Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Doug Smith is a beat grunt of nuance

ZGall1 is phoning this one in from the Southern Hemisphere.

Saw this on True Hoop's First Cup

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "Stats, and the analysis of them, do have a place in pro sports but there is a tendency -- as this corner sees it, at least -- to give them far, far too much weight. Basketball, in particular, is a game of nuance, of chemistry between the players on the court, of one guy rising to the occasion one night and another the next. It's all well and good to study stats but it's a game that requires more study of people than numbers. The Raptors may indeed finish lower than sixth in the Eastern Conference -- although it's a stretch to suggest they're a worse team than Miami or even Philadelphia, in the opinion of many -- but to suggest that will occur after studying stats requires a grand leap of faith."

It was preceded by this quote:

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Modesty might prevent admitting that it has taken years for the stat crew members at Toyota Center -- most often Tony Stick, Tracy Clayton, Ken Nicholas and Mann -- to hone their art to the point that not only were they the only NBA crew the league did not correct last season, they inspire raves from noted statistics aficionado and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. Morey considers their work so vital that he is sending his veterans back to Hidalgo to work with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. It won't be the only trip of the season. The NBA flew the Rockets crew to Las Vegas to work the 2007 All-Star Game and annually flies it to other All-Star festivities, with the local crew handling the game. 'They're in the front lines for us in terms of helping evaluating what we're doing on the floor,' Morey said. 'They were the only stat crew in the NBA last year that didn't have a mistake. They track everything that happens from an event perspective. They get it right, and they get it right the first time, and that allows us to get to the coaches early evaluations. That feedback right away often becomes the most valuable.' "

Doug Smith, go suck a @!*#, you ignorant !&$@.