Analytics may reportedly be involved when it comes to the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is encouraging.
The Cleveland Cavaliers want to be progressing onward in their rebuild in the next few years, and their next head coach will be crucial in them doing that, as one would imagine.
General manager Koby Altman and the team’s leadership are taking their time in deciding who is going to be replacing former head coach Larry Drew (who reportedly mutually parted ways with the team last month, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium) as Cleveland’s next head coach, as we’ve highlighted a number of times.
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Adding to that, it was recently reported by the New York Times’ Marc Stein in his newsletter (subscription required and h/t Sam Amico of Amico Hoops) that Cleveland is basing its search on younger assistant coaches because of their willingness to embrace analytics.
Amico noted how Stein brought up how the Brooklyn Nets, in the case with head coach Kenny Atkinson, and the Atlanta Hawks, in the case with head coach Lloyd Pierce, seem to be examples of what the Cavaliers are trying to model themselves after, in the way those two teams have seemed to be all-in on the player development approach and with how both are on the way up in large part due to younger head coaches that are more than willing to involve analytics in their team’s strategy.
The Nets finished with a much-improved 42-40 record in 2018-19 and made the postseason, and the Hawks closed the season strong, as they finished with a respectable 10-14 record post-All-Star break, and had the league’s 11th-best offensive rating in that time span (per NBA.com).
Atlanta played at the fastest pace in the league this past season and had the fourth-most three-pointers made per game, and it seemed that Pierce and his staff had to have significantly helped Hawks dynamic rookie Trae Young end the season on a tear as a scorer, while also getting his teammates, such as perimeter shooters Taurean Prince and Kevin Huerter, well involved.
Young led all qualified rookies in assists per game with 8.1 (while placing second in qualified rookie scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game, too), and post-All-Star break, Young had 24.7 points on 50.8% effective field goal shooting (including a 34.8% clip from three-point range on 7.0 attempts per contest), to go with 9.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, per NBA.com.
As we’ve noted, Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Collin Sexton also closed really well post-All-Star break, and was clearly much more efficient as a scorer because of his increased willingness to shoot three-point shots (along with him and players such as Cedi Osman benefiting a good deal with Kevin Love‘s inside-out scoring prowess spacing the floor more), which plays right into what Altman (who is 36) and the Cavs’ brass wanting to have an analytics-driven approach in their rebuild that the next head coach will seemingly be tasked with leading.
Playing off that sort of thing, Amico hit on the reported names of younger, and would-be first-time head coaches that would seem to fit that analytics-driven mold for Cleveland.
"“In case you haven’t heard the names, the Cavs have focused on assistants in search of their first gig. Among the names that have surfaced: Alex Jensen (Utah Jazz), Wes Unseld Jr. and Jordi Fernandez (Denver Nuggets), Jamahl Mosley (Dallas Mavericks), Ime Udoka (San Antonio Spurs), and Nate Tibbetts and David Vanterpool (Portland Trail Blazers).All fit the criteria that Stein described. All are younger, like Altman himself, and can be part of both a retooling and ideally, the long-range goal of being a contender again.”"
Overall, this report is an encouraging sign, because if the Cleveland Cavaliers can apply analytics in terms of shot selection and in other areas, and obviously improve on their awful defense from last season (which we’ve often noted was historically terrible in terms of defensive rating according to Basketball Reference), their rebuild should steadily progress.
The next head coach and their staff will obviously have to be on board with applying principles that likely relates to things such as not taking a ton of mid-range shots throughout games, trying to tailor offensive sets to put emphasis on getting layups and corner three-point shots, and I would assume, prioritizing early-clock ball and man movement.
The Cavaliers are conducting their business in the right way thus far in the head coaching search, and the more I hear about the Altman in this ordeal, the more hopeful I am that he and those involved will make the right long-term decision for the franchise.