While out of work after his stint in Minnesota, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau attended MIT’s famous Sloan Analytics conference led by former Rockets / current Sixers GM Daryl Morey.
Thibodeau, who worked in Houston under Morey, has embraced the world of analysis despite his old-fashioned reputation. A demanding preparer, the 62-year-old coach considers grid efficiency analysis his most important barometer: he combines the critical attack metric with the critical defensive metric into a single number.
The position combines a team’s points per 100 possessions, minus the opponent’s points per possession. In their 3-1 preseason, the Knicks finished fifth in net efficiency.
“Analytics has provided us with a lot of information,” says Thibodeau. “We always look at the numbers and refer to our eyes, observation and what the coaches are talking about, and the numbers confirm the things you think or give you time to rethink things.
“When you think about it, the net efficiency is probably the most important thing, because you want to be strong on both sides of the ball,” added Thibodeau. “So you aim to be a top-10 team in points offensively. per possession and defensive in points per possession. ”
Knicks president Leon Rose bolstered the analytics division with hires from Sean MacLean, a Wharton product who was a treasury analyst for Capital One Bank, and Kelsey Roberts, who worked with the Pacers.
Other analytic formulas Thibodeau is tuned in to include rebound percentages, turnover efficiency, and sabermetrics on the kind of shots the team excels in.
Analyzing the preseason numbers – four games against two teams in the bottom half – isn’t always the best indicator. The Pistons and Cavaliers are expected to see lottery pong balls bounce this spring. The Cavaliers did not play against their top players, including Kevin Love.
“That’s exactly what it is – preseason,” said Thibodeau. “Teams experiment with a lot of different things and don’t play their entire squad as a regular season match. So it is a completely different level where you have to go in the regular season. We have to understand that. What we’re stuck with is our daily improvement and being ready for Indiana when it opens up.
“You’re 0-0 now,” added Thibodeau.
The first group training was not until December 6.
“It’s actually been two weeks,” said Thibodeau. ‘It comes on quickly. It’s how quickly we can all adapt. Defensively, we’ve made some good progress, but we’ll be tested in many different ways as you go along. Indiana is a very tough team, especially at home. We will have to be ready to play for 48 minutes. ”