Yup, and even without free throws, his eFG% is still higher than the likes of Curry, Paul and Durant. So Harden basically debunks the myths that he is bad in crunch time because he relies on free throws (he scores efficiently even without free throws), and the fact that Harden won't get free throws in crunch time (he still gets it consistently).
Durant is actually quite a bit worse than normal in crunch time. It's just he takes so many shots there's always one to remember every game.
What a weapon to have in the playoffs. If we can ever surround him with some real shooters, it is going to be a "pick your poison" nightmare for opponents. Do you double Mr. Clutch or leave a pure shooter wide open?
Aldridge is Portland's highest usage guy, that's why he is on the list. Lillard's numbers are much better, though. If Lillard was on the chart I posted, he would be just about where Mike Conley is.
James has already taken his game up a notch from last year. Every late game winning or tieing shot, I kind of expect it to go in. Its no surprise anymore. The beard is getting scary good and growing right in front of our eyes.
It's crazy to think about how much James has grown from last year to this year. He has always been pretty clutch, even in his OKC days but last year, it seemed he was trying to get the foul instead of trying to make the shot. I remember a lot of people hating on him for that. I was very frustrated with him also. But this year, he has been nothing short of amazing in clutch situations. He might have played a horrible game but the fourth quarter/last 5 minutes, he can just turn it on. I'm not surprised by that graphic. We could all see him doing it on a nightly basis. Simply amazing!
Harden's biggest improvement in terms of crunch time has definitely been his shooting. Last year, he shot 31.4% from mid-range and 32.1% from long 2s. This year, he shot 46.2% from mid-range and 41% from long 2s. The numbers might still not be that overwhelming, but keep in mind that almost none of these shots are assisted. Meaning they mostly came from half-court setting in likely iso settings. If you take that into account, these numbers aren't half bad. And I certainly remember a lot of these mid-range jumpers go through during crunch time that I don't remember last year.
Is there some way to measure the amount of points as well? Parker/Conley might have the higher TS% but I'm guessing there's a huge point disparity between them and Harden.
If you roll your mouse over the individual players, it gives pts/36 minutes, plus a bunch of other stats.
