There are at least two strawman arguments taking place right now regarding analytics. 1) Talent is more important than analytics 2) Team ball is better than analytics If you want to argue against the use of analytics, then you should be arguing that statisical analysis doesn't provide insight into how good a player is, can be, fits your team, what shots to take, etc. beyond what your eyes can tell you. That is all analytics is. Being against teamball has nothing to do with analytics nor does the idea that talent matters. Those are both things that Morey preaches actually. He has laughed at the idea that he doesn't care about chemistry and superstar talent is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING he cares about. The only possible argument I guess you could even make about teamball is that Morey is wrong in his belief that talent is more important than teamball because he definitely believes that.
OP claims that analytics tells the Rockets to pass up open layups to take 3s. This has NEVER been true.
Another example. McHale has specifically addressed this claim as well in interviews where he says he would prefer all shots at the rim and no shots at the 3 if you could get away with it. The team does not preach this stupid "pass up easy shot for a 3" mantra. They don't take mid range jumpers.
Who said that. Our philosophy is lay ups and 3. Thats why Harden has tge ball 24-7. If we are going to do might as well emulate iverson 76'ers. Wait we are, except we play some sketchy defense
The title of this thread infuriates me. The spurs have one of the largest analytic departments in the league, already disproving charles and anyone else. Analytics AID in making decisions. They aren't the overriding factors in everything morey does. Good lord, we went after the most anti analytic player in the league in melo this offseason.
We play sketchy defense? Were 8th in league with our most important defender missing a huge chunk of games and playing the others mostly hurt.
It depends on how the opponent is running their offense. A lot of good defensive teams will rotate off the pick and roll, which effectively leaves the screener (say a guy like Josh Smith) open for a long two while doubling the point guard or Harden. If Harden lobs to Josh Smith, someone will rotate towards the basket, but not necessarily straight at Smith to contest a jumper. If Smith tries to hit the new open guy in the corner the defense rotates and everyone switches so that there shouldn't be any uncontested 3 point shot. Of course this also depends on how active your hands are on that initial pick and roll play. Fast crisp passes will lead to open looks while soft lobs or awkward bounce passes will slow down the ball movement and allow for full recovery. But in the scenario I described, that would be one strategy of taking away a wide open 3 and an easy drive to the basket while allowing the screener a second or two of an open look at a 18 footer.
Our chemistry has been great since Money ball. Last time our chemistry sucked was when we had Francis and Mobley with guys like Mo Taylor
Title is flawed! Didn't even need to read the article. The two are not contradictory, all analytics say is to look for more efficient ways to score.
I think we're all for healthy debates. Again, I think your latter posts are much more tenable. Go back and re-read your first page comments and see why most people are reacting the way they are. Sometimes, opinions are not "points of view" but simply wrong. Lots of people have opinions, lots of people have "points of view", but lots of people are also incorrect...
Not sure if you're being facetious or not...but I'll bite... First page of this thread. OP means "Original Poster"
Ultimately "analytics" doesn't shoot the ball, rebound, or play defense. This team is a collection of the best talent available given the circumstances. Part of "best talent available" was shaped by analytics but ultimately your team makeup is part luck. If Houston had two A++ shooters on the roster like GS does(they actually have more than that) with Klay & Steph, no one would be complaining about Houston's 3 point shooting because they would be absolutely blowing teams out. The hard to watch part of Houston rests with the fact, this isn't a particularly great collection of long range shooters for the style of play and we don't particularly have great FT shooters on the roster given how often our players do to the line(in part because Harden gets teams in foul trouble constantly) As it stands, this is a team built to be as competitive as possible given the roster and to that end I would say it has been a success thus far. While Morey has rolled the dice and ended up with perhaps one of the most lobsided trades in NBA history, he has also seen a lot of disappointment in pursuit of other big names via trade and free agency. Given that many of the players on this roster come from some transaction that wasn't our first option, or 2nd, or even 3rd - this is a more competitive roster than it probably would be without analytics.
There is no such thing as "analytical basketball". Analytics are used to find the most efficient ways to score points. Is it better to crash the boards or is it better to get back on defense? Does Hack-A-Shaq work? Which players shoot best from where on the floor? How can we get those players the ball in their most efficient spots? Analytics are basically statistical proof to the questions coaches have been trying to answer with their eyes. It's a supplement because it's impossible to know everything just by watching. Coaches use the answers they get from the numbers, and their own eyes to build an offense and a defense that maximizes the talent of their team. They are building the most "efficient" team they can. Not all teams are the same. Some teams CAN play like the Spurs because they have the personnel for it. Some teams do not have the right players for it, but can be as effective with a different offense. There is more than one way to skin a cat. So just because the Spurs are successful running their offense doesn't mean other teams cannot be successful running a different style of offense. It's all about efficiency. There are different means to reach the same end.
This is idiocy. Analytics are all about getting the highest value shot. Those are layups and free throws. The reason we shoot so many threes this year is personnel.
