Your oversimplification of events and situations is mind boggling. 1. You can't exactly create success when your employer didn't allow you to tank, which is what happened during our dark years. With those restrictions in mind, the teams that Morey put together were quite successful. One can argue that we overachieved trotting out that worthless team of Martin/Ariza, Scola, and Brooks/Lowry/Dragic. 2. "Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." Getting Harden was lucky in the sense that OKC was dumb enough to make Harden available on the market. Morey having the Rockets IN POSITION to trade for Harden was NOT luck. He managed player salaries and the cap to PUT US in the position to make a trade for a player like Harden. If you can't see this, you are either dumb, blind, or both.
Apparently, she was my best friends girlfriend's best friend. It was shocker to us because we knew just about everything about their relationship through her. She invited us to a party here at one of the many clubs that occupied the space behind the old Bierra Poretti's in River Oaks, although they were dating he was oddly stand offish to her in public. A month or so later she told us that he'd proposed. She wasn't the psycho or lying type either. Hot chick. Educated. Well adjusted. She's been a buyer for Neiman Marcus for over 20 years now. Still never married.
For the last freaking time, we are NOT taking away the mid range shots. So many stupid people keep insisting this for some unknown reason. We are persuading players who are inefficient at LONG mid range shots to take a step back or two back and shoot a three or drive towards the rim for a better shot or chance to get to the foul line. We are persuading players to shoot the three ball if both long 2 ball and 3 ball happen to be available. The philosophy of our offense is EFFICIENCY. Long 2's are much more inefficient than 3 point shots, even more so if you suck at shooting the 2 ball. No one is telling Harden to not shoot mid range step back jumpers. If we get a player like LMA who excels at the mid range, no one will tell him not to shoot it either. It is all about taking the most efficient shot for you which is also the best shot available.
Seriously.... You guys have turned the entire statement of what Barkley was stating completely around... Barkley is stating that you can not use Analytics ALONE to build a championship team.. We all know that analytics are used in every sport.. If I have 4 guys on the court that shoot above 80% and one that shoots 40% who am I going to foul? The argument isn't so much about using analytics, it's about using it too put together a championship team. Barkley uses stats all the time on the show, so it's not like he's totally against numbers. So before you want to hand out time out slips understand the entire argument... and by the way.... HTown.. Barkley has been right...
Why????? Because he stated something negative about the Rockets.... Chuck hasn't stated anything that hasn't been talked about in the GARM... T_Man
Again: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en data-scribe-reduced-action-queue="><p>His overall point -- that talent trumps analytics -- is just taking down a straw man. Everyone knows you need great players above all else.</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/565513791614767104">February 11, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Maybe some people are supporting that argument in this thread, it's moving too fast for me to keep up while at work, but it's the last argument you'd hear out of Morey's mouth and so in that context a total strawman.
Morey vs. Barkley >>>>> Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Please, someone make a Photoshop boxing or UFC fight poster of both Morey and Barkley.:grin:
As McHale once said (paraphrase0, "I never saw a future asset help win a game." Same applies to "Philosophy." You can want to be efficient and talk about it, but how is that working for you. Just as Barkley correctly said, any efficiency improvement from the Rockets is directly related to the addition of Harden and Howard to the team. It has absolutely zero to do with Morey preaching some ideal philosophy that we aren't noticeably better than the rest of the league at. Basketball Analytics is a broad subject, and not entirely new...because NBA scouts who did this solely in the past are just as good at it as computers. It encompasses four areas of focus: (1) Drafts, (2) Player Acquisition, (3) Scouting Opponents for defense, and (4) scouting your own Offense. And it relevance and usefulness follows in that order. Most of it centers around supporting draft decisions and player acquisitions, and, sorry, Barkley is correct again by saying Morey's assets are turned over so often how can that aspect of Analytics be attributed to a team chemistry or cohesion centered around a team philosophy. It doesn't: rolling over your assets as rapidly as Morey does, means he's still searching for the right combo. Now that we have a suuperstar, everything is simplified. Now, analytics for the purpose of player acquisition can focus on a definable supporting cast....it can narrow it's focus. It is also useful for describing opponent tendencies to support defense. I would place it's affect on creating a offensive scheme a distant third...offensive scheme (as Barkley again correctly states) is driven vastly more by the abilities of your super star player, and I'm willing to bet every great NBA coach would agree that your primarily coach the role players and defense, and merely tweek the superstar, or trade him in for another.
You said a huge part of the Harden trade was luck. Why was Houston the "lucky" NBA team and not some other team?
Agreed. To be honest I don't care what Barkley says about the Houston team building philosophy. I don't think it's perfect myself. I'm really more irritated by his lack of basic research on his initial "no defense" comment.
Morey wouldn't have even Tweeted anything had Barkley didn't have a pattern of ignorantly bashing the team. It's not like last night was a one-off example of someone criticizing the Rockets.
I do agree with what Barkley stated, but at the same time DFW statement sums everything up... Right now this thread is almost you're either with us or against us.... I am agreeing with information from both sides... Again, Barkley isn't discussing anything that hasn't been discussed in the GARM.. Assets, Howard, Defense, etc.... There are multiple threads discussing all of these and more... T_Man
I'm not sure why you continue to defend him. He made a dumbass statement. Like the guy or not, it was pure stupidity. Saying you can't win a championship using analytics alone is like saying you can't brush your teeth with memories. It doesn't make sense. How in the world can analytics win you anything? Please give me an example of this, because right now I am just picturing little percentage signs and integers running around schooling people.
Straw man argument? Lowe is making a straw man argument in that tweet. Don't y'all see it. Just because Barkley isn't saying something new does not mean he is wrong. Yes, Barkley did not respond directly to Morey's trolling tweet. But Lowe is using a lame tactic to redirect Barkley's argument as well. Do analytics replace traditional NBA scouting? At best, it marginally assists it, and not very much at all wrt offensive affectiveness...certainly not to the levels that the Media likes to embrace. The media largely embrasses the use of analytics to defend one's argument about who's best. That's completely peripheral fan and media interests to their enjoyment of the game. Fact is: anyone can find an analytic to support their arguments/claims. Doesn't mean there isn't another analytic out their to dispute that. It's like Science: What we think we know today is not law. The tweets coming from the Analytics defenders are coming from several people who have a vested interest to further the importance of Analytics, and the media digs that **** up, because they have an "improved" way to debate the game via stats....when in fact, a lot of stats is just noise that scouts and coaches ignore. basically, what many are saying is if you attack Analytics, you are attacking me and my self-importance.
