MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference - Boston
Fascinating conversation among ESPN’s Zach
Lowe (left in photo), Celtics’ great Paul Pierce (center), and Warriors’ GM Bob Myers (right) on NBA team
composition here at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
Myers said data
analytics are far more important in the playoffs than the regular season. They
inform player tendencies, which great teams know how to exploit or negate when
championships are on the line. “In the playoffs, your first move is gone. They
(the defense) take it away. That two feet of space you had in the regular season
is now two inches in the playoffs.” Myers added that this is
why it’s essential to feature players with multiple tools, since one
dimensional athletes can be severely eclipsed when it counts the most.
Myers and Pierce made powerful observations about the limitations of data analytics, too, when Paul said, for example, “there are guys that just can’t play in the playoffs” despite their
brilliant regular-season statistics. Or, others about whom you say, “I don’t want to deal with
that guy.”
As always, matters of character, collaboration, communication, and work ethic
always outstrip what the numbers alone can tell us. Why is it that these most tangible aspects of team performance are called "intangibles"? There's nothing at all intangible about them. Data analytics are essential in any industry, but they certainly work best when your organization has the talent and character to enact them.
