70% of Harden's shots in the past 5 games have been 3's. Is he inured or are the Rocket's taking the 3 point chucking to another level?
3 and 2 is a winning record and his 2 worst shooting performances where losses. None the less, the league HAD narrowed the gap significantly in how many more 3s we take. I'm all for adding even more 3s tbh. That being said, I thing it's obvious hes not attacking as fervent as typical because of the hammy. And if my eyes aren't deceiving me, hes almost exclusively been driving to the left which is his strength and favoring step backs to his right.
He looks slower and unwilling to attack the rim. Maybe injury, maybe just athletic decline. Maybe he doesnt want to use too much energy
He's certainly struggling more at the rim, think most of us are putting that down to the hammy. I'm fine with him shooting more from 3 for now while he gets back to full health, he's always going to be a threat driving to the rim, we've seen that in Houston for 6 years now and I'm not worried about it. This is similar to seasons past when he only averages 7 or 8 free throws the first few games and we all get worried he won't get calls anymore, only for him to eventually get up to 10 per game as he always does. Plus he's currently shooting his highest 3pt% since moving here, so why not ride this hot streak?
Harden has been going to the line 10 times a game for too long, with little to no rest. I don't mind him taking his foot off the peddle as long as he goes back to that level aggressiveness when the playoffs are near.
Been slowly increasing his share of shots that are 3s with a big jump with the arrival of D'ANtoni. % of his shots that are 3pters: 2014-15: 38% 2015-16: 41% 2016-17: 49% 2017-18: 50% 2018-19 so far: 57% He's still taking 28% of his shots at the rim (career is also 28%). 2pters from 10ft + have fallen to 5.5% from 16% career and 11% last year.
It looks like he's not but I'd like to see drive data. He's still taking about the same percentage of shots at the rim.
It's not a huge concern. His free throws are down and his 3's are up. He's also been terrible finishing at the rim, by his standards, this season. I expect it to improve, but he really shouldn't be shooting more than 10 3's in any game, unless he's on fire.
Godo spot there Clutch. Drives per game - https://stats.nba.com/players/drive...ir=1&Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular Season 13-14: 10.5 14-15: 13.9 15-16: 14.5 16-17: 17.1 17-18: 17.1 18-19: 16.8 Slight decline, but only a small drop from his last two years which were both highs,
Ok I think I figured it out, seriously... Last season he got lots of fouls driving to the basket but then by the time WCF came along, the narrative was "oh he gets too many calls boo hoo etc" so the refs didn't give him the calls. This season he is saving his foul calls for the playoffs. Smart, very smart.
One big thing that I've noticed (with my eyes, not checking stats), has been that Harden's pass selection has returned to its' 2016 form, where he tries to thread the needle way too much. Often times, even if the pass is completed, the player receiving the ball isn't in a good situation to score. Last year Harden really reigned it in, and we weren't seeing as many of these frustrating turnovers.
Also our offense has gotten predictable. teams have figured out our passing lanes and getting a lot of defelctions
Free throws are probably down because the NBA has been tweaking the rules the last few years because Harden exploits them. Lol. Harden needs to find something else to exploit in the rules and milk it.
Certainly seems to be trying the hero full court passes more. What we do know for sure is his turnovers are up from last year, and his assist to turnover ratio is also way, way worse. Last year it was exactly 2:1, this year so far it's 1.35:1
Attacking the rim has three options 1. Hits the shot 2. Gets the Foul 3. Misses the shot Number 3 can be affected by Number 2 and the Refs seem alot more resistant to calling those fouls not So If he is not getting the foul call . . . there is a 66% chance the results are bad for the Rockets This is how the REFS affect games but it does not show up in a stat sheet Rocket River
