Houston's Beard Vs. Golden State's Baby-Faced Assassin

If one were to observe the style of basketball exhibited in the NBA recently, he or she would undoubtedly notice the litany of elite perimeter players that permeate the league. In today’s perimeter-oriented game, which is defined by motion and spacing, the guard position is a piping hot commodity. The pervasive influence of players who are adept at shooting and playmaking in the modern era is unequivocal.

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James Harden

of the Houston Rockets, whose abilities on offense pertain to the essential skills mentioned above, is generally accepted as the league’s best shooting guard. Utilizing his offensive versatility, Harden surpassed every other shooting guard in the league last season in points per game, assists per game, true shooting percentage, and player efficiency rating.

Harden’s offensive dexterity is immensely valuable to his team; however, one player who may have surpassed the Beard’s aptitude on offense is none other than the shooting ace known as Stephen Curry.

Delving into stats, advanced metrics, and their value within their respective teams is stipulation in the process of deciphering who the greater player is between Harden and Curry.

As indicated by their stats via Basketball-Reference, Harden’s 25.4 points per game exceeds Curry’s points per game by nearly a point and a half, despite the fact that Harden attempted fewer shots per contest. Does this data automatically render Harden as more a more efficient scorer or as Curry’s superior?

Not quite. Harden was able to accumulate more points on fewer made field goals due to one crafty maneuver that the bearded one has mastered: baiting the referees into sending him to the free throw line by forcefully entangling himself with the defense after driving to the hoop. Here’s an illustration of Harden’s propensity for drawing fouls in a game versus the Memphis Grizzlies last year.

This cunning tactic by the Beard is beneficial for him as well as his team in a couple of ways. First, it allows Harden to accumulate easy points at the free throw line without bombarding the basket with less efficient shots from the field. Harden’s herky-jerky style, in addition to getting him to the line, puts the opposition in foul trouble often, which relegates the opposition to compromise on defense — or sub out their best players.

Nonetheless, Harden’s tactical offensive style has occasionally proved to harm his team. In a Western Conference rivalry matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden had a chance to tie the game with a three pointer; however, it didn’t appear as though Harden was aiming to make the shot. He heaved up an off-balanced shot from beyond the arc — kicked out his leg to exaggerate contact — and immediately threw a tantrum at the nearest referee for not blowing the whistle before the shot even had a chance to hit the rim.

Harden’s heavy dependence on the refs for bail via foul calls was exposed during the 2014 NBA playoffs. Defenses are heavily enforced and referees are reluctant to blow their whistles in the postseason. Consequently, Harden was forced to rely on his errant step-back jumpers during last seasons playoffs as his shooting percentages from the field dipped to a horrendous 37.6 percent. Of course, Harden’s offensive success isn’t purely predicated on whether or not the refs discern to send him to the charity stripe. He’s an expert at utilizing the eurostep to get around his defender and score buckets.

The fact that he’s also a 36.6 percent shooter from deep renders Harden as a strenuous matchup for even the most elite defenders — thus explicating his lofty 25 point average; however, while Harden’s offensive ref-baiting tactic boosted his PPG and allowed him to score more points than Curry, it proved to be a double-edged sword. Besides, Stephen Curry actually generated more points for his team than Harden did when one factors in assists.

Curry’s 8.5 assists per game easily trump Harden’s 6.1 assists from last season. Curry generated a total of 19.2 points for the Golden State Warriors solely through his facilitating prowess, per NBA.com/Stats. Add that number to his point average and you’ll find that Curry created a total of 43.2 points per game last season.

Harden contributed an inferior 14.5 points through his assists, and generated a total of 39.9 points for the Rockets. Moreover, while Curry turned the ball over just 0.2 more times than Harden, his 2.27 assist to turnover ratio eclipses Harden’s assist to turnover ratio of 1.68, rendering Harden as more prone to turn the ball over in his possession than Curry.

Furthermore, the efficient Stephen Curry is a more prolific shooter than Harden in every sense of the word. Curry attempted more 3s than Harden at nearly eight attempts per game, and shot a much higher percentage from beyond the arc at 42 percent. Curry also garnered a higher percentage from the field, on pull up field goals, catch and shoot field goals, PER (player efficiency rating), and he produced more win shares than the Beard. His combination of volume and efficiency when it pertains to creating his own shot is unprecedented.

He already surpassed Ray Allen‘s record for 3-pointers made in a single season by connecting on 272 shots from deep in 2013. Curry even accomplished this feat with more efficiency than Allen, who was predominantly a catch and shoot player. What separates Curry from every shooter who’s ever trodden the NBA’s hardwood floor? The explosive bomber doesn’t need much assistance from his teammates — Curry creates his own shots off the dribble as well as off of pick and roll sets without needing his teammates to set him up, in addition to catching and shooting. Insane.

If you’ve ever witnessed Curry catch a rhythm with his shot then you’d agree with the sentiment that Curry’s 3-point shooting barrage electrifies the Oracle Arena like fireworks. To say that Curry is the greatest shooter of all-time, despite his lack of longevity, is hardly an outlandish claim to me. His eye-popping shooting versatility has simply never been seen before.

Some aspects of Curry’s game that can be illuminated amid all of the commotion over his shooting, although they go under the radar, are his exquisite ball-handling skill and driving ability. Curry wouldn’t have led the league in eFG% on pull up shots with 53.6 percent (minimum of 1.5 makes per game) if it weren’t for his shrewd ball-handling skills, which also enable him to slither through the defense and to the hoop. Although Harden is seemingly more adept at taking the ball to the hole, he shot 48.6 percent on his drives, while Curry connected on 50.9 percent performing such attempts.

It’s logical to assume that Curry has exceptional efficiency on his drives because he rarely drives the ball to the hole compared to Harden, but that’s not the case. Curry drove to the basket 6.1 times per game, hardly trailing Harden’s 6.7 drives.

While Harden is like a dervish with the basketball in the sense that he flails his arms around while driving to the hoop and snaps his head back to illicit a foul call from the referees, Curry whirls around like a dervish off-the-ball on offense as he fights through screens to free himself for open shots — which allows him to generate incredible spacing for his teammates.

Thus, Curry’s 3-point shooting prowess goes beyond simply accumulating points for himself. His limitless range opens lanes and exasperates opposing defenses — which mitigates the offensive workload for Curry’s teammates. It’s part of the reason why a limited offensive player like Klay Thompson — who depends heavily on his teammates to create scoring opportunities for him on the perimeter — was able to score 20 points per game uber efficiently last season.

Curry’s offensive dexterity perfectly encapsulates the very nature of today’s game. Although both Harden and Curry are incredible offensive talents, Golden State’s baby-faced assassin is the more potent player in every facet of the game when put up against the bearded maestro.

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Houston Rockets: Houston’s Beard Vs. Golden State’s Baby-Face

By jasaad | Sep 28, 2014