I've been curious about something for a while now, which the recent Jeremy Lin/Toney Douglas controversy reminded me about. In the movie Moneyball, Billy Beane put together a pretty good team which initially flopped because the stupid coach didn't use his players the way he had intended for them to be. After a bunch of terrible losses, Beane simply traded away the coach's pet players and forced his guys into the games. I don't know if real life was that dramatic, but I've read an excerpt from the book which said that unlike other teams, the A's seemed to be run by their GM even during game time. I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume that Morey is probably pretty disappointed with Lin's performance so far, and that his passive spot-up shooting is not what Morey had envisioned. However, Morey has gone on record before stating that he only handles player trades and acquisitions, and has no hand in game time decisions which he regards as the domain of the coach. A couple years ago, the now well-known "No-Stats All-Star" article about Shane Battier stated that Shane was the only player that Morey trusted to show advanced stats to, because he thought it would psyche out everyone else. However, I think Morey is seriously selling himself and the players/coaches short by staying hands off like this. By now, Synergy's advanced stats are well-known and readily available. Morey has GOT to know what types of offensive sets and player combos work best. At the very least, I would think that he ought to correct guys like Sampson over silly things like how Jeremy Lin supposedly can't play defense. It's really not that weird to make use of stats outside of signing/trading players. I remember Nate McMillan saying that he showed stats to everyone on his team so that they knew where they each stood in various areas. After the Dallas Mavericks' surprise (some would say fluke) championship victory in 2011, there was an article about how they did it. IIRC, it said that metrics showed that line ups with attacking PGs (like J.J. Barea of all people on that team) did a lot better. It goes without saying that Morey probably knows all of this already. So why doesn't he take a more active hand in the team's game plans?
Obviously, if he starts doing that then McHale and Sampson will not like it and will resign. They should just be fired. After that, Morey should do as he wishes. Didn't he hire McHale in the first place though ? So be careful what you wish for.
Well the Rockets take the most of there shots from 3 point range & at the rim I believe they lead the NBA in those types of shots. Those are the most efficient shots in the NBA. Lin & Harden both excel at creating those shots for there teammates. People wonder why they aren't seeing many floaters from our guards, those aren't really efficient shots because they avoid contact & don't send you to the FT line. That sounds like money ball coaching to me. Also in acquiring Lin & Harden Morey took players who excelled at two skill sets the PNR/Isolation scoring. The Rockets needs a PNR big man in the mold of a young Amare Stoudemire. I see Morey's hands in a lot of things that the Rockets have done thus far.
Morey played zero basketball and he is in his 30s. Players or coaches will riot if Morey is coaching.
I think that's what Finch is for. Morey's just trying to find a diplomatic/less controversial way to ease him into the HC spot.
I don't believe Morey is staying hands off, or else he wouldn't insert Finch into the coaching staff. Morey is involved in our offense one way or another. McHale isn't exactly a Moneyball coach. He might gets his advanced stats from Finch but the decisions on personality on the court is really up to McHale and I don't see Morey cross this line, very much like Howe fending off Beane on who played first base. Statistically speaking, the most efficient shots are from the paint and corner/open 3's. Mid to long range 2's are the least. This is exactly what we are seeing with so little postups. Our offense has the potential to be the top 5, but since we are so young and with roster full of new players, it will take time to tune it into a well lube machine. There are so many unknowns at this time. Can Harden play the role of LeBron? Can Lin become a spot up shooter? How would anyone know without actually experimenting them on court? What we need, as fans, is to give the coaching staff enough time to work out the kinks in our offensive system. Patient is a virtue with this young team!
Cleverly disguised Lin thread... This staff was hired in part to have healthier communication with the front office when it comes to scouting techniques, and analytical data that could help in game preparation. Morey is never going to be a coach, nor would he ever want to be, and you probably wont find a coaching staff that's more willing to listen to the from office in their attempts to help out the coaches with the analytical data they uncover for the coaches to use.
Morey has suggested that coaching strategy has less impact on wins/losses that most fans think. I think the McHale hire was more about the "intangible" qualities he brought -- his experience as a championship-level player and a "leader of men". (Morey made a similar point when defending his endorsement of Mitt Romney for POTUS). Trying to micromanage how the team plays from up top could end up undermining the coach's authority and backfire.
Wow, I didn't know that. If he truly feels that way I find it concerning. Perfection is many little things done right. We're trying to build a championship team, and the coach and staff are part of that team. You still have to have the right personnel-- even if the edges are minute, they really matter when you're in Game 7 of the Finals.
You do not undermine your coaches' authority. That's generally a bad idea. You either support them or fire them, and sometimes you just have to fire them.
I know they were selected by Morey and not McHale, but they are still assistants to the head coach. Never heard that they work directly for Morey.
I really believe that the McHale hire was an attempt to put a credible and revered face on the Rockets franchise. And McHale was thoroughly familiar with the workings of an NBA franchise at every level. It looks to me that Morey is THE man and it all rests on his shoulders.
Morey is secretly tanking. That's the only explanation he's letting "GOAT" coach McFail and Sampson do whatever they want.
If people didn't have it ingrained in their heads that Moneyball=stat geeking, then it would be fairly obvious that our coaching do include moneyball. The Rockets do A LOT OF scouting. I remember listening to a radio interview, where they discussed how Rockets scouts carry laptops and make meticulous notes on all aspects of the game, while other teams' scouts tend to just jot down stuff(this was a bit older). The Rockets have info on where players like to shoot, how much separation they get when they drive, and tons of other things fans would never, ever get to see in detail. In the end, moneyball is just about having an edge that others don't have. The Rockets do at least try that. As for success or failure, we as fans can't find out except in terms of results.
