Danny Ainge wanted Doc to use statistics more (like MEM-Hollins)

[bfrombleacher]

Got this from http://forums.realgm.com/boards/posting.php?mode=quote&f=8&p=36426138

Who got it from: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--in-nba-s-new-era--celtics--brad-stevens-is-the-changing-face-of-coaches-071340647.html

For the Celtics, management no longer wanted to pay a coach $7 million a season to oversee the gutting of the roster, the procuring of prospects and inevitable slide into the lottery. Celtics GM Danny Ainge leans heavily on his analytics staff, and at a meeting with Doc Rivers at season's end, it was suggested Rivers should perhaps incorporate more of those elements into his game plans and preparations, several sources told Y! Sports.

Privately, Rivers winced over the contents of some of the discussion, sources said. There was no confrontation, but there was tension. For Stevens, he's long been immersed in the statistical revolution, and he'll give management far more input into his rotations and style of play. For better or worse, that's the new NBA.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--in-nba-s-new-era--celtics--brad-stevens-is-the-changing-face-of-coaches-071340647.html

Management wants a coach willing to buy into the analytic movement, using those mechanisms to make roster, lineup and system decisions. Hollins has resented what he considers undue interference by management, and has stood by his track record and success in maintaining productivity with a roster of diverse and difficult personalities.

Also, go "and1" this guy 

But.. then he wouldnt have been able to start Jason Collins

[lightspeed5]

oops

[GreenEnvy]

I don't think management/ownership should tell a coach how to coach.

I can see this being true. I get the feeling Doc was perhaps not forced out, but Ainge guided him to the door.

Doc may not have been lying when he told Simmons he didn't know what he was talking about.

[Sketch5]

I could see that.

I've seen all the time people on CB putting up stats on guys like Randolph and wonder why Doc wasn't playing them.

You can't rely all on stats, but they do help you see who plays well with who and whos doing what when. Then throw them in and see how it works for a few games.

[Sketch5]

I don't think management/ownership should tell a coach how to coach.

I can see this being true. I get the feeling Doc was perhaps not forced out, but Ainge guided him to the door.

Doc may not have been lying when he told Simmons he didn't know what he was talking about.

Its a tool for a coach. The GM is the boss, and like any job if they have some thing they think might help their employee do their job better you bring it up. Nothing wrong with that.

Also its not like DA is one of these GM's that have never played or coached. He should have some respectable insight into things.

[eugen]

I don't think management/ownership should tell a coach how to coach.

I can see this being true. I get the feeling Doc was perhaps not forced out, but Ainge guided him to the door.

Doc may not have been lying when he told Simmons he didn't know what he was talking about.

Of course this scenario is made by DA. He did not like to pay 7 mill/year a coach. Doc had 3 years still to work for Cs team. How can a good coach like Doc can escape from 3 years of contract?? There is no reason, unless GM forced him to go. Stevens contract is not so cheap close to 3.5 mill/season...

[BballTim]

I could see that.

I've seen all the time people on CB putting up stats on guys like Randolph and wonder why Doc wasn't playing them.

You can't rely all on stats, but they do help you see who plays well with who and whos doing what when. Then throw them in and see how it works for a few games.

  I think that, to a certain extent, coaching should be a skill above just throwing the players out there and see what works. In theory Doc should be trying to plug in players like Randolph in situations where they'd succeed the most and not play them in situations where they'd hurt the team.

[Celtics4ever]

No way Doc uses stats he was still clinging to small ball.


Doc Rivers a .515 coach prior to Boston

http://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/riverdo01c.html

A classic example of a coach as only as good as his talent.  One of the best at driving a team to a comeback win though.

[MBunge]

I am far from a fan of the stat-head approach to decision making but I can believe that Danny had gotten a little frustrated with Doc's utilization of players.  Stiemsma's probably a great example.  Is the guy an all-star?  No.  He's probably not even a starter but he can be a useful and productive player.  Doc, however, was never going to give him a chance until injuries forced his hand.

Mike

[Evantime34]

I'm a big advanced stat guy so this is probably the thing that excites me the most about Stevens.

Stats are not the be all and end all of decision making, but a tool, that you can add to your other areas of scouting to improve the process.

Any coach who doesn't use all the tools at his disposal in an effort to better their team is being foolish.

[D.o.s.]

While I don't think there's enough data to use, it would be interesting to see how our smallball lineups compare to our more traditional lineups in the advanced metrics department.

Furthermore, my suspicion is that the people who are vocally against small ball are typically the same people who eschew advanced stats when the numbers don't fit their personal hypothesis.

I do agree with Evantime34 in that I believe advanced statistics are a tool, and an important thing to utilize if you have the ability--it hardly makes sense to drop megabucks on that video recognition software if you're not going to use it, but there's a lot to be said for the merits of more traditional coaching, too.