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[SI.com] Frustrating times also interesting ones for Morey

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by jsmee2000, Nov 21, 2008.

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  1. jsmee2000

    jsmee2000 Member

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    Frustrating times also interesting ones for Morey

    Tracy McGrady plays at far less than full speed. Yao Ming sits out a division game to rest his sore left foot.

    These are the times when Daryl Morey is even more valuable to the Houston Rockets.

    Through a smart combination of trades, drafts and free agent signings, the Rockets' general manager has put together a deep roster, essential for a team whose stars haven't been able to stay healthy.

    "It's frustrating in that it takes you farther away from your goals,'' Morey said of the injuries. "But it's probably the most interesting part of the job, is make sure you manage your roster such that if you do take injuries or you do have issues, you're hedging that risk as much as possible.''

    The Rockets won 55 games, including 22 in a row, last season despite having McGrady and Yao on the floor together only 41 times. The injury woes quickly popped up less than a month into this season.

    McGrady is still bothered after offseason knee surgery and missed nearly the entire second half of Monday's victory at Oklahoma City. The Rockets have gone all season without Shane Battier, who was joined on the bench Wednesday against Dallas by Yao.

    Yet they went into the weekend leading the powerful Southwest Division, boosted by contributions from reserves such as Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes and even free agent Van Wafer.

    "Often it might have made a difference of one win in a year, but we feel like the hard work that went into scouting and finding those players, one win is a big difference,'' Morey said. "One more win for us last year and we would have been a higher seed and had an easier first-round matchup.''

    Morey, who received his MBA from MIT and worked to develop Stats, Inc.'s basketball statistical department, is a leader in the use of analytical data in the NBA. He won't say how large a staff the Rockets have researching theirs, but has found coaches interested in his methods.

    "I think that coaches know it's a long season and while generally you can trust what you're watching, sometimes it's good to take a step back and see how it's worked overall,'' Morey said. "(The) last coach, (Jeff) Van Gundy, was interested if certain players miss shots early, does that mean they're going to miss later?

    "So I found that what we can provide coaches day to day makes the relationship very easy, because we don't answer them, but we can help give him some directional information to answer the questions they have every day that might have been harder to answer in the past.''

    Morey's own analyses of his team don't show the answers the Rockets want to see, though there's plenty of time for that to change.

    "We benchmark ourselves to conference final and finals teams, and constantly assess where we're at. As much as we'd like to think we're doing good things, we're still falling short of where to need to be to really have a high probability of winning,'' Morey said.

    "I think the Lakers and Celtics are the class of the league right now in terms of where we want to be. And we're in that next group down and we're hoping to get up to their level of play.''
     
    #1 jsmee2000, Nov 21, 2008
  2. ferrarif1286

    ferrarif1286 Member

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    MIT makes a difference and there're not alot of MIT grads in the NBA
     
    #2 ferrarif1286, Nov 21, 2008
  3. FLASH21

    FLASH21 Heart O' Champs

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    Dude seriously, no homo, but I think I have a man crush on Daryl Morey.

    I just love the way he finds players with talent, athleticism, and potential. He completed this team in 2 years off of the scraps that Les left him and look at us now.We are serious contenders. Really the only ship killer is all the injuries that keep the players from getting to know how to play with one another.
     
    #3 FLASH21, Nov 21, 2008
  4. robbie380

    robbie380 ლ(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿ლ)
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    [​IMG]
     
    #4 robbie380, Nov 21, 2008
  5. HowsMyDriving

    HowsMyDriving Member

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    he got an MBA from there. b-school is pretty much the same no matter where you go, as long as you go to a good, accredited program.

    if he were an MIT undergrad with a degree in engineering or something heavily stat focused or something, then yknow, it's different. but this is just b-school. that means classes about finance, and marketing, and entrepreneurship, and ethics . . . not statistical analysis.

    not trying to talk down about the man, because i think he's awesome too, but i'm just sayin. he's good because he's good. not because he went to MIT.
     
    #5 HowsMyDriving, Nov 21, 2008
  6. Rockets Jones

    Rockets Jones Member

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    So what this article is saying is that Morey, among a staff of probably dozens, are analyzing this team every single game right ? If that's so, do they tell RA who is shooting good when and how to use a player the best or something ?
     
    #6 Rockets Jones, Nov 21, 2008
  7. FLASH21

    FLASH21 Heart O' Champs

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    That's all you got. That was really gay.
     
    #7 FLASH21, Nov 21, 2008
  8. ShadyMcGrady

    ShadyMcGrady Member

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    Did Morey say we're in that next class down from the Lakers/Celtics?

    Isn't that kind of a large class then. We haven't gotten out of the first round of the playoffs in a good while now...

    I guess it shows Morey has confidence in the team this year.
     
    #8 ShadyMcGrady, Nov 21, 2008
  9. cuneo77

    cuneo77 Member

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    despite the crisis,we're still #1 in the division :)
     
    #9 cuneo77, Nov 21, 2008
  10. northeastfan

    northeastfan Member

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    Morey doesn't know anything. A ton of posters here say that a few games don't matter especially early in the season. Get a clue, Morey!
     
    #10 northeastfan, Nov 21, 2008
  11. northeastfan

    northeastfan Member

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    Real fans don't get frustrated with their teams. How can a GM??

    Falling short? Stop the negativity, Morey! Sheesh! That hurts our team's karma. You're probably a bandwagon type fan.


    Go cheer on the Lakers and Celtics, then.
     
    #11 northeastfan, Nov 21, 2008
  12. csux

    csux Rookie

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    LOL, i can assure you top 10 B-school is better than other other "accredited program" you can go. It is like compare NBA with nbdl.
     
    #12 csux, Nov 21, 2008
  13. The Ming Dynasty

    The Ming Dynasty Member

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    A "MBA from MIT"?




    Look if you can't say it front of me, don't say it at all. ;)
     
    #13 The Ming Dynasty, Nov 21, 2008
  14. worzel gummidge

    worzel gummidge Member

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    At this rate with 5 teams already involved in major trades the wait and see method could turn to next free agency to solve any problems.
     
    #14 worzel gummidge, Nov 21, 2008
  15. robbie380

    robbie380 ლ(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿ლ)
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    lol it was a joke. you set it up too good and I had to take it.
     
    #15 robbie380, Nov 21, 2008
  16. Asian Sensation

    Asian Sensation Member

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    You don't? Before the season even started with the acquisition of Artest this board was going crazy and we were all saying just "crown us already." People were talking 82-0 (certainly a joke) but that's how confident we were. Others were making Vegas bets and were saddened the odds turned after we got Artest.

    We ALL should remain that confident. Don't let the slow start deter you. It certainly hasn't stopped Morey.
     
    #16 Asian Sensation, Nov 21, 2008
  17. rox4lyf

    rox4lyf Member

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    i'm sorry but getting an bachelors education from an MIT or an IVY league school is a lot different than getting one from some community college
     
    #17 rox4lyf, Nov 21, 2008
  18. HowsMyDriving

    HowsMyDriving Member

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    point being - you don't go get an MBA from MIT to learn statistical analysis. that's not what an MBA is for.
     
    #18 HowsMyDriving, Nov 21, 2008
  19. abrocketsfan

    abrocketsfan Member

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    He got into MIT's Bschool because he's good, and he's good as a Rockets GM b/c he's just a smart fellow. However, MIT's BSchool is not the same as any other accredited school. It's a fantastic program which very strong statistical analysis and mathematical focus.
     
    #19 abrocketsfan, Nov 21, 2008
  20. huypham

    huypham Member

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    ha, i'm a MIT undergrad engineering grad and currently at Kellogg getting my MBA.

    MIT has one of the most rigorous, quantitative, stats-heavy MBA reputations out there. Morey probably got a MBA major in decision sciences from MIT, and I dare say it was a quality education.

    Plus, he went to Northwestern undergrad, which isn't too shabby.
     
    #20 huypham, Nov 21, 2008
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