There are two annoyingly vocal camps in the NBA: the anti-analytics camp, and the pro-analytics camp. And, as with any camp, there are extremes for both sides.
Some analytics supporters think the data is all you need to strategize for a game or the draft. Some naysayers think there’s absolutely no place for it in basketball. More common are those in the middle, who think it’s one piece of the puzzle, but not the entire thing. Based on what he told Sirius XM (via Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group), it appears as if Jerry West is in the anti-analytics camp.
“All of the analytical guys that have started to play a big role in it, and frankly, I’m not a big analytical person,” West told Sirius XM on Friday. “Give me the best players, and give me a great coach, and we’ll beat these analytically-based organizations all the time.
“And I know they have their role. I know they have their place in basketball. But I see a lot of teams that follow that line, and I don’t see a lot of success there.
“I’m not knocking analytical people at all. But just give me the best players, and give me the best competitors, and I will show you a team that has a great chance to win every year.”
First, it’s pretty obvious that a team with “the best players and a great coach” would beat not just an analytically-bent team, but any team, because that team is the best team basically by definition.
Second, analytics have a place in basketball. That’s just a statement of fact. Almost every team uses them to varying degrees – some are more reliant on them, some aren’t. Either way, they’re there, and they’re pretty useful. If Jerry West doesn’t like them, that’s totally fine. This does not paint him as some ignoramus, some close-minded stat-phobe. That type of analysis just isn’t his cup of tea.
That doesn’t mean the Warriors won’t use it – in fact, Steve Kerr is a very big proponent of analytics – and they probably weren’t going to West for his interpretation of complex data, anyways. As general manager Bob Meyers told 95.7 The Game, they value West for what he brings in terms of scouting and the eye test.
“He’s leaning more towards the old school eye test, which is great. And somebody that’s well-qualified to take that position because he’s seen everything, has played, has played, has coached, has been a GM. So you listen to that point of view. Then we’ve got other younger guys that are the analytical component of our organization.”
If Jerry West doesn’t like analytics, so be it. He’s not going to change his mind, but he’s also not going to change the Warriors’ mind either (and, based on his comments, it’s not like he’s trying to). He’ll continue to lend his expertise to the team and the team’s analytics expert will continue to do the same without any enmity between the two.
All the while, the Warriors are still going to be one of the top teams in the NBA.
(Via Bay Area News Group and 95.7 The Game)
