I saw this linked to at TrueHoop. Lengthy article on Morey's approach to using stats. http://houstonpress.com/2007-11-01/news/rocket-science/full
That was a surprisingly great article. Lots of inside information, the kind that most sportswriters are criticized for not having on this forum. Also, the two links in the article that go to separate articles on Shane Battier and the specific stats that Morey looks at are also very good. One of the best articles I've read from this board.
That was a really good article. Well written and everything. I didn't realize how quickly Morey moved up the ranks. I knew he was young, but I didn't know that he spent so little time working for Boston. thanks for posting this link.
hello all. I'd just like to introduce myself. I wrote the story on Daryl for the Press and I'm thrilled that it's been so well-received thus far. Just to let you know, we'll be posting some outtakes from the interview process tomorrow (more stuff from Daryl, Billy Beane and CD); quotes that were left on the cutting room floor. I'm not able to post new threads on here yet, but I'll pass along the link somehow. Finally, I thought I'd also let you know that I'll be covering the Rockets for the Press this year, so if any of you have any thoughts, ideas, questions, etc., please let me know. I'll be popping on to clutchfans as often as I can. Thanks again for reading the story. It was the culmination of 5 weeks worth of research and interviews, so it's great to get your feedback (both positive and negative). Thanks for welcoming to the community.
nice article man, and welcome. i have a feeling if you keep giving us a heads up on things, mods will give you thread creating privileges pretty soon =)
Nice to have you aboard Fritz. If you ever want a link posted as a new thread (that is until you are given member status) email me and I won't mind starting one at all.
Long story, but here's the essence of how it went down: Les Alexander knew he was running out of time to find a new GM because CD was ready to retire. Dawson actually stayed on as GM longer than he wanted to as a favor to Les. However, Alexander couldn't find anyone he liked. Then, a bit of serendipity intervened. Daryl had worked with one of the NBA's corporate headhunters a handful of times, and when Alexander approached her about candidates, she recommended Daryl. The rest, as they say, is history. Daryl fit rather well into Alexander's preferred profile, since Morey's background was quantitative analysis; something Les himself had used while making his fortune on Wall Street. As the story describes, this was of paramount importance to Alexander, because he thought the NBA was a bit behind the curve in this area. J.C.F.
Gee, does Morey consider playoff stats, rater than winning the (regular season) game? From the way he talks about Battier, it sure doesn't sound like.
Well, can you blame Memphis and our playoff failures on Shane though? Just because a player makes his team better doesn't mean he can take that team over the hump. I would think Memphis lack of simple talent and our lack of a bench played a huge role in the playoff defeats Battier suffered. Mind you, I'm not disagreeing. Maybe Shane does underperform in the playoffs. But you just can't say that with no proof. That said, Billy Beane's A's lack of playoff success is something that you do have to wonder. Yet Theo Epstein seems to do quite well in Boston. Hopefully Morey tends to follow the latter in this regards.
If you want to project how a player will help your team, is it more important to look at a handful of games he played against far superior teams, or what he's done over the course of hundreds of games against a variety of opponents? For making projections, I think the latter would be more useful.
Thanks. Looking forward to your articles in the future. Your article is like a breath of fresh air from the mundane style of the Chronicle.
I don't have stats at hand, but I'm pretty sure there were stats I came across that Battier underperformed in the playoffs. Stats are build up along long stretch of games, and are most useful in a static model. The sheer fact that teams use different tactics and strategize dynamicly in the playoff, which stats are notoriously unsuccessful in dealing with, renders this stats approach less reliable.
Fritz 145, you're using too many fancy words in your article, please dumb it down for this board! Thank you, General Thade If you want to know who I am, go rent "Planet of the Apes"(the remake)
But I think playoffs are more unpredictable by nature, for the reasons you state. It's not so much a particular weakness in a stats approach. When you're dealing with fewer games, and you have matchups where two very good teams are playing against eachother, it's much more difficult to predict within some level of certainty that a team will advance in the playoffs versus predicting that they win X games in the regular season. All a team can do is acquire players that, over the long haul, should help increase their team's win %. If you want to maximize your chances of succeeding in the playoffs, I think that should be how you look at it. Of course, it also makes sense to consider adding players with special skills/experience that could give your team an edge in a playoffs series.
