A conversation between Shane Battier and Byron Scott would be an amazing thing to witness.
Prior to the Los Angeles Lakers’ 100-97 road win Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, Scott revealed to the press that he doesn’t much care for your fancy analytics.
Scott says his assistants bring up the numbers in meetings, but he just ignores them.
Per the OC Register:
“I think we’ve got a few guys who believe in it,” Scott said. “I’m not one of them.” […] “I listen to them and all that stuff and take it into consideration,” he said, “but I’m still just old school.”
General Manager Mitch Kupchak defended the Lakers’ use of analytics on ESPN 710 AM, the Lakers flagship radio station, pointing to the full-time employees who come through SportVU camera data. […] “We’ve actually had an analytic department that goes beyond traditional analysis now for several years,” Kupchak said. Kupchak described advanced metrics as “an asset to the coaches,” although it’s one Scott doesn’t care to use. He said assistant coach Mark Madsen keeps him up to speed on what analytics say.
Asked if they had influenced any major coaching decisions this year, he wasted no time considering his answer. […] “No,” he said.
