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The Downbeat #1318: So ... um ... It's still NBA season.

Extensions, Matt Harpring fixes tanking, front office rank, and SAVE DA VETZ from injury.

By Mychal Lowman
Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

An increasing number of teams are investing a lot of money in injury prevention. They are using analytics and SportsVU-like equipment and software to attempt to minimize the risk of a potential injury reports Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com. NBA teams are investing in a company called Catapult.

Catapult's GPS device makes it all happen. About half the size and weight of an iPhone, the gadget is embedded in the back of player jerseys, sitting just between the shoulder blades. It tracks player data such as heart rate, speed, distance traveled, player load and acceleration and deceleration force. Catapult then charts and relays all that good stuff to the teams in real time and compiles it in a way that teams can use to help solve their most vexing riddles.

Is my 20-year-old top draft pick overdoing it at practice? Should my 275-pound center really be doing sprints with the point guards in between games? Is that conditioning drill a total waste of time? How much standing around should we be doing at shootaround? How can I make better use of my practice time? How do we know when a player is ready to return from rehabbing his knee?

Thanks to cutting-edge companies like Catapult, those queries are now being tackled with precision and probabilities. With millions of dollars and precious wins at stake, teams are realizing that analytics aren't just about improving the box score; they can be about improving the human body. Win that game, and the wins on the court will follow.

Haberstroh cites how the Dallas Mavericks, one of the league's oldest, have been one of the healthiest teams in the league. We all know the healthiest teams usually are the best teams because they are able to field the most complete team on the court night in and night out. It's the next step in analytics and could help big men who probably shouldn't be conditioning the same as a speedy guard. It mainly helps identify risk while practicing and playing. By avoiding those high risk situations teams can help their players stay healthy and avoid short and long-term injuries.

Haberstroh also says about that many teams are using them (none of which are the Jazz) and two unnamed teams (none of which are probably the Jazz). Hopefully Utah can use this technology in the future. Derrick Favors, their franchise big man, has already shown a plethora of nagging injuries that could keep him off the court including plantar fasciitis which will probably flare back up in the big man from time to time. With this team's love affair with VETZ it might come in handy.

Stirring people up into contention right now is ESPN.com's front office rank. They've already given the Jazz a accumulative score of 4.95 which is good for #19th in the league. Their ownership group was given a 5.77, #13, and their GM/President combo was given a 5.43, #18. Using good old math that leaves the coaching staff weighing down the score to #19. We know because they are averaging out the scores, Ty Corbin and company did not fare very well in these metrics. Most likely, Ty Corbin and his staff rated a 3.65. In the ownership rankings and GM rankings a 3.65 places someone in the bottom 5. An external committee believes that Tyrone Corbin is in the top 5 worst coaches in the league. Do you think that's right? Wrong? Discuss.

This offseason Enes Kanter and Alec Burks will be eligible for contract extensions. Based on what we've seen from these two and the amount (or lack) of minutes they've had do we know enough to offer both of them a new contract, only of them a new contract, or neither of them?

Matt Harpring is the color commentator for the Utah Jazz. A small-market team that likes to keep a small budget (usually) and has historically had a hard time courting free agents to Utah. So OF COURSE he would endorse an end to the salary cap that would forever put the Utah Jazz and other small-market teams to the bottom of the barrel begging for scraps from the superstar table.

To be honest, I think it's a dumb idea that while the writer believes he's attacking tanking at the source he's mostly trying to feed off the most recent quotes about LeBron envying Cabrera's contract. It's a page clicker and while it presents some ideas it falls well short. I just had to share the irony of Harpring's tweet. Like most of his commentary. WTF.

I'm sure Moni would want me to leave this downbeat like this. It seems like she would want this. SO I LEAVE UNTO TYRONE-CORBIN-SWINGY-SWINGY-LEGGY-FOOTY.gif.

Swinging-feet1_medium

via jazzfanatical.files.wordpress.com

UPDATE

[Note by My_Lo, 04/04/14 9:15 AM EDT ]

Stop what you're doing right now. Dario Saric might declare for the NBA. OUR SAVIOR HAS ARRIVED!


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