Being a Harden fan since the OKC days, I couldn't help but dig into the recent chatter about the Clippers potentially regretting trading for him. The idea had me questioning if he's truly underperforming. I mean, he's surrounded by more stars now, so maybe the dip in stats is just a result of fewer minutes on the court, right? Well, I crunched the numbers, and here's the breakdown:
Minutes Per Game 2022 vs. 2023:
36.81 v 32.12 : A notable dip of 12.8%
Points Per Minute 2022 vs. 2023:
0.570 v 0.467 : A substantial drop of 18.1%
Assists Per Minute 2022 vs. 2023:
0.289 v 0.131 : A significant decline of 54.7%
Sure, Harden's clocking in less time on the court, but the stats don’t lie. His points and assists per minute are taking a hit. Hoping more time on the team can turn this trend around, but for now, the criticism might just be hitting the mark.
Here’s the spreadsheet I’m working with for anyone interested. https://sportwise.rolling-insights.com/app/dataSpaces/6555344f45b6fe00350a9ab8?v=dfeb2c00-83fd-11ee-a604-27878e3d2b3d
I feel like any other player would have spent time with the g-league until they were game ready. Man looks so slow out there