Tag: Mike Zarren

Celtics VP Mike Zarren on whether he uses the eye test or analystics to make decisions

At the end of the day, what really matters is the method with the best information.

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When it comes to using the eye test or advanced analytics to make important decisions for the Boston Celtics, Vice President of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren makes no bones about which side of that old debate he falls on — the one with the best information.

“The easy answer is you need to know how reliable your numbers are, just like you need to know how reliable your scouts are,” Zarren said in a recent interview with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett. “But really the question is, how reliable is any piece of information? People make mistakes when watching things, and people make mistakes when coding statistical analyses, too.”

“Every day you’re trying to get better and smarter about the decisions you’re making by looking at all the information you can get.”

“We’re trying to take every piece of information we can get about every decision we make, and use it in the most reliable way,” he added. “Some of those things are numbers, and some aren’t.

“For example, a scout goes and watches a guy in a college game and gives him a rating. If you do something with that collection of ratings from all of your scouts, is that a statistical analysis or not?”

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Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Celtics VP Mike Zarren on how a blend of analystics and subjectivities guide the team

“We’re never only making decisions based on numbers,” explained Zarren,

The Boston Celtics approach basketball analytics with a blend of data-driven insights and a holistic understanding of the game. Mike Zarren, the Celtics’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and team counsel, has risen through the ranks due to his expertise in analytics but recently spoke about how he advocates for a comprehensive approach that considers both numbers and subjective observations in an interview with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett.

“We’re never only making decisions based on numbers,” explained Zarren, who is known among Boston fans as the front office member most interested in using analytics to guide the decisions the team makes.

“You need every piece of reliable information you can get to make any decision that you need to make,” he added. “So whatever type of information proves to be reliable you should use.”

Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren travels to Italy to share player tracking techniques with soccer club Atalanta

The Boston exec hopes to help co-owner Steve Pagliuca’s soccer club learn a few new things.

While they might be very different sports, NBA basketball and association football rely on statistics to make important decisions often enough to have some important perspectives to share with one another. And if you happen to own teams that play both, one might find themselves in a position to do such a thing in ways that might prove more difficult otherwise.

To that end, Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, who recently purchased Italian soccer club Atalanta, reportedly picked a familiar face to Celtics fans to get his soccer club up to speed on how Boston tracks player data according to a recent article by the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. That face is assistant general manager Mike Zarren, who recently traveled to Bergamo, Italy, to do exactly that.

“Steve just thought it would be good for me to meet with them and see if there’s any advice to give,” Zarren said. “I’m a soccer fan, but not a soccer expert.”

“The thing is, so many of the challenges of running a sports team are the same across the board,” he added.

“The actual numbers you’re looking at might be different, but how you set up the infrastructure and think about which things to analyze with the front office and coaching staff, that stuff is all very common.”

Check out the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Report: Boston’s Allison Feaster, Mike Zarren remain most popular GM candidates in NBA

The B/R article also lists some potential GM candidate names previously not making the rounds should the Celtics choose to add to their front office.

The Boston Celtics came into their 2021 NBA offseason with a somewhat untested front office after moving on from longtime President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge in favor of front office novice Brad Stevens. Key positions continued to be occupied by veteran executives like Mike Zarren and Austin Ainge, but comparative newcomers like Allison Feaster also had significant roles.

That didn’t stop the team from having a highly-regarded reshuffling of the roster, with Stevens and company swiftly and decisively reshaping the team into a much more flexible and deep roster. This kind of strong outcome is likely a significant part of why at least two of those names are frequent candidates in articles about who the next wave of NBA general managers might be.

One such piece, by Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, outlines how that duo of Zarren and Feaster are widely seen as potential candidates from the Celtics’ executive structure to become GMs, whether in another organization or with Boston under Stevens.

Celts’ Zarren asks Massachusetts voters to choose Ranked Choice Voting

Boston Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren wants to remind you to vote #YesOn2 to bring ranked choice voting to the state of Massachusetts.

Boston Celtics assistant general manager and team counsel Mike Zarren wants to you to vote “Yes” on 2 to approve ranked choice voting in the state of Massachusetts.

Posting on Twitter the morning of Election Day, the Celtic executive was advocating for the shift to what he describes as a “[m]ajor improvement for our democracy that’s not confusing at all”.

“Majority-supported winners, fewer spoilers, better candidates, and more responsive government” are the reasons why he thinks the voting system ought to replace our current model, which can elevate a candidate with less than 50% public support easily.

Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank their candidates in order of preference — as the name implies — with votes re-allocated in an “instant runoff” vote to move the candidate with the most support forward should no one candidate secure a majority.

For those of you who have yet to vote in Massachusetts who are curious about the concept (or have an interest in such a system for your own home state), we interviewed Zarren at length on the issue in October.

You can also visit the campaign’s website for more information.

Importantly, he makes a point of noting that you need to flip the ballot over in order to vote for it, so be on the lookout for that at the polls.

We’ll see you at them!

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“The crazy thing about Kemba is that he …

“The crazy thing about Kemba is that he might be the most normal person superstar in the NBA,” Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren said on the latest episode of the ‘Tampering’ podcast. “Kemba is just a regular guy who hoops at a level that the rest of us could never dream of, and it’s neat to see. “To get to be an elite, elite player in any sport, but particularly ours, you have to be dedicated to your craft in a way that really lends itself to extreme personalities. If you’re not so, so dedicated and so, so focused on something, you’re sort of a more normal person. You’re not likely to be successful at this level. (But) Kemba is just a regular guy who loves what he does.

The preliminary list of candidates in …

The preliminary list of candidates in Sacramento could include San Antonio Spurs vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry; Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster; New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry; Boston Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren; Miami Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon; and Los Angeles Clippers assistant general manager Trent Redden.

Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren listed among Kings GM targets

Boston Celtics Assistant GM Mike Zarren finds himself the target of another franchise’s GM search.

To be fair, there are few openings in an NBA front office these days that do not include Boston Celtics Assistant General Manager and Team Counsel Mike Zarren on their shortlist of potential targets.

And that is exactly what happened yet again when the Sacramento Kings and General Manager Vlade Divac went in different directions this week, the Kings evidently deciding to actually do their due diligence this time in searching for a new General Manager, according to the Sacramento Kings’ Jason Anderson.

Which of course led them to Zarren as one of the best young minds in any NBA front office, with the West Coast franchise hoping to lure away the assistant GM from the team he’s been a fan of his entire life.

A team he’s seen as heir apparent to take over on the retirement of current Team President Danny Ainge.

It seems unlikely Zarren will decamp to the often-chaotic west coach franchise given his background and current situation, but it is something to monitor given his importance to the team.

A much more likely outcome will be one of the candidates being floated as potential targets taking the job.

That includes San Antonio Spurs vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry; Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster; New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry; Miami Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon; and Los Angeles Clippers assistant general manager Trent Redden.

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