My biggest concern with this trade is the two primary ball handlers get extremely sloppy taking care of the ball. Championship teams take care of the ball. Most turnovers in a single season: 2015-16 (374) Harden 2017-18 (381) Westbrook 2018-19 (387) Harden 2016-17 (438) Westbrook 2016-17 (464) Harden
Turnovers and defense are my two biggest concerns about the trade. But if they run more fast breaks and get more points in transition i’ll at least feel better about the turnovers.
Looking at individual turnovers per game with high usage players can make it seem like turnovers will be a problem but if you look at team turnovers, Rockets averaged 13.6 (#11 in league) and Thunder averaged 14.0 (#17 in the league). Better yet, if you look at turnovers per possession, Rockets averaged 13.4% (#13 in the league) and Thunder were 13.1 (#8 in the league). Their individual turnovers were high just because they handled the ball so much.
Playing together will Half our assists But Double our turnovers. - Typical Pesimistic Rocket Fans Rocket River
What matters is opponent points off turnover compared to the Rockets, and whether opponents have a higher TOV rate than us. i.e., are we forcing more turnovers against our opponents. I don't have stats for last year, but I think the Rockets as a team have a lower TOV rate than their opponents (per game).
I appreciate your use of the stats, but the eye test says Harden is sloppy with the ball. I haven't seen enough of Westbrook to have an educated opinion, but I fear the same. Guess it is a different topic, but there are the "dribble. dribble, dribble shot clock running out forced low percentage shot" turnovers also. And those don't go into the stat sheet.
Overall the Rockets May do better in the turnover battle. While I expect an increase in turnovers going from Paul to Westbrook, I expect an even larger increase in Rockets points off turnovers.
So it's crunch time in a playoff game and you turn the ball over, yes I can see where you think it's a "useless" stat.
If James stopped the no look pocket passes , it would improve his turnover rate.. If Russ stopped jumping in the air and passing on the way down, it would improve his turnover rate... Conclusion: Fixable but not likely...
Turnovers are a part of their usage and FTA, both of their TO's will go down this season. The concern is well intentioned but misguided. Defense and spacing are bigger problems. Rebounding is no longer a problem, but defense is a more important thing than rebounding.