We’re now a little more than a week into the NBA season, so there’s been a bit of time for some statistical trends to emerge. Despite the sample sizes still being extremely small, here are several things that have jumped out when it comes to several of the league’s players.
1. It has been ugly for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers through four games. Bryant has missed 40 of his 62 shots overall, is just 7-for-34 from the arc, LA is 0-4 with every loss to a projected lottery team and Kobe said that he freaking sucks and that he’s the 200th-best player in the league.
Bryant has passed the ball 78 times this season and received 110 passes, per NBA.com. This would be good if he could hit shots.
The Lakers are being outscored by 12.9 points per 48 minutes with Bryant on the court and are just minus-6 points per 48 minutes when Kobe is on the bench, per NBA.com. Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated, who you should follow on Twitter, put together a cringe-inducing video of Kobe’s missed 3-pointers so far this season. Enjoy.
2. Call it the Kardashian Kurse? James Harden finished second in MVP voting last season and began dating Khloe Kardashian this summer. He has missed 72 of 102 shots this season, good for 29.4 percent from the field. He also is an unfathomable 9-for-55 from three. That’s 16.4 percent, or less than you should tip at a restaurant.
Look at this shot chart. Just look at it.
Harden is 1-for-21 on those threes from the top of the key. That’s crazy. We could write a whole column on just Harden’s struggles, so let’s stop here.
3. We can also go on and on about Stephen Curry, but let’s focus on his 3-point shooting. His 28 made triples through five games is the highest total in league history. Max Rappaport points out that Curry is on pace to hit 459 threes this season after nailing a record 286 last season.
4. Everyone expected Damian Lillard to be the main beneficiary in Portland after the Blazers lost starters LaMarcus Aldridge, Wes Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez in the offseason. That has happened, with Lillard fifth in the league in scoring at 27.4 points per game. But no one expected he would have a teammate in the top 10.
Shooting guard C.J. McCollum is ninth in scoring at 22.6 points while shooting 48.9 percent, up from 43.6 percent last season. And McCollum has the chance to become one of the league’s elite 3-point marksmen. After shooting 39.6 percent from three a season ago, he is up to 42.4 this season. Not bad for the third-year player from Lehigh.
5. The Hawks have continued their excellent play this season despite losing DeMarre Carroll in free agency over the summer. The main reason? Kent Bazemore!
Bazemore is shooting 45.8 percent from the field through six games and starts – his previous career high is 42.9 percent – and has hit 11 of his 19 3-point attempts. As of right now, it seems like Atlanta can make things work with a patchwork group of Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha and others to replace Carroll at small forward.
6. Orlando’s Evan Fournier – who’s nickname is Don’t Google because don’t Google “Fournier.” Just don’t – is averaging over 20 points per game, is tied for third in the league in minutes played and is 10th in the NBA in made field goals. Not bad for someone who’s going to be a restricted free agent next summer.
7. The last time a non-guard led the NBA in steals was when Shawn Marion did it in the 2006-2007 season. Right now, Atlanta’s Paul Millsap leads the pack, and it would be really cool to see a big man like Millsap end up winning the league’s theft crown.
8. Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, who this reporter interviewed on video before the season, is third in the NBA in usage percentage at 33.3 percent despite coming off the bench. If he continues to come off the bench – he started Wednesday night – he would be the first reserve to rank that high in a long, long time if not ever.
9. Bad news and good news for the Knicks: Carmelo Anthony has hit just 35 of 96 shots this season, which is 36.5 percent from the field. The good news is that teammate Langston Galloway is off to a great early start, leading the league with a 64.7 percent field goal percentage from three. New York should see an improvement once Galloway and rookie Jerian Grant play the bulk of the backcourt minutes instead of the quickly aging Jose Calderon.
10. T.J. McConnell is a rookie point guard for the Sixers, and he made NBA history this week. And not in a bad way, like most Sixers things. McConnell is the first player ever to have at least 12 assists in two of his first four games, per NBA.com. He is currently 11th in the league in total assists.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for SheridanHoops who focuses on analytics, profiles and features. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. You should follow him on Twitter.