Videogames as scouting tool?

[rikhardur]

Very interesting article.
Can videogames be effective to determine a player's potential and skills? Can they be trusted? I must say I was shocked when reading some NBA teams are doing that

[robbe]

Can videogames be effective to determine a player's potential and skills? Can they be trusted? I must say I was shocked when reading some NBA teams are doing that

One day [after hearing Sam Mitchell speak about his coaching philosophies, if I remember correctly] I decided to lower my expectations to zero.

Nothing shocks you then.

[Neozyrus]

If i am not wrong , i remember that some football teams scouters used videogames too.

It seems that the scouters are getting lazy these days.

[uhg80]

"Hey, let's make a trade for Foyle! I scored 51 points with him against the Celtics on the rookie level of NBA 2k9 yesterday."

"Yesterday? Weren't you supposed to scout the Tar Heels' prospects yesterday?"

"Err, yeah, but, hey! 51 points! On the Celtics!"

[JGX]

Morey's done a tremendous job as Rockets GM. Nothing surprising about teams using computer simulations, although the NBA Live series never struck me as the most accurate model. Maybe it's more realistic when the computer plays against itself though.

[Basketball Player]

Morey's done a tremendous job as Rockets GM. Nothing surprising about teams using computer simulations, although the NBA Live series never struck me as the most accurate model. Maybe it's more realistic when the computer plays against itself though.

Looking at the roster of the Rockets I would say not. No point guard and no backup center. He will be fired within a couple years at the rate he's going, especially if he's so stupid that he uses video games for decisions. My God to imagine these idiots getting these multi-million dollar paying jobs.

[b3lowzro]

It turns out that the English-Filipino brothers were contacted by the Philippine Football Federation after an anonymous person discovered their Filipino lineage after, of all things, playing a PlayStation game. “It’s sort of like an urban legend now,” says James of the mystery person. “We don’t know anything about the guy.”

Urban legend or not, the discovery has been nothing short of a godsend for Philippine football. The Younghusbands have spearheaded a Philippine team that has seen a remarkable improvement in their play since the brothers joined them in the pitch. In the Asean Football Championship Qualifiers in November 2006, Phil scored six goals in only four appearances. James, meanwhile, showed his form during the 2005 Southeast Asian Games when he scored three times at the tournament.

Hmmm we discovered a player for our Football NT thru a video game.

[JGX]

Looking at the roster of the Rockets I would say not.

Looking at the record I would say yes. In 2004-05 they won 51 games with McGrady and Yao playing full seasons. In 2005-06 they won 34 games with McGrady and Yao injured for long stretches. Morey came on board near the end of the 05-06 season (assistant GM at first, but with a lot of influence and the understanding that he would be GM after a year).

Since then they've won 52 and 55 games with McGrady and Yao playing in a number of games more similar to 05-06 than 04-05. The level of the players around those two has clearly increased a lot under Morey, and he's done it without high draft picks or acquiring "known" stars.

[damelo]

Well, you can see video games as a starter about a player you don't know I guess, helping you know if the guy can shoot from long range, drive, etc... But you can do the same with stats. Basically, video games are based on stats, but use them to scoot? So, Mensah Bonsu is an all star? And in 2006 NBA Live, Paul was theorically the back up of Speedy Claxton?

Personally, I don't trust the guys who make the games.

[Dasher]

The simulation engine is built around the player the tendency tracking/scouting technology of Synergy Sports Technology. Nearly every team in the NBA uses Synergy Sports Technology's services. They track player tendencies and calculate how they fit with particular teams. Live is a short cut that can be used by GMs and functions as alternate way to access and use SST.