Lionel Hollins vs. John Hollinger

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Lionel Hollins criticizes analytics in radio interview

 

By Steve von Horn on Jan 11, 3:34p 4

 

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Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

 

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins criticized the shift towards analytics in the NBA and called it a "bad trait" of teams during a radio interview on Friday. It's an interesting opinion, considering the Grizzlies recently hired stats guru John Hollinger as their new vice president of basketball operations.

 

The rampant Rudy Gay trade rumors are making everyone in Memphis a bit crazy, but it's becoming clear that members of the team are particularly against any move to break up the core of the squad. Rudy Gay said he wants to stay in Memphis, and on Friday morning head coach Lionel Hollins expressed his displeasure with the idea of breaking up the team -- as well as his distrust of the underlying statistical arguments that support shipping out Gay -- during a radio interview on Sports 56 WHBQ in Memphis.

 

Hollins predictably came to the defense of his star small forward during the interview, but things got interesting when he started to express his opinion on the rise of analytics in the NBA. In short, Hollins doesn't think advanced statistical metrics and measures are fit to capture the contributions of a player like Rudy Gay. Here's a bit of what he had to say:

 

"The reality is that we have a very versatile small forward that is 6'9. There aren't many guys out there like that. He can post up, shoot from the perimeter [and] he can attack the basket. He defends LeBron James, he defendsKevin Durant and all these guys that are tall, and strong, and quick and athletic. We don't have another player on our rsoter with that versatility, and most teams don't. That's the bottom line."

SB Nation

 

Rudy Gay's not on the trade block because of advanced stats. He's there because the Grizzlies have commited too much to a team that is not even going to win a Conference title. His contract is just too big, his position is easier to replace than Gasol's, and he's got higher trade value than Randolph.