Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

[Optimism Prime]

Lots of good stuff going on here. Couple killer summary articles:

"Van Gundy, Morey Call Out McGrady"

Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author, is moderating the first panel, which is about the notion, developed by experts who study talent and discussed in Gladwell’s book “Outliers,” that anyone interested in being truly great at something has to practice for at least 10,000 hours to reach an elite level of greatness. The point of the panel, which features Jeff Van Gundy and Houston Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey, is ostensibly to talk about things like the concept of “natural talent,” the importance of work ethic and how to weigh those variables in the draft and in free agency.

Perhaps it was inevitable with the heavy Rockets flavor on the panel, but the discussion quickly to turned to Tracy McGrady — in an unfavorable way. “Tracy McGrady was 1,000 hours of practice,” Van Gundy said, to some pretty loud laughs. “He should be a Hall of Fame player. His talent was other-worldly. He was given a great leg up in the race against other players. He’s as close as I’ve ever seen to someone with a perfect body and a good mind.”

Boundless potential with advanced metrics

Weil charted a whole bunch of stuff based on data generated from high-tech cameras, with three-dimensional capabilities, a company called STATS, LLC has installed at a handful of NBA arenas this season. The cameras capture an image 25 times per second and record every event on the court and the location of all the key elements involved — the 10 players, the ball, the referees, etc.

The potential is enormous. A few key bullet points before I get into the meat of the findings:

• Weil’s data was based on cameras installed at three arenas, but Brian Kopp, a vice-president at STATS, told me the cameras are currently in place at five arenas — San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Golden State. The Warriors stand out there, since the other three clubs are known for their early and enthusiastic embrace of advanced stats and general geekiness. The Warriors have been known mostly for ugly intra-team disputes over the last few years.

Tons more to follow on ESPN.com (especially Truehoop) and Twitter (@SloanSportsConf or #ssac).

Will update with more interesting posts as I see them.

[MaxRider]

10k hours to greatness and t-mac is at 1k
i wonder where is curry

[Optimism Prime]

10k hours to greatness and t-mac is at 1k
i wonder where is curry

Eddy or Stephen?

[MaxRider]

10k hours to greatness and t-mac is at 1k
i wonder where is curry

Eddy or Stephen?

of course stephen
we all know eddy is at .001

[rocketsballin]

tmac coulda been better than kobe mother **** bryant

[PocketRockets]

So true. But excuses and injuries derailed his career. I think JVG did a good job with Tmac but it was a little too late. If he had good coaching earlier in his career, he could have become a great player.

[MaxRider]

So true. But excuses and injuries derailed his career. I think JVG did a good job with Tmac but it was a little too late. If he had good coaching earlier in his career, he could have become a great player.

he had doc, one of the greatest coach of all time

[Kal El]

it also has alot to do with the individuals work ethic. its no secret that tmac and vince carter may have been, naturally more athletically gifted than kobe bryant. but neither players has half the desire or work ethic as bryant and it is evident in their play.

[rocketsballin]

i think if he didnt get injured he'd be more motivated to be the player he should've been. he was probably banking on his team getting better players year after year. but all those injuries, carrying a team without enough help, and being filthy rich, he didnt wanna put his body through all those hours of practice, hard work and dedication. such a daam shame.

maybe if yao were to dunk on anyone who dared crossed paths with him, things would be different /greenfont

[rocketsballin]

now it's on the wiretap, poor tmac. went from top 10 to not mentioned at all, what happened to that boy? he was talkin **** they put a clappin to that boy (pistons) lol

[TMU]

Interesting article.

So true. But excuses and injuries derailed his career. I think JVG did a good job with Tmac but it was a little too late. If he had good coaching earlier in his career, he could have become a great player.

Yeah, such a shame. I always thought JVG was lenient on McGrady. Perhaps it's because JVG never had the opportunity to work with a player of his caliber. But at times, I look back and wish JVG had pushed McGrady harder. Of course with McGrady's mentally it's easier said than done.

[Guy986]

Interesting article.

So true. But excuses and injuries derailed his career. I think JVG did a good job with Tmac but it was a little too late. If he had good coaching earlier in his career, he could have become a great player.

Yeah, such a shame. I always thought JVG was lenient on McGrady. Perhaps it's because JVG never had the opportunity to work with a player of his caliber. But at times, I look back and wish JVG had pushed McGrady harder. Of course with McGrady's mentally it's easier said than done.

You can't push someone like Mcgrady. You call him out in public or push him too hard, he's gonna shut it down mentally.

JVG was the only coach to have ever gotten Tmac to play respectable defense.

[Kal El]

its really frustrating just looking back at t-macs career. i mean if he had some heart and good work ethic he would be a legend. when he was in toronto and he was young and hungry he averaged just under 2bpg. throughout his career he averaged 1.5spg playing half assed defense. early in his career he was actually a pretty good defender and could have continued to improve defensively if he would have worked on it. he could have been a much better rebounder than what his numbers say.

i think the turning point of his career before the injuries was playing for Orlando. he suddenly became "the guy". an all star, a superstar and he played like one and not in a good way. he played like a diva. half assed it on defense. he jogged back on defense, strolled on offense. its ridiculous how he was constantly the last man to make it on the offensive set.

he had it all. he had all the tools and the talent to be a complete player in every aspect of the offensive side of the ball including, shooting, 3 shooting, penetrating, distributing, free throw shooting and in every aspect of the defensive side of the ball, man to man, blocking shots, stealing the ball and being a presence.

but sadly he just coasted through his career and let his prime pass him by. you could have been one of the greatest tracy. you and yao could have cemented both your legacy in nba history and you could have done it right here in houston. i was the first one in school with your jersey tracy. we expected big things. why tracy

[TMACFORMVP]

This is how McGrady's career will essentially be viewed. Supreme talent, but ultimately lacked the intangibles, the desire to be one of the best. Everyone talks about how Carter was the most talented wing in the NBA, but honestly, what's the difference between he and McGrady? Hell, if anything McGrady could do anything he could on the court except he was taller, and gifted with more vision.

[TMU]

Interesting article.

So true. But excuses and injuries derailed his career. I think JVG did a good job with Tmac but it was a little too late. If he had good coaching earlier in his career, he could have become a great player.

Yeah, such a shame. I always thought JVG was lenient on McGrady. Perhaps it's because JVG never had the opportunity to work with a player of his caliber. But at times, I look back and wish JVG had pushed McGrady harder. Of course with McGrady's mentally it's easier said than done.

You can't push someone like Mcgrady. You call him out in public or push him too hard, he's gonna shut it down mentally.

JVG was the only coach to have ever gotten Tmac to play respectable defense.

Yes, which is why I brought up JVG and not Doc Rivers or Johnny Davis. McGrady was somewhat coachable under JVG. But you're right, you can't push someone like him.

Also, I still don't understand what his deal is in Detroit.

[College Boy]

now it's on the wiretap, poor tmac. went from top 10 to not mentioned at all, what happened to that boy? he was talkin **** they put a clappin to that boy (pistons) lol

Jay quote!

[x-]

I missed some parts here and there due to work, but I've watched pretty much every panel that's been broadcasted.

I feel quite a bit smarter now, though I've probably forgotten most of what's been said already.

Should someone be interested in watching the recorded panels later on, here's how I'd rate them:

1a. Birth to Stardome: Developing the Modern Athete in 10,000 Hours?
1b. Basketball Analytics
2. "Lunch with an Olympic Legend" - Deloitte - Apolo Anton Ohno & Ric Bucher
4. The Decision: How Players and Teams Will Choose in the Future
5. The Coming War: Sports Labor Relations
6. New Owners: The Challenges and Opportunities
7. The Future of the Game Day Experience: HDTV vs. Live Events
8. Gut vs. Data: How Do Choaches Make Decisions
9. "Sports and Analytics: Write your own Future" - Microsoft
10. Business of Sports

[Optimism Prime]

Latest batch of posts on TrueHoop.

Malcolm Gladwell and player development

The "Data Holy Grail"

The problem with macho decisions in hoops

Basketball brains diagnose the Heat

Sports and Labor panel addresses broader issue of NBA profit

Is sports franchise ownership a hobby for the rich?

The duller side of the statistical cutting edge

Sounding the whistle on referee analytics

How much trouble is early foul trouble?

Gut vs. data in NBA decision making

Bullets from the basketball analysis panel

Brain mapping: the future of scouting

A championship four years in the making

Mark Cuban hopes to lose and, lose badly, someday

[YoungMoney23]

Sometimes I think we should adopt the Cuban method.

[Roll Tide Baaby]

Its a sad situation what T-Mac actually became. He could do every single thing on the court just as good as Kobe if he wanted too, except T-Mac was a better passer, T-Mac was taller, and had longer arms. unfortunately, Kobes heart and drive are quadruple what T-Mac's was. I blame a little of it on their situations. Kobe was hand delivered shaq and los angeles. T-mac was stuck in orlando with johnny davis, andrew declerq, darrell armstrong, and steven hunter