Bob Costas isn’t a fan of letting analytics dictate how an NBA game is played. He feels like the shift to prioritizing the 3-pointer is not conducive to entertaining basketball.
In an appearance on The Michael Kay Show on Friday, Costas said MLB is a prime example of how an analytics-driven focus can impact the quality of the game.
“What worked for a competitive edge, or at least arguably that’s what the analytics showed you to do, did not work well for baseball as an entertainment product,” he said. “And I think the same thing is true – I’m not as close to the NBA now as I am to baseball – but in what I’ve observed, it’s not so pleasing to see two teams combine for 80 3-point attempts in a game. Or to see a potential fast break, and the two guys on the wing run to the respective corners instead of finishing off a beautifully-executed fast break.”
Costas added that mid-range jump shots have been minimized, and that’s affected the game as well.
“So a lot of the game’s texture has been reduced,” he said. “A 3-pointer used to be a punctuation and a big deal. But when it’s a matter of course then I think it loses some of its impact.”
MLB has implemented new rules like eliminating the shift and adding a pitch clock. That has produced a positive result in entertainment value, because games now no longer drag on past three and a half hours.
Costas pointed out that it’s problematic in basketball when a reliance on analytics essentially predicts how games will be played.
