Pacers' Paul George is 'not a fan of analytics'
Paul George of the Indiana Pacers would not be the first professional athlete to be critical of advanced metrics in sport. That's not surprising when the analytics movement deems a player's bread-and-butter move as "inefficient."
George currently ranks second in the NBA in shot attempts from 15-19 feet, otherwise known as the midrange. It's a shot that has taken a backseat in popularity among analytics types for several reasons, none of which impress the two-time All-Star.
"I'm not a fan of analytics," George told the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner. "The greatest player to ever play this game was a midrange jump shooter in Michael Jordan. At that time no one had nothing to say. It's about what's best for that player and what's the skill set of that player. We have a lot of guys who are more than capable at shooting well from the midrange. So I don't know what to say about analytics. It works for some systems. I'm not a believer of analytics."
The reason the midrange shot has lost its luster since the Jordan era (in addition to rule changes) is the simple mathematics that the metrics movement is based upon. It is more efficient to take a higher-percentage shot close to the basket, or create an open trey attempt, because hitting it is worth three points instead of two.
That said, like all shots in general, the midrange jumper still has value if it is efficiently sunk, and not turned into a high-volume item. In George's case this season, his shot in general - midrange or outside - does better from the left side.
George's stats are also reflective of the Pacers' choice to not frequently use the sixth-year franchise player at power forward, something widely discussed before the season.
"I've been at the three," George told Buckner. “They've been putting C.J. (Miles), Chase (Budinger) ... at the four spot, and for me it's just been giving me an open field just with more space, more room to break my guy down and create."
George still finds himself leading the Pacers in rebounds at 8.8 per game - while hitting 38.3 percent of his 3-point shots.
- With h/t to ProbasketballTalk