Hoopinion: Comparing Josh Smith and LeBron James

[Hawksquawk]

There were only two players in the league this season with a Block Rate above 2% and a Steal Rate above 2.0% and an Assist Rate over 13% and a Total Rebound Rate over 10%. (HT: TrueHoop)

Those two players are Josh Smith and LeBron James and Smith has the higher rate in three of the four categories. Impressive, no?

If only scoring weren't so important.

This season, James scored a league-leading 39.9 points per 100 on court offensive possessions with a TS% of 60.4% (12th in the league). Josh Smith scored 23.7 points per 100 on court offensive possessions with a TS% of 53.6% (the league average was 54.3%). James' assist rate was more than twice Smith's and James posted the lower turnover rate (12.3% to 14.3%).

The lesson: Josh Smith isn't comparable to LeBron James but he may be more comparable than almost anyone else in the league.

View the full article