Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has cultivated a reputation as the NBA’s most statistically inclined front-office chief.
So, it’s impossible to read this tweet from B.J. Armstrong – the former Chicago Bull and current agent of Donatas Motiejunas, who’s in a contract quarrel with Houston – as anything but a shot at Morey and the Rockets.
Armstrong:
When analytics can measure human behavior, then and only then will I find them useful
— BJ Armstrong (@bjarmstrong) October 1, 2016
Of course analytics can measure human behavior. Taking a basketball and putting it through a hoop is a behavior done by humans. Points is a statistic that measures how many times someone has done that from varying distances.
Obviously, analytics get far more complex, but they’re still measuring human behavior.
If Armstrong meant analytics don’t measure the totality of a human, well, I’d like to see a method for evaluating players that does.