MAVS 108, PELS 92

[Kammrath]

Do coaches look at raw +/- or do they wait for the analytics department to gather sufficient data, process the data, and issue reports to the coach and others?

Based on what we know about analytics departments, ALL the numbers are there for the coach to look at if they want. But they are looking at them while having their hand held, so they don't rush to false conclusions. The analytics department will do the leg work, sort through what they deem most important, and then place that in the face of the coach while guiding the coach to certain tentative/contingent conclusions and possible solutions/ways forward.  

It is also important to qualify how we are defining "raw +/-." I would argue that ALL +/- numbers need context and therefore aren't really "raw" when looked at properly. For instance, last night....


I come to you and say, "Luka was -2 last night." You say, "Ok, but did the Mavs win or lose?" You know that if the Mavs lost that -2 might be a pretty good number. But I say, "They won." Now you immediately know that -2 isn't a real good number, BUT the game might have been close. So you say, "Well how many did they win by?" I say, "They won by 16." Immediately everything is different. The number -2 which might have been a good number in a loss, especially a blow out loss becomes very different. You now realize that the Mavs outscored their opponent by 18 points when Luka didn't played versus being outscored by 2 points when Luka played. Then beyond that you could ask about specific lineup variations. "How did Luka do with KP during the game?" You could ask, "Well who were they playing? Who was the star playing opposite of Luka? Who was defending Luka most of the game?" Etc. 

Point is, +/- numbers need to be put in context. But all numbers do.