Austin Reaves Discussion: How Much Is He Worth?

You could put those stats up against Kobe and it'd also make Kobe look bad.

I love stats but let's be honest, it's easier to score in today's game.

Kobe would be averaging 40 PPG, in my humble opinion, if he truly wanted.

Back then, 45% efficiency as a guard was good. Nowadays, you shoot 45% from the field as a guard and you're labeled as very inefficient.

 

It’s fun and huge props to AR for stepping up and doing his best at what’s now needed from him with Luka and LeBron out …. but comparing the sample size of his 4 games to Mike’s and LeBron’s full seasons same year is silly. Doesn’t make AR’s performance so far with this next year’s continuing performance increase less mind bottling though.

 

We have a new GOAT lol

 

This may or may not be true, depending on what years we're comparing. Pace was actually higher in MJ's 1st 5 years than the modern game (using last 2 years for reference). So when MJ had his highest scoring years, it was actually easier to score than in the modern game.

Pace declined in the 90's, approx 2-3 possessions lower during MJ's 1st 3 chips, which would only mean a difference of 2-3 pts/gm per team, and 0.5-1 pts/gm for a superstar player. Not an enormous difference. By MJ's 2nd 3 chips, pace had declined by 6-7 possessions/gm, for about 2-2.5 pts/gm for a superstar player.

It stayed relatively similar throughout the 2000's and early 2010's, maybe 1 possession lower at times. The net effect on a superstar player would almost always have been less than 3 pts/gm though. Pace didn't really start appreciably increasing until 2014, peaking in 2020, and coming down a little since then.

Anyway, for a quick and dirty, when comparing today's points scored vs 1995-2013 or so, you can basically add 2-3 pts to the 1995-2013 players' stats. Which is significant, although not as significant as some make it out to be.





https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_stats_per_game.html

Well, 35.4 pts/gm year would be equivalent to around 38.6 pts/gm today, so maybe. That was an outlier year though when few teammates could score much. The years he won championships, the most he averaged was 28.5 pts/gm, which would be 30.8 in today's game.

From 2, yes. Overall, depends on 3p volume. For example, is Ant inefficient?

Last season: 44.7 FG%, 39.5 3P%, 83.7 FT%, 50.1 2P%, 54.7 eFG%, 59.5 TS%

 

There's a new sheriff in town folks.

Rooves is the real first option on the lakers. Luka and Lebron have to settle for third and fourth option touches now.

 

Of the Lakers you'd think might be in the top 5 for points and assists, I'd have placed Reaves not on the list. Only Luka and Bron.

this is just darn impressive regardless of sample size. Kudos young man.

 

I think it will be Wemby or Shai but he should be in the running for sure.

 

Yeah, 4 GAMES!!! If he can do it for 82 games, I will be very impressed.

 

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_stats_per_game.html

So we can go by TS% which takes into account efficiency of 2P, 3P, and FT.

It's much higher today than it was in the 2000's.

Pace alone wouldn't tell the full story. For one, Kobe would have been averaging a higher % from 3 but he was brought up in an era where 3 point shooting wasn't as heavy as it is today so he was mainly the midrange guy. I wouldn't say scoring is easier but I would say the opportunities are easier. Defenders are so worried about the 3 point shot and have to cover so much area that inevitably, if the ball and players move to where they should, someone is going to be wide open. So there's a lot more "wide open shots" even if the defense is played well.

In 2005, only 20 players scored above 20 PPG. last year, 34 players scored above 20 PPG. Booker is a good player. A very good one. But he's no Kobe. Yet, he puts up Kobe-like numbers.
Same with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

Look at Dwyane Wade. He didn't put up close to the numbers Harden has put up but at his prime, he was better than Harden.

These numbers are just very easy to pile up these days. Scoring 20 PPG in 2000's was difficult. I remember checking the newspapers and if someone scored 25 PPG, that would be considered a dominant game. Now, you need to score at least 35 to get that same level of recognition because 25 points is so common.