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The Bulls' front office has long been based on old-school scouting concepts, but it does employ a manager of basketball analytics, Steve Weinman.

Coach Tom Thibodeau has shown interest in Weinman's work and called him "terrific" in 2013. The Bulls coach was mentored by Jeff Van Gundy, who's well-versed in analytic concepts. Thibodeau expressed a cautious perspective on analytics in a 2013 interview with CSN Chicago, saying, "I think there is a place in our league, and I think it's good. It may be getting overplayed somewhat right now. I think the trained eye is very important, but numbers are a part of the equation."

Thibodeau's innovative defense excels at preventing 3-pointers, and while Chicago's offensive shot chart isn't optimal, the team traded many long 2-pointers for 3-pointers after Thibodeau's arrival.

The Bulls' executive duo of John Paxson and Gar Forman stems backs to the Jerry Krause era and bases its decisions on scouting, not analytics. Paxson and Forman emphasize character and pedigree -- when looking at numbers, they are, according to one observer familiar with the front office, as likely to look at how often a prospect attended class as they are his advanced stats.

Hennigan has hired an analytics-friendly staff, bringing in Matt Lloyd, who stood out during his time with the Chicago Bulls by embracing statistical analysis

kulaz3000 wrote:I don't agree with the topic of the thread, I think it's a little manipulative to be quite honest. Nothing that is said about the Bull's staffs point of view of analytic's suggests that are skeptics but they don't ONLY rely on it and uses it as part of the bigger equation which should be the case for every team and something I'm totally OK with.

kodo wrote:

kulaz3000 wrote:I don't agree with the topic of the thread, I think it's a little manipulative to be quite honest. Nothing that is said about the Bull's staffs point of view of analytic's suggests that are skeptics but they don't ONLY rely on it and uses it as part of the bigger equation which should be the case for every team and something I'm totally OK with.

Did you click the link?



"Skeptics" is their word, not mine.

vvgotgame19 wrote:I agree 100% what Thibs said. There's definitely a place for analytics, but nothing beats the trained eye.

ADDinChicago wrote:

vvgotgame19 wrote:I agree 100% what Thibs said. There's definitely a place for analytics, but nothing beats the trained eye.

I tend to agree as well. The eye test is still the best judge of anything. You can skew numbers any way in your favor of a discussion.

Mech Engineer wrote:

ADDinChicago wrote:

vvgotgame19 wrote:I agree 100% what Thibs said. There's definitely a place for analytics, but nothing beats the trained eye.

I tend to agree as well. The eye test is still the best judge of anything. You can skew numbers any way in your favor of a discussion.

That's not the point of analytics. You are looking at the perspective of posters getting stats from websites and using it as the points of discussion. That is not the point of analytics even though it might appear that is what GMs do.

It is also about having a philosophy and then using the analytics from that philosophy in different contexts. For ex:. When Bulls value character as they say...they look at the attendance records of the draft pick in school as part of their analytics. I don't know if Morey or Cuban do that.

jcuuofd wrote:This helps to explain why Thibs subjectively thinks that Hinrich is a great defender and facilitator on offense. Steve Weinman has tried to tell Thibs that Hinrich's stats are really bad, but Thibs doesn't want to hear it. Who needs objective analysis with boring numbers when you can rely on what your gut tells you to believe is right?

kodo wrote:I can't help but notice that the "All-In" and "Believers" of analytics looks a lot better than the Skeptics & Non-Believers.

All-In + Believers
Dallas
Houston
Sixers
San Antonio
Hawks
Celtics
Cavs
Pistons
Golden State
Memphis
OKC
Blazers

Skeptics + Nonbelievers
Chicago
Nuggets
Clips
TWolves
Pelicans
Wiz
Nets
Lakers
Knicks

DanTown8587 wrote:Well Hinrich is 31st in RPM in the league