Houston Rockets: Four reasons why Moreyball analytics work for this team
By Neal Sharma
Reason #4: The way this Houston Rockets squad was built
Daryl Morey was, and hopefully still is, a huge fan of James Harden. Morey couldn’t have been any more excited about the fact that he shot three-pointers, dunks, layups and free-throws.
Bam! A Houston Rockets franchise player secured.
Morey then landed Dwight Howard who was brought in for defense, but his greed for the ball in
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the post killed the whole analytical vibe.
Howard eventually left, so Harden goes into full take over mode with a crap ton of 3 point shooters like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson.
But the best move that off season was bringing in Mike D’Antoni, a guy who loved rapid pace offense with transition for dunks and three-point buckets.
Point Beard and D’Antoni gave it their all under analytical guru Daryl Morey.
Better but not enough.
So the team kept most of its snipers and acquired Chris Paul, one of the most efficient guards to play the game. The team did better than ever in recent years, but couldn’t pull all the way through because “crap happens.”
Wrap-Up
Analytics has worked great for Morey and the Houston Rockets. He has brought an excellent mindset to the Houston Rockets that can put up points at a rapid rate along with a solid defense filled with wing defenders. But remember, analytics is more than just numbers, if any.
Analytics is used to make things better in any market, whether it’s a sports team or a small business by an entrepreneur. But the best way to succeed and use it at its best is through excellent communication in the question and answer, understand what matters in the related subject, and to use what’s at one’s disposal in the best way possible, whether it’s film, scouting reports, medical reports, etc.
Next: Rockets: Three biggest mistakes of the off season
Rep H-Town, and somebody tell Charles Barkley to learn some analytics. Maybe he can talk about some of it instead of spewing out stupid bold predictions on TNT.