As a data scientist who once coded NBA predictions in my Chicago apartment, I’ve seen coaches get praised or roasted on pure emotion. But take Mike D’Antoni’s successor—Udonis Haslem? No, wait—let me correct that: I’m talking about Ime Udoka. His 50-win season with a struggling backcourt and a roster of role players? That wasn’t luck. It was systems thinking, defensive engineering, and quiet mastery. Here’s how analytics saw what fans missed—and why calling him ‘just a coach’ is the real error.