Ok. Since I asked for a split of the first 41 vs the last 41, I decided put my money where my mouth was and took the time to produce them.
Huerter played
38 of the first 41 games and
37 of the final 41. So that's a pretty even split.
Here are the numbers:
- First half: 15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 42% from 3pt
- Second half: 14.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 38% from 3pt
While not drastically worse, it was, in fact, worse in terms of scoring and 3pt shooting.
More importantly, while the 3pt numbers overall the 2nd half were still good, it was the inconsistency that I had remembered and called out. And the overall averages don't tell the story.
Here's what I'm talking about.
During the first half of the season,
he only shot under 33.3% from 3 point range in 8 out of the 38 games he played.
During the second half of the season,
he shot under 33.3 from 3 point range in a whopping 16 of the 37 games he played.
His worse stretch of the season occurred from January 15th through February 10th, just before the all-star break. Which isn't too far out of line with what I remembered and what I mentioned previously.
During that stretch he shot under 33.3% in 9 out of 14 games. And in 2 other games he shot exactly 33.3% from three. So that's poor shooting in 11 out of 14 games.
Here's the most important piece of context.
During the 37 second half games, he had 5 games in which he was hot and hit 5 or more 3's on super high efficiency (4 of those 5 games were included in
@The_Jamal 's small 21 game sample size), which balanced out his 2nd half numbers at 38%.
So while, overall, he did put up good shooting numbers the 2nd half -- which is undeniable -- it is the bolded portion above along with the other 32 games during the 2nd half (when he wasn't hot) that demonstrate the inconsistency I've been talking about.
If you remove the 5 games in which he went 5-9, 6-9, 6-10, 8-11, and 6-12, here's what his scoring and 3pt shooting looks like for the remaining 32 games (much, much higher sample size):
- 12.7 ppg, 61-190 from 3 (32.1%)
For comparisons sake and to be fair, if you remove the 5 statistically best shooting games from his 1st half (with the highest volume of makes) in which he went 7-8, 5-7, 6-9, 5-8, and 6-10 here's what his scoring and 3pt shooting looks like for the remaining 33 games:
- 14.7 ppg, 84-227 from 3 (37%)
That's a CLEAR and NOTABLE difference. Not only was he FAR more consistent from October through early January, he wasn't near as good during the 2nd half of the season as Jamal suggests. He was just really good for 4 of those 21 games.
To further demonstrate and prove that, Huerter's numbers for the other 17 of the 21 total post all-star break games are as follows:
- 10.7 ppg, 36-103 from 3 (35%)
So, factually, he was not better post-all-star break when volume of games is considered. And THAT is precisely what some of us remembered before diving into the actual statistics. Jamal's numbers were heavily influenced by FOUR games. Fact.
Now, someone may wonder why am I so hyperfocused on his 3pt shooting. Well, that's because 41% of Huerter's total FG attempts are from 3pt range (356 of 866). So it's statistically significant. He typically goes how his 3pt shooting goes.
In closing, I stand by what I stated all along. I've backed up the statements I made. I will acknowledge that the overall drop in production wasn't as steep as I felt it would be, but the number of games in which he struggled shooting from deep during the 2nd half backs up what I and others remembered (compared to the first half of the season).
So,
@macadocious @funkykingston @White_Chocolate .... there are your REAL stats.
