These statements contradict. If you need analytics, then he isn't right. His quotes say the exact opposite.
Barkley never said that you can't use Analytics alone to build a championship team. If that were what he said, there would be no debate, and he would be right. What he said: "First of all I've always believed analytics was crap." You seem to have taken a very liberal interpretation of what he said. If analytics are crap, then why is every single team at the Sloan conference now? Why do the Spurs, Heat, Mavs, Grizz, etc. ALL use analytics heavily and hire teams of analytical professionals? Morey never argued that analytics trump stats, as a lot of posters have already stated. He's always LOOKING for talent (hence the fixation on the big 3). He knows talent is the most important. Put another way, talent is the foundation of success. Analytics is the EDGE - the edge that teams with talented players are constantly searching for to aim their talent in the right direction. Because at the very highest level of sports, where all the players are supremely talented and a hair's breadth determines whether a team wins or loses, any edge that you can find is helpful. As others are trying to tell you, analytics are complementary to talent, not adverse/opposed. Analytics helps you find talent; it helps you confirm talent; it helps you confirm someone is wasted space; it helps you decide how to spend your cap dollars; it helps you loosely measure talent; it helps you free up cap space to maintain flexibility in case a golden (lucky) opportunity comes along. It helps Morey change 3 nickels into a quarter, three quarters into a dollar, and 3 dollars into James Harden. It gives you assets and flexibility that allows you to tell a talented center how you will maximize the role players around him, so he will leave the Lakers. Other comments Barkley made: "You know I never mention the Rockets as legitimate contenders 'cause they're not." This may be true. It is debatable whether we are a legitimate contender right now, with Dwight's health situation in flux. "And listen, I wouldn't know Daryl Morey if he walked into this room right now." I call bull****. He's was with the Rockets. He hates Les and the front office. He knows who Morey is. "They're not a good defensive team. They gave up 118 points. No good team gives up 118 points." We're slipping without Dwight. But we were top 5 for most of the year. We had two bad games. Virtually every team in the leave has given up 118 points in a given game. Barkley also said we were the two worst teams defensively (then changed to the two worst playoff teams). Like I said, we're top 7 (after two REALLY bad games), clearly better defensively than most of the East teams, and in the West, we're clearly better defensively than Dallas, which he pegged as a true contender. "They say that same crap in baseball, and they put these little lightweight teams together and they never win," Barkley said. "They're always competitive to a certain degree and they don't win. It's the same thing in the NBA." Boston Red Sox hired Bill James, the father of stats in baseball, and won 3 championships after an 86 year drought. "The Rockets sucked for a long time, so they went out and paid James Harden a lot of money; they got better," Barkley said on the TNT postgame broadcast. "Then they went out and got Dwight Howard; they got better. ... How they hell did he think they got James Harden? They used an analytical mindset to accumulate assets that would appeal to a team like Orlando Magic and OK and offered them up to get Howard and then Harden. They hit on Harden. At the time, Barkley stated that he loved the trade for OK, and didn't think Harden would be better than a great 6th man and that the pressure of being the MAN would be too much. Morey on the other hand said that his stats told him Harden was absolutely a MAX player, even though not everyone agreed. He called Harden a FOUNDATIONAL PLAYER. You can't just pay talent. You have to draft and develop them (or put them in the right light to make them look good so some other team will pay for them), or gather the assets to convince another team to give up talent. Analytics helps you do that. How did they get Howard? They kept churning players to improve the team in order to convince Dwight that the team was worthy. Before they got Harden, Dwight rejected every single overture. But once they were able to flip their countless trades to get Harden, they were able to get Howard. "The NBA is about talent," Barkley continued. "All these guys who run these organizations who talk about analytics, they have one thing in common -- they're a bunch of guys who have never played the game, and they never got the girls in high school, and they just want to get in the game." No one denies the NBA is about talent. But winning is about maximizing talent. Ask Lebron how he was doing in Cleveland when the front office was surrounding him with overpaid veterans or the wrong role players? Take an old house that is renovated - all of a sudden it is worth far more. Or a rawly talented athlete who suddenly realizes that his strengths are in certain areas and now works to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses. That's what analytics helps do. To say it is crap is utterly stupid and reeks of people who says who needs these darn computers anyway - I can still do math in my head and don't need a machine to help me. Analytics doesn't replace or compete with talent, it enhances it.
Exactly. Morey needs to chill a little with his escapades on Twitter. Something tells me Morey likes to be center of attention. I can't think of any other self respecting GM out there who likes to partake in this type of thing on social media.
Charles, you wrong bro... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4veGMAzLx2o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Exactly. Barkley thinks analytics are worthless. Morey says that analytics are just one part of the process in every interview on the subject. It's not like Morey and his staff are all just sitting in a room crunching numbers without watching the games when making their decisions. Plus if anyone needs to "let bygones be bygones" it's Barkley. Morey was responding to Barkley's misinformation about the Rocket's defense that night, not some long running feud. At the very least, Barkly could find some actual legitimate things to criticize. Like too much reliance on Harden, too much reliance on 3 point shooting without enough inside scoring threats, Dwight being too injury prone, not enough talent at the point guard position to keep up in the west, ect. There are plenty of valid reasons Barkley can throw out there as to why the Rockets might not be contenders without making stuff up that shows he doesn't really know what he is talking about.
Here's an article that more or less states what I mean: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/...t-love-analytics-but-analytics-sure-love-him/
I have no problem with our GM defending our team by calling out a major media member that is just FLAT OUT WRONG. Morey is not the only major personality that tweeted about Barkley's ignorance about our defense.
Barkley's comments reflect a lot more than just his hate for the Rockets. It reflects a sentiment amongst players who can't get in the front office, who are blaming well-educated, analytical experts, who weren't part of the fraternity of the NBA, for "stealing" jobs they feel entitled to. In short: Charles Barkley's resume is being tossed into the garbage by league offices.
Really Barkley? You look at a one game sample? A one game sample when we don't have our best defensive player? What about Memphis? Memphis is a great defensive team. They gave up 115 points to Philadelphia on December 13. They gave up 114 to Denver on January 3. What about the media's favorite team the Golden State Warriors? They gave up 113 to the Spurs on November 11. They gave up 115 to the Lakers on November 16 and 115 again to the Lakers on December 23. They gave up 127 to the Thunder on January 16. They gave up 114 to Dallas on February 4. They gave up 124 to the Hawks on February 6. But yet Barkley would say Golden State is a title contender because they are a good defensive team? I thought no good defensive team gave up 118 points? Who's another good defensive team? The Hawks? They had teams score on them 127, 114 and 126 in November. Golden State scored 116 on them on February 6. That's the nature of the NBA. No matter how good a team is, no matter how good the defense is, there will be nights when the other team's offense is clicking. There will be games where a good or even a great defensive team will have defensive lapses.
we're currently 3rd in one of the toughest conference races in history all while having several key players miss GOBS of time due to injury and this is your response? holy **** you're an asshat. the fact the you pretend to be a fan and expect some people to buy it is cute, though. let me guess, you have eqaully high expectations on every other aspect of your life, right? probably crushing it at work clipping high six figures, nailing tons of hots, only the finest champagne and caviar, peak physical condition... i mean i guy like you who expects nothing but the best wouldn't settle for anything less obviously.
This team is Morey's life and livelihood. It's as if someone were insulting his family. I have no problem with him coming to the defense of the players and the organization. Somebody has to. And if anything, it kickstarted this debate that actually has people denouncing Barkley for his stupidity for once. He's not just a lovable jokester like Shaq.....his tirades have real hate infused with real ignorance, and it's becoming unwatchable. I'm glad Morey had the stones to finally say something about it.
We'll settle it with the time of test. You know me too well. Everybody wants to go right, I go left. Suspicious of the guarantee.
That is what made me successful but enough about me. Its the homerism boasting thats unbearable here. God help you if you say something against Morey.
Even if he was interested in knowing more about analytics, he still wouldn't understand. He just isn't smart.
I think this whole thing is hilarious. Charles had a optimum opportunity to look and win this argument if he only responded to Daryl's point, but instead he had to be "spew" unsubstantiated and wrong info about analytics and indirectly Morey. Best response would have been I am an analyst on a multiple award winning show, sorry you don't like me but obviously the people judging the talent do... or something about ratings. Instead he proved Daryl right by subsequently doing the exact thing Daryl called him out on.
Anyone who agrees with Charles don't know what analytics is. He said analytics is USELESS. He didn't say analytics should not be given a lot of weight. He said it's crap. He also said that Spurs don't use any analytics. Those are pretty ignorant statements. Analytics and talent are not mutually exclusive. Do you really think teams like the Rockets relies on analytics alone?!
So anybody who agrees with Barkley doesn't know analytics??? Be freaking for real.... Yeah I do agree with some of the stuff that Barkley stated and I know a helluva lot about analytics... There is one thing to agree with what Barkley stated but don't make it personal.... This board is about opinions one way or another, but calling someone stupid, ignorant or not knowing something is stepping over the line... My opinion is I agree with some of the things Barkley stated, your opinion is you don't... Cool.. No problem with that... So keep it on that level... T_Man
Morey just wanted to expose Barkley bias when it comes to the Rockets... And he did! Ive even read posts on RedRaidersports.com where Mav fans are taking Houston's side
