Schuhmann analyses LeBron James' assists numbers, Zion Williamson's dominance in the paint and Chris Paul's late-game efficiency
Tuesday 31 March 2020 08:55, UK
As we wait for basketball to resume, NBA.com's John Schuhmann digs deep into the 2019-20 season's numbers to illustrate the huge impact of LeBron James, Chris Paul and Zion Williamson.
The stat
LeBron James has 172 assists to Anthony Davis.
The context
That's 42 more assists than any other player has to a single team-mate and 30 more assists than James has had to a single team-mate in any of his 16 prior seasons.
At the age of 35, James is averaging a career-high - and also league-leading - 10.6 assists per game. Davis is the biggest reason why. His combination of size, skill and athleticism is unmatched among James' team-mates over 17 seasons.
Prior to 2019-20, the most assists James delivered to a single team-mate in a single season was 142 (Chris Bosh, Heat; 2013-14), and that number was achieved in 870 more minutes together than James and Davis have played together this season.
The 1,317 minutes James and Davis have played together ranks 107th among all two-man combinations this season. But the 4.7 assists per 36 minutes from James to Davis is the most among the 34 combinations where one player has at least 75 assists to the other.
The stat
Zion Williamson has averaged 20.9 points in the paint per 36 minutes, the highest rate for any player (minimum 500 minutes played) in the 24 seasons for which the stat has been tracked.
The context
Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 17.5 points in the paint per game, the highest mark for any player (minimum 40 games played) since Shaquille O'Neal averaged 19.6 in 2002-03. This season, Antetokounmpo has topped his own mark (17.51 vs. 17.47), even though he has averaged almost two fewer minutes per game. His points in the paint per 36 minutes (20.4) would be the highest mark since Shaq averaged 20.8 per 36 in 1998-99, were it not for Williamson's 20.9, the highest mark the NBA has seen in the last 24 seasons.
Williamson made four three-pointers in his debut, but shot 2-for-9 from beyond the arc after that. And he has shot just 2-for-10 from mid-range to start his career. But he has taken 85 per cent of his shots in the restricted area, the fifth-highest rate among 296 players with at least 200 field goal attempts this season.
The No 1 pick in last year's Draft has played just 19 games. His seven games of 20 or more points in the paint matches LeBron James, and is more than Anthony Davis (six), Joel Embiid (one) or James Harden (six).
Williamson's 565 minutes represent a small sample size, and maybe he can't sustain this pace moving forward. But maybe he can. Those 565 minutes are also his initial sample size, and you can certainly make the argument that he'll become more efficient in the paint as he gains experience.
His 63.1 per cent shooting in the restricted area ranks just 53rd among 89 players with at least 200 restricted-area attempts, and if you compare rookie shooting numbers with those of fourth-year players, there's a slightly bigger jump in the restricted area (from 59.9 per cent to 62.7 per cent) than in three-point percentage (33.2 per cent to 35.9 per cent).
The stats
Chris Paul leads the league with 144 points scored in the clutch (when the score is within five points during the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime).
The context
Volume has been a factor. Paul has played a league-high 160 clutch minutes in a league-high 42 clutch games.
But efficiency has been a factor as well. Paul has shot 46-for-86 (53.5 per cent) in those situations, the fourth-best mark among 28 players who have attempted at least 50. That includes a pretty incredible 17-for-27 (63 per cent) from mid-range, as well as a 43-for-46 (93 per cent) showing on clutch free throws, the best mark among 32 players who have attempted at least 25.
There might be some luck baked into that 17-for-27 from mid-range, but it's also an extension of what Paul has done at all points of the game this season. Paul has an effective field goal percentage of 54.2 per cent on pull-up jumpers, the second-best mark among 139 players who have attempted at least 100.
His 1.09 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ball-handler also rank second among 56 players who have averaged at least five ball-handler possessions per game. And his 53.9 per cent from mid-range is the best mark among 79 players with at least 100 such attempts.
In fact, it's the second-best mark on at least 200 attempts in the last 15 seasons, with Kevin Durant's 55.1 per cent last season the only one that tops it.
At the age of 34 and in his 15th season, Paul knows how to take advantage of the way most teams defend the pick and roll. That's a big reason why the Thunder are 29-13 (including 25-5 since November 25) in games that have been within five points during the last five minutes. They rank fifth place in the West with the conference's seventh-best point differential.
