Looking Into "PER" Statistic....
LeBron James is having the best season in modern NBA history.
This may seem like a preposterous statement, highly subjective without reasonable supporting evidence. Sort of like saying James is good.
But no, it is real and can be backed up, and his pursuit of history ought to be followed as this season develops. Right now, James is even performing at a higher level statistically than Michael Jordan ever did.
Insane, right? How can this possibly be said? Well, read on.
A decade ago, a basketball fan and math wiz named John Hollinger invented the Player Efficiency Rating, or PER. It is essentially an equalizer in statistically comparing NBA players.
Hollinger factors in positive accomplishments, such as field goals, free throws, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. Then he deducts negative plays such as missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls. He also created a formula to view the player on a per-minute basis and also factors in the pace or number of possessions per game. This is so players are not penalized for being on teams that play slower.
He sets it so the league average is a PER of 15.00.
So now we get to what James is doing. You can look at his stat line this season and see he's averaging 27.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists. These numbers all represent a drop from last season and that may lead some to deduce he's not playing as well.
In fact, there already is a bit of a groundswell for guard Dwyane Wade, who is having a remarkable comeback season with the Miami Heat, to be the early Most Valuable Player favorite as he's taken over the scoring lead from James this season.
But look at Hollinger's PER and see just what James is doing.
Because he's shooting the best percentages of his career from the field (51 percent) and the foul line (80 percent), his steals are up and turnovers are down, all in significantly fewer minutes, James is having a monster season in terms of efficiency.
His PER is 33.67 after 26 games. What does that mean? Well, for one, he's about 15 percent better than any other player in the league. New Orleans' Chris Paul is second at just over 30. Last season, James led the NBA with a 29.23 PER, which was still one of the best ever.
The highest rating of all time belongs to Jordan, who had a 31.71 PER in 1987-88. Hollinger's PER stats go back to 1973-74, when stats like offensive rebounds, steals and blocks were first kept. Turnovers were added in 1978.
"Obviously [James] still has to play two-thirds of a season, and since the schedule gets tougher from here on out he still faces long odds of actually being No. 1 all-time," Hollinger said. "But he is hands down the best player in the league. People think his numbers are down but they're actually up on a per-minute basis, he's just playing fewer minutes."
All of which helps explain why the Cavs are 22-4 with the second-best record in the NBA.
Sure, these are just numbers and cannot account for overall defense, leadership ability, and intensity. But nobody is questioning James on any of those these days, either.
"I do know what the PER is and I do follow it a little bit," James said. "I am not sure what goes into it, but what I know is I have been playing pretty good this season."
Efficiency rating shows James soaring above all - Cleveland.com
