5 NBA Stats to Know From the Last Week
The Oklahoma City Thunder Should Consider Sharing the Ball
You can't talk advanced statistics without talking usage rate.
As a refresher, usage rate -- a.k.a. usage percentage -- is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor. In English, that translates to, "If a dude has a high usage rate, he hogs the ball."
Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George all have high usage rates.
Westbrook's 33.3% usage rate ranks third among players who have played a minimum of 30 minutes. Anthony's 27.4% mark places him 19th, and George's 25.7% clip is 24th.
OKC is the only team in the Association with three players ranked in the top 25 in usage, and the trifecta of ball dominance hasn't worked out well. Despite a +9.5 point differential, the Thunder have started the season 3-3.
Here's the visible manifestation of Westbrook's personal usage.
Westbrook's Usage Chart https://t.co/1sgLYiGKWo pic.twitter.com/0misTw0THi
— Krishna Narsu (@knarsu3) October 28, 2017
Yeah, that looks pretty scary. Might be time to give Steven Adams some more touches.
Paul George ——> Steven Adams
8 straight points to open up the second half for Big Kiwi. pic.twitter.com/glSXCob3Q2
— Up The Thunder (@UpTheThunder) October 28, 2017