If Harden can increase his PPG and lower his turnovers, I would say he's a better offensive player than Kobe ever was.
Harden is efficient when the refs give him FT's every time he swings his arms trying to draw contact. But they don't call it everytime ... do they ??
Why do people keep referring to Harden as a volume scorer...? He only takes 17 shots a game. Do people think you can average 25 points a game on 10 field goal attempts. Harden doesn't take enough shots in my opinion. Hopefully he will work on his midrange and post game like he said and hopefully Parsons and either Lin or Beverly will take pressure off him so he can handle the ball a lil less and shoot a lil more.
His numbers are on par with Kobe and Wade in their 4th year (and Wade averaged 4.2 turnovers a game) and Harden is a better shooter than both Kobe and Wade in their 4th year... Not bad for a first time starter.
Interesting info. Unfortunately, a lot of "fans" that have joined in the past year have made the claim that Harden is not efficient. Thankfully, they are not posting in the offseason.
Towards the end of the regular season, and except for one game in the OKC series, he became inefficient. It was a combination of injuries and fatigue, and the fact he had no other superstar playing beside him. But from Oct to Feb, his numbers were phenomenal. Much much better than what we expected. His late-season problems don't detract much from his great year.
Probably borne out of being the #1 option for the first time in his career, first year as a starter and having to carry the load offensively.
He was really efficient this year but in his last year in OKC his efficiency was ridiculous. Only 14 ppg but still crazy efficiency. The perks of playing with all stars and not having to bear the entire offensive load I guess. Wade and Bron's efficiency rose a lot after playing with one another. Can't wait to see who we get around Harden this off season.
you have to include his fouled shot attempts... he is a volume scorer but he's also very efficient because his ft
I say it is more likely due to the inefficient way the offense was run and over reliance on him trying to get to the free throw line. But that is what you get when you try to have a guy be one man offense and play like a PG (or Lebron) in distributing.
No I don't have to include his free throw attempts... You can though That's a separate intently and does not include his field goal percentage (because if he wasn't fouled there's a chance he would have made the shot). But on another note, usually only super star players go to the line that much. My definition of a volume scorer is a guy like Melo. Someone who has to take 22 shots to give you 22 points. Lin is a volume scorer also because in a majority of his best games he took over 20 shots. What's your definition of a volume scorer...???
Whoever thinks Harden is a volume scorer is just wrong. He has 60% TS%, takes 17 FGAs a game for nearly 26 points a game. How the heck is that a volume scorer? I guess the TRUE definition of a volume scorer is just anyone who takes a lot of shots, REGARDLESS of his efficiency...but that is not how anyone in the GARM uses the term. And even by the first definition, he only takes 17 FGA, vs someone like Melo who takes 22 FGAs (for 28.5 pts). The quintessential volume scorer though that we all think of, when we use the term 'volume scorer' in a derogatory fashion is Rudy Gay. Gay has 50.6% TS%, attempts nearly 17 FGAs a game (like Harden), but only scores nearly 19 points, a whole whopping 7 PPG less (on the same number of shots). Gay shoots 41.5% from the field (vs. Harden's 44%) and 33% from 3 pt range (vs. Harden's 35-36%). Let's not get carried away w/ inaccurate labeling here guys.
Right, but that is factored in through his TS%. The idea is he GETS the foul calls. If he didn't, he MIGHT then be a volume scorer. You could easily argue he misses all those shots BECAUSE he was fouled. That is the whole reason why the league doesn't count them against someone's FGAs lol.
First off, Lebron isn't REALLY in his category right? I assume Lebron's in a category of his own lol. Melo is less efficient than Harden. Though their FG% and 3 pt % are really close (like within a % of each other, slight nod to Melo), Melo has a worse TS%, w/ a 56% TS%, versus Harden's 60% TS%. Melo attempts 5 more shots a game for 3 more points. More efficient? As for Kobe, his TS% is 57% vs. Harden's 60%. Again, how is he more efficient? Takes 3 more FGAs a game for 1.7 more points a game. His FG% is higher than Harden's but his 3 pt % is about equally lower. ehh... Finally, DWade. Again, 57% TS%. His FG% is a LOT better than Harden's (or Kobe's or Melo's for that matter, which were all comparable to Harden's, i.e., hovering around 44-45%) at 52%, but his 3 pt % is atrocious! 26% from 3! Thankfully, he does not attempt more than one a game from that range lol. DWade takes 16 FGAs a game for 21 points, or in other words, Harden makes 4 more PPG than DWade on 1 extra FG attempt a game. Hmm...but you said DWade a couple of years ago, so let us look at that. DWade 2 yrs ago took 18 FGAs a game for 25 points. An extra FGA a game for almost a point less than what Harden gets a game right now. His TS% was also still lower than Harden's (58% vs. 60%). In fact, his FG% was worse than it was this season (50% vs. 52%), though his 3 pt range 2 yrs ago was better, though still below average at 30%. So if you're going to say that Harden is less efficient than others in his 'class'...you'll have to show me how that is true at all w/ some semblance of evidence backing up your statement.
IMO there is a difference between "volume shooter" and "volume scorer". There's nothing wrong with being a volume scorer, it just means you have the ball a lot and you score a lot, being a volume shooter on the other hand means that you score based on taking a ton of shots. A volume scorer might take 15 or 20 shots a game and score 30 or 40. A volume shooter on the other hand might take 20 shots and score 20 or 22 points.
I don't know if there is an actual difference between the two terms that people use to differentiate, but I agree with you in that I think there should be. I mean, being really technical w/ the definition just means someone who takes a lot of shots...I don't see anything wrong with that. That just means the person takes a lot of shots. Lebron takes a lot of shots -- and I love that he takes them (if he were on my team) lol. He scores in a high volume. But I feel more people use it as a derogatory term. That a person NEEDS to take a lot of shots to get his points, i.e., he is INEFFICIENT. This is obviously not a good thing (in general), and not something a player strives for lol. I always think of Rudy Gay. To say Harden is a volume scorer in THIS sense is just plain wrong, imo. I just don't see any numbers backing up that notion...
