James Harden finished 2nd in MVP voting last season and was the rock for a Rockets roster decimated by injury. Harden handled the ball, created his own shot and opportunities for others.
First, let us note the overall impact of Harden. His offensive rating was the best on the team. The Rockets were 14.9% more efficient offensively with Harden on the court.
With Harden on the court, the team’s effective field goal percentage was better by rate of 7.4%, its rebound percentage was better by a rate of 3.7% and the turnover rate went down 3.7%.
Without Harden on the court, the Rockets simply couldn’t score. Houston’s offensive rating without Harden plummeted to 93.7, worse than the overall offensive efficiencies of 29 teams (76ers).
Defensively, the Rockets were actually were 5.8% less efficient with Harden on the court. When combining the overall pieces of the puzzle, the Rockets were +5.8 points per 100 possessions with Harden on the court and -2.4 with him off the court.
The offensive end is where Harden shined. While his overall real plus/minus ranked third in the league, it’s a bit deceiving. His offensive real plus/minus not only led the NBA, but did so by a lot – 11.2% better than Stephen Curry. And while he was 1st in offensive real plus/minus, he was 207th in defensive real plus/minus, slightly below the league average.
Blake Griffin, LeBron James and Harden were the only non-point guards in the top 20 in touches per game (min. 50 games played). Harden’s 6.0 minutes per game with the ball in his hands was second to LeBron James (6.1) among non-point guards.
Many will point to Harden’s isolations as a detriment. Harden isolated on 25.5% of his plays, the highest percentage in the NBA. It averages out to 6.8 times per game, most in the league. With Harden’s near-legendary ability to draw fouls, his efficiency in isolations when single-covered was actually fifth in the league (min. 100 isolations).
What pundits fail to realize is that the Rockets were more efficient on Harden’s passes out of isolations. The Rockets were 1.2% more efficient when Harden passed to a teammate on isolation plays rather than attempting to score.
On the season, an incredible 19.5% of his passes led directly to an assist, free throw assist or secondary assist. That was third in the NBA (Chris Paul, Ty Lawson).
Among players who played at least 50 games, Harden’s usage percentage was fifth. That was behind only Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, DeMarcus Cousins and LeBron James.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.