Dallas Mavericks, 8, 20, 38, 48
biometric data collection, 119
field goal percentages, 232
Houston Rockets’ trades, 175
Rondo’s trade and retrade, 145–146
Daniels, Evan, 81–82, 87–88
Davis, Anthony, 77, 199
deep muscle stimulation (DMS), 114
Defensive Basketball (McGuire), 16
defensive efficiency
Atlanta’s no-star system, 183–184
Bogut’s player development, 196–197
Channing Frye, 213, 215
Golden State Warriors, 166–172
Harden’s lackluster performance, 205–208
Houston Rockets, 175–177
Khris Middleton, 198–202
Nikola Vucevic, 208–211
real plus-minus and regularized adjusted plus-minus, 198–199
Dellavedova, Matthew, 191, 233, 236
Deng, Luol, 179–180
Denver Nuggets, 3, 49, 64, 66, 130–131, 133–134, 190
Detroit Pistons, 32, 116–117, 146–147, 198, 202
Diaw, Boris, 56
DiLeo, Tony, 57–58, 212–213
Divac, Vlade, 133
draft and trades
Atlanta Hawks under Ferry, 180–181
Channing Frye, 213–214
Cleveland-New York-Oklahoma City trade, 189–190
factors affecting player performance, 193–194
Golden State Warriors, 167–168
Houston Rockets’ strategy, 173–175
Khris Middleton, 198–202
Kyle Korver, 220–222, 227
Memphis Grizzlies team building, 148
Nikola Vucevic, 209
Oklahoma City’s high-lottery picks and salary cap, 203–204
Oklahoma City’s Westbrook analysis and draft, 135–138
Philadelphia 76ers’ tanking strategy, 57–66
picking future perfected players, 76
predicting future player development, 212–213
Sacramento’s experiment with analytics, 127–128
University of Kentucky placement, 76–80
Dragic, Goran, 173–174
Drew, Larry, 180–181
Drummond, Andre, 3, 87, 124, 146
Dudley, Jared, 201
Duke University, 94–97, 142, 185
Duncan, Tim, 49–51, 53, 55–57, 128
Durant, Kevin, 2–4, 135, 202, 204–205, 233
Eastern Conference. See specific teams
economic analytics, 9–15
EdTech magazine, 96
82Games.com, 21–23
Elbit Technologies, 41
Ellington, Wayne, 67
Elliott, Marcus, 106, 111–113, 125–126, 223–224, 227–228
Ellis, Monta, 195
Embiid, Joel, 58, 65
Engelmann, Jeremias, 206
Erman, Darren, 168
Erving, Julius, 14–15
ESPN, 3, 21–22, 31, 117, 148, 164, 190, 198–199, 204, 206, 237
Eustachy, Larry, 90–94
Ezeli, Festus, 197
family basketball culture, Korver’s, 219–220
Ferry, Danny, 179–181
Fisher, Derek, 203
FiveThirtyEight, 211
flexibility, 114–115
football, 9–10, 19–20, 34
force plate testing, 107, 109–110, 112
Ford, Sean, 83–87, 89
Francis, Steve, 213
free agency
Atlanta’s racism scandal, 179–180
factors affecting player performance, 193–194
first-round draft pick contract structures, 63–64
Golden State’s strategic acquisitions, 168–169, 171
Houston Rockets’ strategic acquisitions, 173–175
LeBron James, 151
management decisions and strategies, 129–130, 153–155
Moses Malone, 13–14
Sacramento Kings’ mismanagement, 134
free throw rate
Golden State Warriors, 171–172
Houston Rockets, 68, 172, 175–176
Philadelphia 76ers, 61–62
Free-Agent [and Trades] Market Emulator (FAME), 12
Free-Agent Market Simulator (FAMS), 12
free-agent rules, 14
Frye, Channing, 210, 213–216
Fusionetics, 113–118
Garnett, Kevin, 24
Gasol, Marc, 67, 197
Gasol, Pau, 173
Gay, Rudy, 87, 128–130, 134
Gentry, Alvin, 168
George, Paul, 2–3
“ghost defenders” visual model, 138
Gilbert, Dan, 187
Gillispie, Billy, 76
Gillon, John, 91–93
Ginobili, Manu, 49–51, 55
Giricek, Gordan, 221–222
Glover, Willie, 90–92
Golden State Warriors, 35–36, 67, 70, 131
biometric data collection, 119
Bogut acquisition, 195–198
50–50–90 field goal percentage, 231
Harden and Curry’s performances, 207–208
in-season team development with analytics, 164–172
Korver’s play against, 220
team development with analytics, 163–164
2015 NBA Finals, 235–237, 239–240
Goldsberry, Kirk, 43
Gordon, Aaron, 88
Grambling University, 92
Granik, Russ, 60
Grant, Jerami, 64
Grantland, 43, 71, 128, 138, 212, 220
graphics products, 31, 33
grassroots coaching, 81–82
“gravity” score, 182–183
Green, Danny, 51, 56–57
Green, Draymond, 168–170, 196–197, 236
Griffin, David, 190
Gruden, Jon, 98
Guth, Louis, 9–14
Haberstroh, Tom, 204–205, 237
Hanlon, Drew, 82
Harden, James
calculating the star potential, 204–205
FIBA World Cup tryout camp, 2–3
player development, 202–208
real plus-minus score, 199
Rockets’ 2014–2015 season offense, 68
Rockets’ roster management, 176–177
Rockets trade, 175
season stats, 6
three-point shots, 172
three-pronged attack, 71
Harris, Tobias, 210
Hayward, Gordon, 141–142
health of players
Fusionetics program, 113–116
Harden’s defensive play, 207
long-term advantages of, 48
workload versus rest, 147
See also injuries and injury prevention
heel-loading maneuver, 4–6, 233
Heeren, Dave, 18
Hewitt, Adam, 105 (quote), 108
high school-level play
analytics, 82–89
family basketball culture, 219
funneling into college programs, 80–81
Nikola Vucevic, 208
P3 sports diagnostics, 113
professional mindset, 81–82
Hill, Grant, 114, 116–117, 234
Hill, Jordan, 173–174
Hinkie, Sam, 26, 42, 57, 63–66
hockey, 71–72
Hodge, Ross, 93–94
Holiday, Jrue, 58
Holiday, Justin, 168
Hollinger, John, 21–23
Horford, Al, 124, 164–165, 181, 184, 231
Houston Rockets
biometric data collection, 119
boringness of play, 71–72
buying in to analytics, 48
“Hack-a-Shaq” strategy, 20
Harden trade, 2
Harden’s contract, 204–205
Harden’s influence on team play, 177–178, 177 (fig.)
Harden’s poor defensive performance, 205–207
in-season team development, 172–178
offensive efficiency versus three-point rate, 67 (fig.), 69 (fig.)
offensive performance in 2014–2015, 68–69
shot selection, 61
Sports Illustrated article, 26
team development with analytics, 163–164
three-point shot strategy, 66–74, 172
trading strategy, 173–175
Howard, Dwight, 68, 71, 174–175, 205, 207
Ibaka, Serge, 203
Iguodala, Andre, 168–170, 197, 239
Indiana Pacers, 2, 22, 178
injuries and injury prevention
Andrew Bogut, 194–196
biometric data collection, 123–124
breaking down and rebuilding a player, 223–226
Cleveland’s James-Love-Irving combination, 190–191
complementing an injured player, 145–146
data collection and correlation, 118–124
Korver’s Jazz play, 222–223
Korver’s shooting record and, 232–233
P3 sports diagnostics, 106–107, 109–112, 124–125
Philadelphia 76ers’ tanking strategy for the draft, 58–66
Phoenix Suns’ training program, 114, 116–118
police causing Sefolosha’s, 186
rebuilding skills, 5
San Antonio Spurs’ rostering strategies, 49–50, 55–56
three-point shot developing from, 217–219
Inside the NBA (studio show), 72
integrity of the data, 31–34, 38–39, 146–147, 149
Irving, Kyrie, 2, 87, 186–188, 191, 235, 237
Iverson, Allen, 176, 221
Jackson, Mark, 167–168
Jacobs, Barry, 96
James, Bill, 11, 17–18, 24
James, LeBron
Cleveland’s roster management, 186–192
FIBA World Cup tryout camp, 2
Grizzlies’ team building, 148
Hawks’ losses to Cleveland, 233
Love and, 167
Miami’s use of analytics, 72
real plus-minus score, 199
San Antonio Spurs’ roster management, 51
2015 NBA Finals, 235–238, 240
Jefferson, Al, 124
Johnson, BJ, 83, 88
Johnson, Stanley, 86–87
Johnson, Wesley, 67
Jones, Bobby, 14
Jones, Caldwell, 14
Jones, Terrence, 176
Jones, Tyus, 86–87
Jordan, DeAndre, 44, 232
Jordan, Michael, 147, 176
Joseph, Cory, 49–50
Justus, Joel, 77, 80
Kaminsky, Frank, 212
Kanter, Enes, 210
Karl, George, 131, 133
Kelly, Ryan, 67
KenPom.com site, 89
Kentucky, University of, 76–80
Kerr, Steve, 164–165, 167, 169–170, 197, 234, 239–240
Kidd, Jason, 200
Kidd-Gilchrist, Michael, 77, 88
Kinduct technology company, 121–122
Klask, Charles, 146
Knight, Brandon, 198, 201–202
Kopp, Brian, 41–44, 47, 90, 120–121, 149
Korver, Kyle
Atlanta trade, 180, 227–228
Atlanta’s no-star system, 181–183
Atlanta’s team chemistry, 184–185
family basketball culture, 219–220
injuries and training, 222–223
on-court strategies, 229–231
pre-game routines, 229–230
shooting success, 230–232, 234
slow NBA start, 220–222
three-point shooting development, 182–183, 217–219
training and technique, 222–225, 228–229
Kravtsov, Viacheslav, 198
Kroenke, Josh, 131, 133
Kroenke, Stan, 131
Krossover company, 81
Krzyzewski, Mike, 1–2, 85–86, 95, 97, 142
Kubatko, Justin, 23
Lacob, Kirk, 163 (quote), 168, 170–171, 196–197
Leidersdorf, Eric, 109–111
Leonard, Kawhi, 49–50, 54, 56–57, 63, 199
Levenson, Bruce, 179
Levy, Ian, 52
Lickliter, Todd, 142
Lillard, Damian, 2
limitations of analytics, 139–141
Lin, Jeremy, 67, 173–174
linear-weight metric, 18
Linsanity, 174
Livingston, Shaun, 168
Los Angeles Clippers, 117
coaching staff, 142
early video coverage, 44
“Hack-a-Shaq” strategy, 20
offensive efficiency, 166
racism scandal, 179
Rockets’ performance against, 71
San Antonio Spurs’ roster management, 56–57
Second Spectrum data analysis, 31, 33
Los Angeles Lakers, 219
Chris Paul trade, 173
Guth’s analysis of, 13–14
Houston Rockets’ trades, 173–174
three-point scoring, 66–68, 73
Love, Kevin, 167, 187–189, 191, 235, 237
Lowe, Zach, 138, 220–221
Lowry, Kyle, 173–174, 194
luxury tax penalties, 204
Mack, Shelvin, 141–142
MacMullen, Jackie, 117
Maheswaran, Rajiv, 29 (quote), 30–34, 43
Malone, Michael, 14, 129, 133
Malone, Moses, 13–15
Manley, Martin, 18–19
Manley Credits, 19
marginal product, players as, 12
Marquette University, 90, 97–100, 102, 104
Matta, Thad, 142
Mbah a Moute, Luc, 215–216
McDaniel, K.J., 64
McGee, JaVale, 64
McGuire, Frank, 16
McHale, Kevin, 176, 207
McKown, Mark, 106
McNeilly, Jamie, 102–103
media coverage
as unpaid promotion, 10
criticism of the 76ers’ tanking strategy, 60
Golden State Warriors conference final, 164–165
in-arena graphics, 31
SportVU data, 44
Memphis Grizzlies
biometric data collection, 119
Hollinger’s analytics, 21
Rudy Gay trade, 128–129
three-point scoring, 66–67, 74
Tom Penn, 147–148
mental training, Kyle Korver’s, 228
Miami Heat, 70, 72
analytics applied to LeBron James, 72
Houston Rockets’ trades, 175
LeBron James’s return to Cleveland, 189
Middleton, Khris, 198–202
Milicic, Darko, 148
military technology, repurposing, 41–42
Mills, Patty, 49–50
Millsap, Paul, 112, 164, 180–181, 184–185, 222
Milwaukee Bucks
Bob Bellotti’s analytics, 19
Bogut’s career, 194–195
Khris Middleton’s development, 198–202
Teague offer, 180
three-point shot scores, 74
youth roster, 88
Minnesota Timberwolves, 24, 151, 187
minutes played, 52 (fig.)
draft status for college players, 78–79
Harden’s star potential, 204–205
Houston Rockets’ roster management, 175–176
injuries affecting Bogut’s time, 196–197
Michael Jordan, 147
San Antonio Spurs’ roster management, 48–54
misogi purification ritual, 228
MOCAP company, 35–36
Moneyball (Lewis), 24–25
Monroe, Greg, 146, 202, 210
Morey, Daryl, 8, 40–41, 57
criticism of, 72
expansion of analytics use, 134
Golden State’s statistical gains, 166
Moreyball Efficiency, 69–70, 70 (fig.), 71
pursuit of the ideal team, 178
Rockets’ “almost” success, 172–174
Sports Illustrated article, 26
Moser, Clay, 73
Mossman, Scott, 36–37
movement training, 114–118
Mozgov, Timofey, 190, 236
Mudiay, Emmanuel, 124
Mullin, Chris, 132–133, 195
Muscala, Mike, 185
Nash, Steve, 234
National Basketball Players
Association (NBPA), 119–120
NBA Draft Combine, 110, 112–113, 117, 121, 124–126
NBA League Pass, 7
NBA.com, 44
Nelson, Aaron, 114, 116
New Orleans Pelicans, 58, 127–128
New York Knicks, 119, 173, 213
New York Mets, 10
New York Times, 10, 60, 105, 155, 213
Nichols, Jon, 210–211
Noah, Joakim, 124
Noel, Nerlens, 58, 62
North American Soccer League, 9–10
no-star system, Hawks’, 178–186
nutrition, 114–115
Nylon Calculus blog, 62, 70, 210
O’Brien, Jim, 221
Oden, Greg, 202
off-court strategies
biometric data collection, 118–120
draft strategies, 57–66
workload versus rest, 147
See also analytics; draft and trades; on-court strategies; training
offensive efficiency
Atlanta’s no-star system, 181–183
Channing Frye, 213–215
Golden State Warriors, 167–168, 170–172
high school level play, 84–85
Houston Rockets, 176
James Harden’s influence on Rockets’ play, 177, 204–208
Nikola Vucevic, 208–211
offensive efficiency versus three-point rate, 67 (fig.), 69 (fig.)
Philadelphia 76ers’ 2014–2015 season statistics, 61–63
real plus-minus and regularized adjusted plus-minus, 198–199
rebounds, 13–15
See also shooting skills and strategies
Okafor, Jahlil, 86, 88–89, 96, 124
Oklahoma City Thunder, 71
Ben Alamar’s analytics, 135
biometric data collection, 119
Houston Rockets’ trades, 174
Kevin Durant, 2
loss of James Harden, 202–208
Sam Presti, 26
Westbrook draft, 135–137
Oladipo, Victor, 209
Oliver, Dean, 20–21, 24, 26, 132–134, 139
on-court strategies, 47 (quote)
biometric data collection, 119–121
Calipari’s college players, 78–80
“ghost defenders” visual model, 138
Golden State Warriors, 166–172
high school play, 84–86
Kyle Korver, 228–232
Philadelphia 76ers’ 2014–2015
season statistics, 62–63
player health and wellness, 48
Sacramento Kings’ four-on-five defense, 131–132
San Antonio Spurs’ roster management, 49–57
Second Spectrum analysis, 30–31
SportVU data, 122–123
2015 NBA Finals, 235–240
video data collection, 36–38
Chasing Perfection: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the High-Stakes Game of Creating an NBA Champion Page 27
