MAVS NEWS:

[DallasMaverick]

Are those folks top five in the business? If not, better make some hires, Masai.

Hmm. What data would you use to determine whether a staff group was top five?

Number of injuries a team experienced over a season?

That seems impossible, because there are so many variables at play. Pace. Defensive philosophy and assignments. Altitude. Whether Dwight Powell’s face gets in your way.

How about recovery time after injury?

Again, so many variables that are outside the control of the Medical staff. Like, the physiology of the player involved. Would the Portland staff back in that time have been blacklisted forever because of Greg Oden? Or the staff that treated Sam Bowie - did they ever find work again?

Okay, how about just sheer reputation. XYZ writer believes that the Raptors medical staff is the best in the NBA.

Maybe they got that reputation because they’re really nice, and communicate well, and give great sound bites when interviewed. But how can you know if they’re actually “better” than anyone else?

Maybe you determine quality by how much they get paid. So the $500k doctor is twice as good as the $250k doctor. Except it doesn’t really work like that. Maybe the more expensive guy is just a better negotiator and self-promoter.

My contention is that actual, measurable data to differentiate medical staffs will be exceedingly difficult.