Nate Silver does the math: SGA is playing like MJ

[Albuquerque Rams]

I feel like this might be your best "work" trying to hold it against a 40-year-old for his team only being the 3 seed and losing in round one, but making excuses for the 38-39 year old who in the weaker East could not even get to the postseaspon.

One old guy has a Top 5 player and MVP candidate in his prime. The other had Hamilton or Stackhouse, neither of whom were ever Top 10 players or MVP candidates.

 

[Albuquerque Rams]

volume stats only? Not FG or 3 point %? No advanced stats in Lebron favor? No being able to drag lesser team to Finals? Never mind without Pippen holding his hand MJ never won more than 42 games?

The only advanced stats he's ahead of are in the cumulative ones, not the average ones. He only has 57 more win shares despite playing in nearly 500 more games.

The bulk of his FG attempts are 0-3 feet from the rim, grossly inflating his percentage. Despite this, his career FG PCT is only .009 higher than MJ's. Because his career PCT outside the 0-3 feet range is atrocious.

That "dragging a lesser" team took place in the Leastern Conference when 70 percent of All NBA selections were in the West.

Pippen as a rookie was a negative in BPM and OWS. His second and third year, he had fewer win shares than Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varejao had for Cleveland in 2007. But sure, keep pushing this disingenuous talking point.

 

[thunderc]

Hopefully Shai’s play tonight makes people realize what this thread was about

 

[dtgold88]

The only advanced stats he's ahead of are in the cumulative ones, not the average ones. He only has 57 more win shares despite playing in nearly 500 more games.

The bulk of his FG attempts are 0-3 feet from the rim, grossly inflating his percentage. Despite this, his career FG PCT is only .009 higher than MJ's. Because his career PCT outside the 0-3 feet range is atrocious.

That "dragging a lesser" team took place in the Leastern Conference when 70 percent of All NBA selections were in the West.

Pippen as a rookie was a negative in BPM and OWS. His second and third year, he had fewer win shares than Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varejao had for Cleveland in 2007. But sure, keep pushing this disingenuous talking point.

Bulk of his FG attempts are from 0-3 feet? 35% of his shots are 0-3 feet. Meaning, of course, 65% outside of that. He has a higher % of shots from 16 feet and beyond than 0-3 feet. Funny you made that claim but called my factual comment disingenuous.

 

[tlance]

Bulk of his FG attempts are from 0-3 feet? 35% of his shots are 0-3 feet. Meaning, of course, 65% outside of that. He has a higher % of shots from 16 feet and beyond than 0-3 feet. Funny you made that claim but called my factual comment disingenuous.

Not to mention…

Defenses tend not to let opposing players shoot from 0-3 feet.

So if a top scorer (especially a perimeter player) getting that high a percentage of their shots at the rim, that says a lot about their ability to get there.

That is not a bad thing.

 

[MAGA2024]

LeBron shoots 74% from 0-3 feet for his career... and he's taken 35% of all his shots from that "range". On the flipside he shoots 38% from beyond 3 feet for his career... so yes, his career FG% is absolutely (heavily) impacted by dunks/layups.

Put simply, the man has been a terrible "shooter" overall during his career.

 

[tlance]

LeBron shoots 74% from 0-3 feet for his career... and he's taken 35% of all his shots from that "range". On the flipside he shoots 38% from beyond 3 feet for his career... so yes, his career FG% is absolutely (heavily) impacted by dunks/layups.

Put simply, the man has been a terrible "shooter" overall during his career.

Imagine thinking that a perimeter player getting 35% of their shots at the rim is somehow a negative thing?

He gets there because he is a freak of nature.

 

[MAGA2024]

Imagine thinking that a perimeter player getting 35% of their shots at the rim is somehow a negative thing?

He gets there because he is a freak of nature.

I didn't say getting to the rim is negative... getting off the highest-percentage shot is a good thing. In LeBron's case, however, he should have taken half his shots or more from 0-3 feet because the rest of his range has been subpar and extremely inconsistent, if we're being honest.

 

[tlance]

I didn't say getting to the rim is negative... getting off the highest-percentage shot is a good thing. In LeBron's case, however, he should have taken half his shots or more from 0-3 feet because the rest of his range has been subpar and extremely inconsistent, if we're being honest.

38% from 3 is actually very good.

But you are right about turning down midrange shots.

Of course, that is true for just about everybody.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

38% from 3 is actually very good.

But you are right about turning down midrange shots.

Of course, that is true for just about everybody.

It is also partially due to the way defenses operate, as I've pointed out at nauseum. You could do a better job isolating MJ for mid range shots. Not to say i think LeBron is MJs equal there.. he isnt. But LeBron has become a better 3pt shooter than MJ ever was.

 

[MAGA2024]

38% from 3 is actually very good.

But you are right about turning down midrange shots.

Of course, that is true for just about everybody.

He shoots .349% from deep for his career... below league-average overall (relative to peers).

 

[MAGA2024]

It is also partially due to the way defenses operate, as I've pointed out at nauseum. You could do a better job isolating MJ for mid range shots. Not to say i think LeBron is MJs equal there.. he isnt. But LeBron has become a better 3pt shooter than MJ ever was.

Jordan was a killer from 20-feet in, especially at the rim, in the post, and mid-range... so he didn't "need" the 3-ball, nevermind it wasn't a part of the game for most of his career; however it's interesting to note that Jordan shot almost literally identical as LeBron in the playoffs (.332% for MJ vs. .333% for LeBron).

In other words Jordan increased his production (both his Attempts and %) from deep when it mattered most, while LeBron's Attempts stay the same but his % from deep is worse in the playoffs.

 

[msgkings322]

It's funny but unsurprising that a thread OP comparing SGA to MJ (for just this year) has turned into chapter 2373 of the MJ vs LeBron debate