"That's right, there's only one player, because he's the only player at UCLA this year who deserves our attention."

Hearing Henson say that, Pritchard didn't even bother to read the scouting report. UCLA is a place where some of the best basketball talents in the nation aspire to. In that arena full of opportunity and talent, this scout actually brought them only a player's report! While the Pacers may not get a high pick this year, there is more than just one option.

Bird may not be familiar with Henson, but Pritchard has heard of some of Henson's "glorious deeds". It's not for nothing that the team's data analyst has been reduced to a little scout who needs to run around.

After all, not everyone is like Cuban and is able to find a data analyst who is that good. In this world, there are not many people who can do both math and basketball and still be qualified for this job. And what is there to read about a scouting report written by a person who doesn't know basketball?

Henson can say that Zhu. Holiday is one of the most noteworthy players, but he can't get rid of that one. After all, Holiday had never made it to the lottery with a predicted draft pick, so could it be that the people ahead of him died overnight?

"Zhu. Holiday ? I know he might be able to squeeze into the lottery if the league still allows high school students to participate in the draft. But after this guy went to college, he almost disappeared. You also wrote in detail above about his average data in college, which is very mediocre. A player who can't dominate the game in the NCAA, I really don't know why he's the most high-profile one. When you first said that, I thought you were going to give me a copy of Darren. Collison's Scouting Report. But Zhu. Holiday ? ”

Bird looked at the first page of the report, chewing his cigar and shaking his head. If it weren't for Henson's remarks that made Bird find it a little funny, he might have let the scout get out of the private room.

"It's true that Holiday is awkward. But you have to know that this data may not reflect the true level of Holiday at all, and the data will lie. Scores, assists, rebounds, blocks, turnovers...... There is nothing wrong with Holiday in itself, the problem is that the data is not comprehensive enough, objective enough, and does not truly reflect Holiday level! Mr. Bird, please go ahead and turn to the second page of the scouting report! ”

In the face of doubts, Henson was very calm. With the help of the data analysis module, he could see that Holiday had an A-grade of potential that others couldn't. In order to convince others, he was thinking about how to convince others from last night to today's flight. After the crossing, the owner of the body itself left Henson with a brilliant mind and a great knowledge of mathematics. So Henson thought he might be able to use this to make a big fuss.

Bird flipped to the second page of the scouting report, and then the whole person was confused. The whole paper was densely written with a lot of numbers and mathematical formulas, and Bird instantly felt a faint pain in his brain!

"Whether it's points, rebounds, steals, blocks and assists, all of these stats have a significant correlation with a team's wins and losses, and I used the t-test and correlation analysis, and the results support this idea. I also collected data from every game in Holiday during his college years, and then I used several mathematical models to construct the ...... based on the impact and contribution of Holiday data on the team's victory and defeat."

"Hey, stop, Henson! Hell, am I here to listen to your math lessons? Tell me something you can understand! Bird was already a little impatient, and Pritchard was silently watching the play. The rumors are right, Henson is just going to fiddle with a bunch of mathematical formulas that the coach doesn't understand and don't help the team much. He's not a scout, he's just a nerd.

But after Bird's yelling, Henson remained unchanged. He knew it was going to be like this, and Henson certainly knew that Bird and the coaching staff didn't understand and didn't want to listen to those annoying formulas. But the reason why he still said this is to prove that Holiday is not a mouthful, but supported by complex data.

"Okay, then we'll skip that annoying analysis. To be honest, I was annoyed enough last night when I was calculating these formulas. Henson first eased the atmosphere with self-deprecation, and then the persuasion really began!

"The numbers that come up with these complex formulas all point to the result that Holiday has contributed more to the team's victory than UCLA's leading defender, Darren Brown. Corrison is much bigger! That's right, Darren. Collison averaged 14.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and a whopping 2.3 steals per game, making him look more like a star. After all, even Westbrook has played him off the bench with the Bruins. But the stats deceive everyone's eyes, and when the Bruins attack, whether it's possession or shots, it's a lot in Collison's hands. I've calculated that if Collison's possession and shooting were converted to Holiday , his stats would be countless times better than Collison's! And Holiday was a point guard, but the Bruins put him at shooting guard for tactical purposes. Holiday is indeed better at scoring than playmaking, but one of his dilemmas as a shooting guard is that Holiday couldn't touch the ball at all for most of the game, and the ball was spinning in Collisson's hands! ”

Henson said, pausing deliberately. On the court at this point, the second quarter of the game between the Pacers and Spurs had begun, but Bird was still staring intently at Henson's scouting report and listening to his explanation. Henson knew, and Bird listened! This means that his preparation was not in vain.

"You also said that data can deceive people's eyes. So, how can you be sure that the numbers you have listed will not deceive my eyes? Bird continued to ask rhetorically that the world of basketball is not something that can be depicted in numbers alone.

"Well, of course I have something else to say. You keep flipping, and I've attached a couple of pictures of Holiday shooting and making layups at the back of the scouting report. Mr. Bird, do you see anything? ”

"It's all very ordinary pictures, what do you want to express?"

Henson deliberately waited for Bird to ask him every time, which would increase Bird's sense of involvement and make an impression on Bird. The brilliant minds of mathematical geniuses are not only mathematically effective.

Now that Bird asked, Henson stopped selling off. "Holiday shoots with his right hand, but when he lays and dunks, he uses his left hand more often! This means that Holiday is the kind of guard who uses both his left and right hands in a very balanced way! Most NBA players are right-handed, especially guards, and you can barely tell if he's left-handed or right-handed just by looking at the dribble. But shooting and layups are the most intuitive way to distinguish a player's left and right hands! Most players don't attack with their non-dominant hands. However, there are also some players who want to attack with their non-dominant hands, in order to make themselves more versatile and make their offense more difficult to defend. And to achieve this goal, the hardships and efforts required are unimaginable to ordinary people. Cinnabar. Holiday happens to be one of them! ”

Bird listened and nodded slightly. As one of the most balanced left-handed players in league history, Bird is well aware that it takes a lot of effort for a right-handed player to perfect his left hand. And you know, Holiday doesn't have the talent of Bird. He may have paid more sweat than Bird back then!

"Isn't it easier for a rookie who knows how to change his destiny with diligence than a rookie who only relies on talent?"

Bird smiled and extinguished his cigar, and Henson agreed with the last words he said.

Even Pritchard, who was about to watch the excitement, was a little surprised, the Henson in front of him was completely different from the rumored Henson! His report really looks like that!

"One more thing, that's that I trust my instincts as a basketball guy! Cinnabar. Holiday is definitely the best choice in terms of the number of positions we can probably get! ”

Finally, Henson added. Perhaps in Pritchard's view, "intuition" is a bit too mysterious. But in Bird's view, a basketball person's instincts are essential. Because Bird's mentor, Auerbach, is a guy who trusts intuition a lot!

"I heard you arrived here just after returning to Indianapolis, and you haven't had dinner yet, have you?" Bird, with his big back combed, closed the scouting report, and Henson could tell from his smile that he had passed!

"I was almost late before I could eat. How bad the traffic is on race day, you know. ”

"It's true that all Indianapolis want to come and see the game on game day. It's a pity that the team's performance today is probably going to disappoint them. Forget it, don't talk about this. Pritchard, man. Ask someone to buy me and Henson something to eat, he should be starving. ”

"It's a pleasure to have dinner with you, Mr. Bird." Henson let out a sigh of relief, he really wanted to go back to Long Beach and thank the innkeeper for it.

That guy is a natural prophet.