[Grantland] Zach Lowe: Harden, Lin among the most efficient driving into the lane

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-t...with-the-most-innovative-technology-available

Here's a look into advanced stats that confirm that Harden is apparently pretty good at driving to the basket.

 

1 Minute too late

 

hero ball strikes again

 

Great article, zach lowe always pulls out this kind of impressive stats

 

My one hesitation is how much of his efficacy relies on the refs blowing a whistle. We've seen how much less effective Kevin Martin became when he stopped getting the calls. Harden may be earning these calls by putting defenders on their heels, but it takes two to tango. If we're in the playoffs and the refs stop cooperating by whistling contact on the drive, will our offense fall apart?

 

That's why Lin needs to develop a reliable & consistent jumpshot in the offseason and exactly why I wouldn't trade him just yet.

 

Of if he plays like he did against miami in the finals... (which I think correlates to refs blowing whistle)

 

I think there should be a "a great play" barometer.

Not knocking on our Superstar but I cringe at his shot selection at times (even when he was lighting it up in Miami). All the announcers go crazy and big it up which doesn't help. "He shot the ball with two hands in the face".

If you have two hands in the face, the question becomes, is this really a good shot to begin with?

There are times when Harden scores, it's a matter of a feeling of relief as in "thank god that went in" rather than "that's a great play". There are easier ways to get a bucket and get everyone involved while still able to get 20+ points for yourself (even 30+ points) and cement a spot on the all-star roster. That's my only knock.

But having said all that, his ability to go to the line is amazing and shouldn't stop. This is a massive asset for the team and must be utilized as often as possible.

 

Owners need to put their money together and gather this data for every team and make it public (free or subscription). What teams do with the info should be proprietary, but each team trying to collect their own data is horribly inefficient.

Crowd sourcing the data out to staticisticians everywhere to use it however they choose and develop their own algorithms will lead to all kinds of innovation in analytics.

 

lin rules

 

less whistles will be called in the playoffs but it's a numbers game. Sooner or later you will get in. That's what she said. :grin:

 

Jeremy Lin is having a disappointing season? By whose unrealistic standards?

Lin, in his first season as a starter, will probably have numbers that are slightly better than those of Mike Conley, a solid vet who some may argue is a top 10 PG in the league.

Most importantly, Lin is clearly a player who makes his team better, even when not putting up gaudy stats.

But I suppose that he's a disappointment b/c this undrafted guy isn't putting up Steve Nash numbers in his first full season.

 

Just a heads up: don't ever watch footage of, say, Kobe or T-Mac. You might have a heart attack.

Superstars gonna superstar

 

There are a number of situations in the NBA where I know the data exists, but it is not available for love or money.

 

totally agree, and if he can improve his jumper it will make it even easier for him to blow by defenders who are sagging off him right now

 

By any objective standard whatsoever.

This is not clear to the majority of people who joined this site before 2012.


He is a below average starting PG.

 

Cue Morey face...

 

LOL ppls need to read through the link to see the comments about Jennings and Ellis, both have or will have near max contracts but with less impressive points per drive number than Lin.