https://sports.yahoo.com/daryl-morey-rockets-james-harden-michael-jordan-233839811.htmlGot into a little FB discussion with people about this. Had to educate them...
Morey is a numbers guy, and at the end of the day his statement is factual if you're going on numbers….
Harden averaged 36.1 PPG this season (on 24.5 FGA), while posting a 61.6% True Shooting percentage. He averaged 11 free throw attempts per game (keep this in mind for those of you that complain about him living at the free throw line).
Now, let’s look at Jordan. He had two seasons where he averaged 35+ per game, 35 and 37.1 PPG to be exact. Let’s look at the one season where he averaged more points per game than Harden, 37.1 PPG. In that season he attempted over 3 more shots per game (27.8 FGA), and he posted a much lower True Shooting percentage of 56.2%. In that same season Jordan averaged 11.9 free throw attempts per game, more than James Harden averaged this past season.
In reality, you can compare any 4 year span in the prime of Jordan’s career to the past 4 seasons for Harden (compare similar age/experience at the same points), and Harden scores just as much, taking fewer shots per game, shooting at a considerably higher eFG% and TS%. This is why Morey is saying what he's saying, for anyone that is confused.