So who is 1-5? That information would tell me whether this stat is worth a [dang]? Second, the fact that the guys behind him are so high on the list given there high usage rates is extremely impressive. More likely than not, increasing Tatum's usage rate would cause him to tumble down this list.
You’re missing the point. LeBron’s been playing in the NBA for nearly as long as Tatum has been walking. But seriously, you can’t compare usage rates of guys who’ve been in the league as long as LeBron (15th season in NBA), Durant (11th), and Curry (9th) to a 19 year old.
Any way you slice it, it’s impressive. His TS% is .649 and his eFG% is .597. For a rookie forward, that’s pretty absurd. His ORtg is 121 and DRtg 101.
Once again, he’s 19!
Hey, I know Tatum looks great. I’m just asking for full disclosure on this stat. If the names at 1-5 aren’t as impressive as the ones immediately behind Tatum then the data is brought into proper perspective.
I think the numbers are in perfectly fine perspective.
Tatum's efficiency is absolutely historical, not just for a rookie, but for any player.
If he was playing 18 MPG and putting up those efficiency numbers in garbage time, then I would say fair enough those numbers should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
But this kid is playing >30 MPG as a starter and core contributor on the best team in the NBA.
- He's leading the league in 3PT shooting at 51%, and he's doing it on 3 attempts per game - it's not like he's taking a three every 2 or 3 games and it's just down to fluke of small sample size. This kid takes quite a large number of threes, and he's hitting them at a higher percentage than anybody else in the NBA.
- He's got almost half as many free throw attempts (99) as he has FGA (238) - that free throw rate ranks him 12th among all nba players.
How do you secure a place as one of the most efficient offensive players in the NBA? By scoring as many points as possible off as little attempts. How do you do that? By getting free additoinal points off three point shots and free throws - and Tatum is pretty much dominating the league in both categories.
You're holding his usage rate against him - I see it the opposite way. Usage rate measures how many plays/possessions a given player uses on offence. Tatum is a guy who can give you points WITHOUT the need to call a lot of plays for him.
How many times have you seen Tatum finish with something like 14 points, then you look at his stats and he's only taken like 4 shots? It just so happens that he he's gone 3-5 from three (9 pts), 3-4 from the foul line (3 points) and 1-2 on twos (2 points).
If you have a kid who can give you 14 points on 4 field goal attempts, that's not something you complain about..that's for sure.