It's interesting that Morey wants to evaluate talent visually He doesn't have any experience as a player or coach or scout.
The only part I don't get is how can we have the 3rd hardest schedule? Everybody in the conference plays the same number of games against everyone else, right? The hard schedule is true for limited stretches, but if you look at the overall picture it should be the same for everyone.
He probably has ways to calculate it. # of back to backs # of top ranked East teams # of times we play top West teams (which should be alot since we are in the toughest division).
No. 1.) You play teams in the opposite conference twice a year. (1 home/1 road) 2.) You play teams in your own division 4 times a year. ((2 home/2 road) 3.) You play teams in the other division in your conference either 3 or 4 times (e.g., we play the Lakers 3 times but the Clippers 4 times. On an unrelated part, you could also consider that we have to play two road games against the Lakers, whereas we also played Utah 3 times, but two were home games) By nature of being in the toughest division (where we're the worst team at 37-34), we're guaranteed of playing one of the tougher schedules, since we'll definitely face our own division 4 times. It's actually a surprise we don't have the toughest schedule, since we're at the bottom of the toughest division, and thus our opponent record would be better than someone at the top of the division.
But he's been in the NBA for a while now working closely with all of the above. And part of being a scout is simply observing and gathering info, which doesn't require a lot of experience.
But the season isn't over. Because NBA schedule generally evens out like you said, we have one of the softest schedules down the stretch. IMO, that's what Morey meant. That our record reflects a little negatively on our true strength due to having a hard schedule so far. You're right that schedule mean very little in the NBA, especially compared to the MLB/NFL. But that's only when the season is taken as a whole. Not when you're still playing.
I evaluate talent visually, without experience as an NBA player, coach or scout.... just because Morey's basketball background is minor doesn't mean he can't have a visceral interpretation of talent. Why do you think so many players hype machines are boosted by the NCAA tournament?
Perhaps Memphis and New Orleans have tougher schedules than us. They are close enough in w-L that if the played the lakers are some other tough team 4 times that would make the difference.
Yes, but you see through Kentucky Blue colored glasses. Which definitely taints your evaluations. Seriously, I will never second guess Morey (okay almost never) after he picked PPat. I wanted Larry Sanders. No question about it I Thought Sanders had much more upside that Patrick. But also no question about it I would take Patrick over Sanders if I had the hindsight of today. Morey didn't have that hindsight.
Besides, Lithuania is a basketball-crazed country full of young hot chicks who just adore chubby-faced NBA GMs from glamorous American cities like Houston.
Just saying, if I hadn't been immersed in the game as a player/coach/scout, I wouldn't trust myself to evaluate talent based on an eyeball test. I could be wrong, but I don't think Morey's success at finding talent has been because of his personal visual scouting of players in college or overseas. It has more to do with his use of metrics and the evaluations of proven, reputable scouts.
Morey could be going to make sure these guys have no entanglements. There are sometimes contract issues regarding players playing in Europe and I am sure Morey would be heavily involved in that aspect.
I understand that, but I am certain he's armed with more than an eyeball test. If I was going to pay a guy millions of dollars at some point, I think I would want to see him in real competition rather than just workouts no matter what his stats said. I would bet it's a combination of all those things. I just believe that it's a lot different watching someone on a video than watching in real life/time. You can see a lot of the nuances/actions a player makes with his teammates, his coach, the opponents etc when you watch a live game. I think Morey's success lies in recognizing all of those things. And yes sometimes I have Blue tinted glasses... but that's because I see more of those players... I notice their quirks and habits because of that. I would likely be better able to tell you if Harrison Barnes early troubles this season were a fluke or something more if I were a UNC fan, but I'm not. That's why GM's talk to coaches about their players.
any chance he checked out the czech big dude out on his way (vesely I think it is)? or is it just a standard stopover place? good to see him getting out and about I reckon....and I think its a good sign that we are looking at these young big men.
Look at DM's draft recored and you will have no reason to question his methods. DM hits at a phenominal rate on his draft picks.... especially considering most have been second round picks. I refuse to question DM's talent evaluation methods.
maybe he wants to get to know them personally. rockets are one of the first teams to include a psychological profile in their scouting reports.
