NBA Teams Using Live 09 To Scout

For a while now it has been evident to me that the most interesting aspect of NBA Live 09’s 365 feature is using it as NBA knowledge for analyzing teams and players. This apparently is not lost upon the actual NBA teams as it is reported about half of them are using the game as a way to evaluate talent and prepare gameplans.

Daryl Morey (Houston Rockets GM) uses the EA Sports NBA game for professional reasons. He uses it to help evaluate talent. Morey says he is a statistical junky, an admirer of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane and a mathematical nerd. “I’ve always loved numbers,” Morey said. “I don’t play EA Sports as a game. I use it as a tool.”

Despite the article showing a picture of NBA Live 08 and referring to the game as “NBA 08” it is interesting to read directly from a GM how the league is using Live 09 as a tool. Prior to the game’s release it was mentioned that 2/3 of the league paid for the Synergy service. It sounds like those who aren’t paying for it are using Live 09 to view some of the data. While the game doesn’t provide everything they would receive it does include the tendencies and DNA make-ups which has proven to be valuable information.