says clearly that the rest of the league has caught up. They use analytics too. BUT they also take into accounts intagibles, character, fit, COACHING.

Morey does not.
Morey believes that "talent trumps all" and that coaching is only good for a couple wins.
And here we all.
How to make a culture of the team when it's all based on talent, not intangibles no leaders, no coaching.

and I can't believe I would agree with one of your posts and rep you but here I am. 100% agree.

QFT.

Here is what Popovich said when asked what they look for in players :

 

Bogut may not be the best player in his position but he definitely fit better than lots of the other C in this league for the GSW, and more importantly, his salary makes more sense than the player like Dwight.

The same goes for Green, Barnes and Klay. They maybe not be the best individual players in their own position but they are no doubt the best combination of all these position together and that's why it called a team.

They are also the best combination of players playing the best analytic ways, the modern way of basketball, and hence the success.

They shot more 3s and also made more 3s than any great teams ever in the history of the league, not because of great coaching or any great system, that's all bullcrap. Most of the teams trust analytics, and the simple facts pointed to the way that GSW playing is the best modern way, but most other teams failed to perform at this level, because they do not have this kind of quality players - who can shoot and who can make plays and who can play defense.

Maybe stop playing too much NBA2K and try to watch more games you will be able to understand more.

There is no secret about analytics and its all bullcrap when people blaming on Morey's so called system when the Rox failed this season.

Every team tried to do the similar way, they failed or not able to perform at the similar level of GSW mainly because of the quality of the players, not individually, but collectively as a team.

This is the best team in the league, not only now, but arguably one of the best in the history. There are many great coaches better than Kerr or Luke Walton, and your so called intangibles are just something nice to have and something to shrine the trophy more, but they all have little to do with what GSW able to achieved,

and more importantly, these are not the main factors why most of the other teams failed.

 

Agree with you on this. I would like to know the explanation for why these two vaunted best players were not the same ones in the previous years when Mark Jackson was the coach of GSW. I would think that Steve Kerr who played for great championship coaches Phil Jackson and Pop could have learned many of the principles of team play and the elements needed to win championships.

It is ridiculous to attribute the success of Kerr's championship success to Morey's analytics when Kerr won so many basketball championships as player and coach while Morey is still stuck in front of his computer trying to tinker with his team which is still years away, if at all, from any championship. The bottom line is that the Curry, Thompson, and co. became champions when Kerr took over as coach. The team became significantly better over the Mark Jackson coached team and Morey and his analytics has nothing to do whatsoever with it.

 

I look at it kinda like the article stated. The Rockets had a guy who was basically 17-7-4, 46%fg, 38% 3pt fg, who was 25 yrs old in Parsons. He came in, made a name, produced, and they didnt even offer him a contract. There is something to be said of being home grown, but Morey was chasing bigger fish. Not to mention, he could play with Harden and D12. As stated before, who was the last draft pick under morey to make it past their rookie contract?

 

Morey's biggest mistake is that he undervalues coaching. The Rockets don't have strong locker room leadership from its best players and the coach doesn't have enough skins on the wall to set these guys straight. A lot of the sloppy offensive ball is a sign of the total lack of offensive structure it takes to be consistently successful. And the defense at times is just plain atrocious. Again, a lack of structure & accountability. Morey needs to hire an experienced guy to take the reigns and hold guys accountable.

 

3rd to last team left in the league last year.

 

He's a hater. Granted, the Rockets are so ****ty that they deserve his hate. But when they were succeeding last year, he was singing a different tune (albeit begrudgingly).

 

THIS.

 

So much this.

DD

 

Good stuff.

I have repeatedly stated that the Rockets have to be able to draft well every once in a while at whatever pick they have and produce a player who they can retain past his rookie contract and who can be at the least the 3rd best player on a contending team and a core piece.

There are guys like that who exist at much lower picks than Rockets have historically had. Guys like Kawhi, Ibaka, Butler, Draymond Green, DJ. Mauri is just a mediocre 1st round drafter who insists on busts like White and Dekker or guys like Mook over Kawhi.

It's very hard to ring through free agency and trade. Most contenders have at least one core piece that they have drafted, many of them have this core piece at lower picks.

 

The two drafts that really stick in my craw were when he passed on Kahwi Leonard over Morris and the famous 2008 draft in the second round when he chose Joe Dorsey (The Ray Lewis of basketball) at #33 then the 34th pick was Mario Chalmers then 35th was DeAndre Jordan and the 36th pick was Omer Asik lol. Joey freaking Dorsy.

 

That second paragraph...damn. I couldnt have put it better myself

 

I agree with this post. It's a myth that Morey only uses analytics. I think the criticism of Morey based on an anti-analytics sentiment is just wrong-headed. It's like criticizing a writer because he uses a computer rather than a typewriter.

A sound criticism against Morey must begin with his priorities, how he values talent more than other important elements of winning, even though he constantly denies it.

 

Let's not re-write history. Parsons was let out of his contract early (presumably as some sort of shady deal with Parsons/D12's agent). The plan all along was to match after Bosh signed, which then fell apart. Ariza was the Plan B.

Speaking of which, this article's BS about the Bosh signing was ludicrous:

"Howard and Harden are good players, but terrible leaders, and at this point they don't even like each other. It's why the team has gone from title contender to playoff hopeful, and why Chris Bosh ultimately refused to chase another ring in Houston after Morey moved heaven and earth (and Chandler Parsons) to sign him in 2014."

Pretty sure it was MIA's 5th year that was offered at the 11th hour that made Bosh pass on the Rockets.