Jason Fortin

Basketball metrics guy. I have the privilege of helping out the St. John’s men’s basketball team with analytics.

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

As a kid delivering Newsday, I’d see Pitino, Mullin, Berry & Jackson on the back cover.

40 years later, Roger Rubin of Newsday writes about my St. John’s experience.

Surreal. Beyond grateful to Coach Pitino for the opportunity to be a part of this team.

[Roger Rubin @RogRubin]

Meet Long Islander Jason Fortin, the stat guru who helps St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and his staff get an edge.
@NewsdaySports story: https://t.co/1n4GomW90C. #sjubb

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

Sweet 16 for BOTH the basketball and baseball teams!!!

Go Johnnies!!!!!

[St. John's Baseball @StJohnsBaseball]

SUPER REGIONAL BOUND 🔴⛈️

#RedStorm | #EveryTrip

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

A few things to note from Rutgers last season:

- Ace Bailey shot 43.4% on 159 mid-range attempts (2nd most attempts from players in P5 schools): D-I avg FG% on all 2PT shots was 51.0%.

- Dylan Harper shot 29.4% on 51 mid-range attempts

- In the 15 games that Dylan played and Rutgers lost, he shot 22.4% from 3 on 4.5 attempts per game

All that said, Dylan Harper is a stud!

Please take it easy on the Knicks.

[Rob Perez @WorldWideWob]

Spending the next 5 days learning how that Rutgers team didnt even make the tournament.

[Tounde Yessoufou @ToundeYessoufou]

First and foremost, I want to thank God for always giving me the strength, courage, and faith to persevere through every challenge and moment of adversity. I also want to thank my family for standing by my side through thick and thin, especially throughout this process and this important decision.

I usually don’t speak publicly about things like this, but I feel it’s important to address a few things. Ever since I was a kid, my dream has always been to play in the NBA, and that dream has never changed. At the same time, I’ve always believed in myself and have always been self-aware enough to understand what I need to do to put myself in the best position to succeed.

I’ve seen and heard the rumors and speculation surrounding my decision. The truth is, none of that affects me. My entire life, I’ve been criticized, doubted, and questioned, and I’ve learned to stay focused on what matters.

I want to make one thing very clear: my decision to attend St. John’s has nothing to do with money. My decision was based on basketball, development, and winning.

I love what Coach Rick Pitino has built at St. John’s. His experience, leadership, and résumé speak for themselves, but what stood out most to me was the belief he has in his players, his relentless work ethic, and his ability to help good players become great players while also helping them grow as men.

At every level I’ve played, my goal has always been to compete for championships. I made this decision based on where I believe I can best develop as a player, grow as a leader, and put myself in the strongest position to achieve my ultimate goals.

This was a basketball decision. This was a development decision. This was a winning decision.

That’s the truth.

#redstorm

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

@DeanO_Lytics 😂

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

@DeanO_Lytics Not for nothing - but when you have a leaderboard titled MVP Most Valuable Player - Highest Total Net Points, Best Overall it implies the MVP is the one with the most Net Points.

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

@DeanO_Lytics That’s fair. You stating that Caruso was the MVP appeared to be based solely on your Net Points leader table.

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

It sounds cliche at times when coaches talk about “sacrifice” on a podium holding a trophy.

Sacrifice is absolutely real in the Knicks case and specifically KAT.

Usage rate is the % of a team's offensive possessions a player ends while on the court through a shot attempt, turnover or trip to the FT line.

In 11 NBA regular seasons, KAT's usage rate is 26.8%.

In NYK's 11 recent wins, KAT hit that usage rate once.

He was under 20% usage in 6 of the wins.

KAT's usage rate in the 11 wins:

ATL
G4: 24.2%
G5: 17.0%
G6: 18.1%

PHI
G1: 30.9% (the one time)
G2: 25.4%
G3: 17.6%
G4: 24.4%

CLE
G1: 22.8%
G2: 17.4%
G3: 13.7%
G4: 19.7%

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

Knicks KenPom rating is ridiculous right now...

[Lev Akabas @LevAkabas]

The New York Knicks just played the most dominant 10-game stretch in NBA history, and it's not even remotely close

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

Here’s a semi-realistic hypothetical for you:

@Mervis7 is Trilly Donovan.

@CJMooreHoops of The Athletic interviewed Trilly a little over a year ago on August 15, 2023.

I am going to take Trilly at his word when he told Moore in the interview, "I'm the most honest burner account you're ever gonna find."

Chad Mervis checks every box of the brief biography that Trilly provided AT THE TIME of the interview:

· He’s 32 years old

· He’s not Billy Donovan

· He grew up a Donovan-era Florida fan

· He’s not an agent, he’s not a reporter, he’s not a coach and works in college basketball

· He lives somewhere out East

· He’s married with no kids

Here is how Chad Mervis checks the box for each one:

FYI - all the information I obtained below is on the internet.

He’s 32 years old:

Chad was a basketball manager for the University of Florida and graduated in May 2015.

Billy Donovan left Florida for the OKC job in April 2015.

Chad’s age of 32 at the time of the article lines up with someone who graduated college in 2015.

He’s not Billy Donovan:

This should not be earth-shattering news: Billy Donovan is not Trilly Donovan.

He grew up a Donovan-era Florida fan:

Chad's older brother Stephen is Vice President of Basketball Strategy and Evaluation for the Orlando Magic.

Stephen was featured in a recent article by Mike Vorkunov in The Athletic on Aug 21, 2024: The 2024 NBA 40 under 40 list: Top young coaches, executives, managers and influencers.

Stephen’s age of 36 is in the article.

Like Chad, Stephen also graduated from the University of Florida.

It's reasonable to assume that Chad was rooting for Billy Donovan's Florida basketball teams when his older brother attended there.

In addition, Stephen and Chad grew up in central Florida so Chad could have started rooting for Billy Donovan when he joined Florida in 1996.

Chad was a teenager when the Gators won back to back national championships in 2006 and 2007.

He’s NOT an agent, he’s NOT a reporter, he’s NOT a coach and works in college basketball.

According to his LinkedIn page, Chad was a Sports Analyst at Roc Nation at the time of the article.

A sports analyst working in college basketball is NOT an agent, NOT a reporter, and NOT a coach.

He’s married with no kids

I didn’t see anything on the internet if Chad is married or has kids.

I was exaggerating that I have info on Chad checking EVERY box in Trilly’s bio.

That’s all I got.

FYI – I am a basketball analytics guy (some might say Sports Analyst) and not a journalist.

If Chad is, in fact, Trilly I think it would be very on brand that this is how Trilly was revealed.

Go Johnnies!!!!!

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

Trilly's brother😀

[Shams Charania @ShamsCharania]

The Chicago Bulls are finalizing a deal to hire Orlando Magic assistant GM Stephen Mervis as Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations under new EVP Bryson Graham, sources tell ESPN. Bulls will also hire Brooklyn Nets executive Acie Law as Vice President of Player Personnel.

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

Alternative headline: Karl-Anthony Towns is the only player making $53 million or more this season that is in the conference finals. He was left off this list and makes the same exact amount as Booker and Brown.

[Jason McIntyre @jasonrmcintyre]

Highest paid NBA players 25/26

Curry 59m lost play-in
Embiid 55m lost 2nd rd
Jokic 55m lost 1st rd
Durant 54m lost 1st rd/hurt
Giannis 54m no playoffs
Butler 54m hurt
AD 54m hurt
Tatum 54m lost 1st rd
Lillard 54m hurt
Beal 53m hurt
Booker 53m lost 1st rd
Brown 53m lost 1st rd

[Jason Fortin @FortinAnalytics]

Bomb Squad 2 today.

Rick Pitino was coach of the Knicks the last time the Knicks swept the Sixers in the playoffs. In 1989, the Knicks shatttered the then record for most 3P attempts in a season. The Bomb Squad featured Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland, Trent Tucker, Gerald Wilkins and Johnny Newman.

The Knicks today tied the playoff records of most 3P made in a qtr and a half with 11 in the 1st qtr and 18 in the 1st half. As I type this at the end of the 3rd qtr the Knicks made 23 three pointers and are shooting 62%.