The FG% thing is especially annoying. So many people dismiss Harden based on FG%, not realizing almost half of Harden's shot attempts comes from the three point line. If Harden only took 3-Point shots and nothing else and made them at 40% rate (an excellent number), his FG% would be 40%. These fools don't even realize this. You'd think most people would know what eFG% or TS% is by now, but not really.
Is this a prevailing idea, though? That James Harden isnt an efficient player? We hear plenty of complaints about his game, but that's not really one of them. Great research, BTW.
Great analysis. MJ is a better scorer than Harden, but when you also count in the ability to create offense for teammates, I would say Harden from 2016-17 to this season is comparable to prime Jordan offensively in the regular season. What separates them is the playoff performance. I hate others saying Harden is a playoff choker because to me his playoff performance is decent, not as great as his regular season performance, but good enough to be only second behind Lebron among active players. But MJ's playoff performance is unreal. He averaged 33.4 points per game with 49% shooting percentage, no one comes close in volume and he was also quite efficient. He had 5 playoff series where he averaged more than 40 points per game, 13 with at least 35 points per game. Harden just has 1 playoff series with more than 30 points per game.
only the people looking at FG% will try to say that Harden isn’t efficient, but even that’s dumb because his FG% would be much higher if half of his attempts weren’t highly contested threes off the dribble
This thread is awesome. Very interesting stuff @coyotetex! I'd like to promote it on twitter. Would you be willing to write up a (up to 280 character) promo for this so I can link it to this thread?
Great great stuff. Probably too much work, but I'd love to see this expanded to maybe include more players. Like a Steph season or four should be on there. Harden himself should have more seasons. Etc. It shouldn't just be best ppg for the year plus one random KD season. I actually think this would improve the argument for James.
Harden having all-time great scoring season even WITHOUT the free throws. 5 data points that show just how historically dominant The Beard has been in 2019. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/the-myth-that-james-harden-isnt-efficient.295350/ #nba #rockets #espn @dmorey @maxkellerman @CP3 @Jharden13 @HoustonRockets
I will do an expanded version off of the top 50 seasons in points created this weekend. Glad people are enjoying the post!
I'm also shocked how many times Tracy McGrady IS on these lists ...even Allen Iverson. Kinda undermines the point a little. That said, this is still a great post and illustrates how amazing Harden is playing right now. I'm in Harden's camp. Haters can suck it.
The important thing to remember is all 6 of these lists are the same 26 seasons. They only include the 26 best seasons in NBA history from a Points Per Game standpoint. Which means every list will include McGrady and Iverson once, because they each had one of the Top 26 PPG seasons. I did this because I wanted to use the same data set for all of the comparisons. The reason Lebron and Curry aren't on this list, is because they have never scored enough points per game for a whole season to crack the top 26. Lebron's best season (and only season in the top 50) is #34 all-time in 2006 and Curry doesn't show up in the Top 50. The reason I used 26 instead of 25 was to add in Durant because of the Free Throw comparison, which I thought was one of the most compelling data points in the entire analysis. But it also pointed out something else - Harden is the first player in 13 years to crack the Top 25 all-time in Points per Game scoring. That's amazing and it puts the whole Lebron thing in stark contrast to what Jordan accomplished. MJ has 6 seasons where he scored more points per game than Lebron's best season. And Harden 2019 is superior to any season that Lebron, Curry, Durant and Westbrook put up and better than 3 of Jordan's best 6 seasons as well. With all due respect to Austin Rivers, In 2019, Harden has elevated his level of play above Kobe (and Lebron, Curry, etc.) and is playing at the level of MJ.
The fact is no one in the history of the NBA can match Harden’s offensive repertoire. The dude’s handle on the ball is the best ever for someone his size. In additon, he has tremendous footwork and body that allows him to shoot off the dribble while stepping back yet maintaining full balance. For most players that’s a bad shot, but bc Harden can consistently hit such shots, often many feet behind the three, he gets fouled way more than anyone should as a three point shooter. No one else can do that! He is also incredibly strong and can change speed and direction in very deceptive ways almost like a running back to get into the paint. Again due to his incredible handle and body control, he can finish in ever way possible with an endless myriad of floaters, layups, eurosteps, post ups, fadeaways, and for good measure, or maybe just to remind folks that he can, the posterizing dunk on the likes of defensive luminaries like Draymond. Moreover, the dude is not only an amazing passer but a truly unique one at that. He has incredible court vision, iq, and feel to pass in a way where he his teammates become an extension of himself. I know that’s kinda of an odd thing to say but Harden’s relentless iso heavy attack forcs defenses to truly pick their poison. Either get toyed with by Harden in isolation where the result will either be one of a made three, free throws, or layup. The other option is forcing him to make a pass that will pretty much result in one of those exact same outcomes. In contrast to what to Harden does, other great passers are either point guards who run a system. Their passes are typically meant to accomplish things like setting up an play and if it breaks down run a contingency play that is sometimes improvised. Such passers as great as they are not necessarily looking to score with each pass. Sure, the passer has a lot to do with delivering the ball at the right time but the receiver is still doing a lot of the work that needs to be executed for the play to be successful. With Harden, he’s like a matrix sort of shape shifting character. Just when his opponents thinks they got him, Harden lobs the ball and a dunk is thrown down or a three is drained. To reiterate what that means is that Harden’s passing feels like a scoring move in an of itself. And again, in contrast, other teams move the ball for the best possible shot with each player representing a cog in a system, Harden’s teammates are literally an extension of himself. They shoot threes, easy twos in the pain or free throws. He is the entire engine of his team. Statswise, the dude is a scoring and assist machine. We have seen many other great scorers but none quite like Harden. Jordan could score in any way he wanted but the dude couldn’t shoot threes, especially off step backs deep behind the three point line, he also couldn’t pass like Harden. Kobe is a legend, and was clearly the heir apparent to MJ but he was a much more inefficient version of him. The dude was impatient and used his other wordly body control to take the most ridiculous shots. Yes he could make them but the dude couldnt dribble like Harden and never made the best use of his teammates either. Different eras but he probably wouldnt be as good a shooter as Harden is from 3 either. Durant is a taller and more efficient version of Kobe. Another absolute monster of a scorer but not nearly the play maker Harden is. Melo??!! Do we even need to go there? Lebron, greatest player since MJ but he can’t even come close to shooting like Harden. He can’t dribble like Harden but LeBron can definitely pass and can also turn teammates into an extension of himself. However, he doesnt have nearly the offensive repertoire of the bearded one. Sorry about the long ramble but it’s difficult to hide my giddiness of the Rockets recent run. It’s been so much fun watching Harden deliver such masterpieces.
