But when you throw in things like elite defense, rebounding, court vision, play making, effiecient scoring along with great passing , you have a generational player like Simmons. Everyone agrees He is special player.
Simmons is a special player, I don't think anyone is denying that. We are talking about Rookie of the year. You mention, court vision, play making, great passing. They are all the same thing, NOT 3 different categories.
Lets talk about efficient scoring.
Simmons- Attempted 11 3PT field goals and missed all of them. Last time I checked an efficient scorer makes shots. His stat line tells you that he is so bad from 3, he wont even attempt one and when he does, he misses. Is that efficient?
Mitchell- Breaks the NBA ALL TIME 3 point record by making 187 3 pointers his first season. That's exactly 187 more than Simmons (So simple even you can understand).
In other words, the most EFFICIENT 3 POINT RECORD BY A ROOKIE EVER!!!
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Lets move on to efficient scoring. Free throws are scoring in its finest. Free throws win games, lets see how they stack up.
Simmons- 191 made and 341 attempted. I know you may be thinking this number is wrong because its so low. Nope, its right. He can't shoot the only shot in the NBA that they give to you for "free".
Mitchell- 239 made and 297 attempted. He attempted 44 less than Simmons the Savior, but made 48 more.
Points Per Game-
Simmons- 15.8
Mitchell- 20.5
Field Goals
Simmons- 544 made out of 998, keeping in mind that all 544 were 2 point baskets @ 54% and although that is good, it should be, seeing how, 90% of his shots were taken within a 15 ft range.
Mitchell- 595 made out of 1362 attempted, with 187 of those being a 3 point shot, that Simmons couldn't hit a single one of.
Even though, I am not a huge believer in stats, because I think that stats can be misconceived by the uneducated. I watched my first game as a child in 1988 and have been hooked ever since. Not just watching, but studying. I think it is obvious when I say, some will tell and some will fail. There are many stats that their importance is "fluffed" and others where they will tell you the strengths and weaknesses of an entire team.
Court Vision? Lets get in!! Don't speak unless your delivering facts. I'll take the time, you didn't. I'll express the passion you didn't, I'll show this beautiful love for the game of basketball that you didn't.
Stats that I believe mean little to nothing in this day in age of basketball,
The Triple Double.
Something that many players are able to do in todays NBA, that used to be something of a "special stat".
Why do I think this? Easy,,,,,,, Math.
Lets remove the teammates of triple double stat creators admitting to "stat padding". Lets say they go away from the equation even though they have called out their teammates numerous times over the last couple of years.
I want to remove them completely. Because stat padding has been going on since the days of stat tracking.
Todays game is a different game from years ago. Every play is boiled down to possessions per game, and since the exit of the hand check defense, defense in itself has become something of a lost art in the NBA.
We can't deny that there are more possessions. We can't deny that players are more athletic. We can only question talent, work ethic and drive.
I know players today are more athletic, than in the NBA heyday. But I would say that they weren't more talented, I wouldn't say that they work harder on or off the court, and I wouldn't say that they are more driven.
From 1990-2016 the total combined triple double's from every player of every year has averaged 39.1 combined triple doubles per year.
For the last 2 years (2017-2018) the total combined triple average is 112.5.
Is there really talent enough to support a 287% increase in the past 2 years.
The pace of the game and non existent defense being implemented has led to an insane growth of triple doubles, making the stat useless when it comes to evaluating special players.
What am I saying? The triple double stat is watered down!
Westbrook 42
Harden 22
James 13
Jokic 6
D. Green 5
Elfrid Payton had 5 triple doubles last year!! Elfrid Payton!!!
Greek Freak 3
J. Randle 3
Butler 2
Cousins 2
M. Gasol 2
and there were 12 players with 1 triple double.
The triple double stat isn't special!
Simmons, had a hurt foot for 2 months and the team decided to keep him out the whole year, to practice with the team, 5 on 5's, learn chemistry, and here he is excelling in a talentless Eastern Conference, Where the biggest names are Simmons, Embiid, and James.
2 of the biggest names are on one team in a low talent eastern conference.
