Analytics isn't everything dude. Certain styles of play take a toll on defenders more than other play styles and make them more winded in the long run which can negatively effect the opposing team in the fourth quarter. For example, Harden's stand in one spot and dribble through the legs while 4 other guys watch style really makes it easy on defenders to rest and not get winded.
So then what are his percentages over the last week or two? I mean if season long he’s at 2 post ups per game and shooting 37% what is it over the last two weeks? How many long twos out of the post is he taking now compared to earlier in the season? Let’s see the evidence that things have changed or else you are just saying things and hoping people will believe it.
This isn’t analytics. This is his shooting percentage on post ups and points per post up possession. It’s not some difficult mathematical equation. If I cite someone free throw or 3 point percentage or points per possession on drives it’s no different. Y’all just don’t like what the information says because you thought he was doing great on post ups. He isn’t. And if he is going to shoot 37% out of the post we shouldn’t be doing it very often, if at all. Denying the truth doesn’t change it.
The thing is we have 1 guy who can score efficiently while taking a ton of shots. We all know that's Harden. So who on this team is going to take the majority of the rest of the shots and do it in high volume and high efficiency while running the offense too? You want guys like House, Rivers, Bmac, EG, etc. doing what Harden and Westbrook do? It's not like we have a lot of better options than Westbrook. I would have a bigger problem with Westbrook if he was taking away shot from some prolific scorers on our team or something. Harden is still getting as many shots as he wants so that's not an issue. The rest of our guys just aren't reliable and Westbrook still gets them a ton of wide open shots which they can't hit.
The thing is though almost everyone on the team scores more efficiently than Westbrook. So just about anyone taking a wide open 3 on average is more efficient than Westbrook’s average shot. Reducing Westbrook’s most inefficient shots should be the goal. One that would benefit the team. It would be nice if he was killing it in the post, but he isn’t.
I hear you man. I just think if any of those guys shot as much as we need, their efficiency would turn to **** too.
Harden should be posting up too when he starts off shooting extremely cold but instead he keeps jacking up 3s or getting his layups blocked and goes for 0-10.
I don't know where to find data for his eFG over post ups over a certain time frame. I have watched every minute of his play this season and haven't season him take a single long two outside of 15 feet the past few games. His TS% has also steadily increasing game by game. If that's just "saying things and hoping people will believe it" then fair enough I don't know where to find post up efficient over a specific time frame. However, I have watched every minute of his play this season. Since he's been posting up a lot recently, his efficiency has steadily increased and he hasn't taken a single long 2 outside of 16 feet the past two games. If that's "just saying things and hoping people will believe it" then fair enough, I'll just exit the discussion and people can trade stats back and forth.
Sorry I accidentally pressed back on my phone browser while lying in bed and didn't realize it saved what I was writing before lol.
