Harden and Lebron’s Big Nights

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Sunday night, James Harden had a monster game: 56 points, 13 assists. He was 19-25 from the field (7-8 on three’s, 11-12 from the foul line). There’s really no need for anyone to further prove how awesome a game this is but it does provide a good test case for effective field goal percentage.

Quick reminder, effective field goal percentage is defined as (FG + 0.5*3FG)/FGA.

He shot 76% just using standard field goal percentage. But when accounting for the three-pointers, he’s up to 90% for effective field goal percentage.

To contrast, Friday night, Lebron put up 57 points on 23-34 from the field. That’s an outstanding 68% field goal percentage but with just two three’s that night, his effective field goal percentage is only marginally better at 71%.

Two amazing players, two amazing games and a great way to show how effective field goal percentage can make a distinction between the two performances.