Can you guys guess who it was? The results will vary based on the minimum criteria. Click the spoiler tag to see the results. #1 iso scorers with at least 164 attempts (2x 82 games): Spoiler 1. Kyrie Irving (1.09 PPP) 2. James Harden (1.01 PPP) 3. Damian Lillard (0.99 PPP) 4. Louis Williams (0.97 PPP) 5. Carmelo Anthony (0.95 PPP) #1 iso scorers with at least 123 attempts (1.5x 82 games): Spoiler 1. Kyrie Irving (1.09 PPP) 2. Jamal Crawford (1.07 PPP) 3. James Harden (1.01 PPP) 4. Damian Lillard (0.99 PPP) 5. Chris Bosh (0.98 PPP) #1 iso scorers with at least 82 attempts (1x 82 games): Spoiler 1. Kyrie Irving (1.09 PPP) 2. Jamal Crawford (1.07 PPP) 3. Derrick Rose (1.05 PPP) 4. James Harden (1.01 PPP) 5. Reggie Jackson (1.01 PPP) Based on PPP (points per possession), Kyrie Irving was the best in the league at isolations. Jamal Crawford was #2 if you lower the minimum criteria to 123 attempts, which was a bit surprising to me since he sucked so much this past season. James Harden was also one of the league's best, but what makes his more impressive was the sheer number of isolations. He had 451 isolations this past season, which was the most in the league. LeBron had the 2nd most attempts, and even he trailed by more than 25%. Harden had more than double the attempts of anyone else on this list. Our very own Lou Williams had the 2nd most attempts on this list at 214. This is also based on PPP. So, as you might imagine, Harden's FG% is actually low (39.7 FG%). He was not the only player with a sub-40 FG%. Our very own Lou Will shot a terrible 36 FG%. Crawford was also a low 40.4 FG%. Harden, Crawford, and Lou ranked high on PPP because as you might suspect, those 3 also have one of the highest FT frequencies. On the other side of the spectrum, Rose has the highest eFG%, which doesn't take into consideration free throws.
Realistically, next season Kobe will be first in attempts...easily. Whether he can be efficient remains to be seen. He was absolutely awful last season, regardless if the shot was contested or not. But I hope he wants to go out on a high note and let others do the heavy lifting. We need him as a leader and mentor more than a scorer because this team isn't primed to go anywhere this next season.
Last year Kobe was first on the Lakers in shot attempts if I'm not mistaken...in 35 games that is... he shot more shots in 35 games than any Laker in the entire season.
I think most of the team kept getting hurt right? I think Randle and Nick are the only two on the team capable/willing to shoot that much so I guess that makes sense. Lin definitely wasn't going to do it.
Kobe had the most attempts until April, I believe. Boozer and Hill actually lead the team in FGA. Yes, both statements are hilariously ridiculous. Also, Kobe's isolation attempts were pretty high last season, but he wasn't #1 in attempts so I don't think he will be #1 next year with (hopefully) limited minutes. I do hope he plays smarter though. Kobe gets (or used to get) a good chunk of his points in isolations. He also used to lead the league in PPP in isolations. It's difficult for someone to change their style of play drastically, and since I doubt Kobe can be that isolation master he used to be, I can see some struggles ahead. But, if Byron learned from his idiotic mistake and starts to limit Kobe's minutes, maybe we can see flashes of greatness during his spot minutes. Fatigue was a big part of Kobe's struggles. His efficiency dipped every single quarter. It also dipped as the season went on. Last Year's Stats: Top 10 Isolation FGA (Per Game) Code: 1. Harden: 5.6 2. LeBron: 5.2 3. Melo: 5.0 4. Kobe: 4.4 5. Tyreke: 4.0 6. Cousins: 3.3 7. Westbrook 3.0 8. Gay: 2.9 9. Bosh: 2.8 10. DeRozan: 2.8 Harden, Melo, and LeBron attempted the most. Then, Kobe and Tyreke were in that next tier. After them, the rest hovered close to the 3.0 mark. From that list, here are the most effective to least effective in terms of PPP. Code: 1. Harden: 1.01 2. Bosh: 0.98 3. Melo: 0.95 4. Gay: 0.93 5. LeBron: 0.93 6. Westbrook: 0.86 7. Derozan: 0.85 8. Cousins: 0.84 9. Kobe: 0.83 10. Tyreke: 0.80
