Why is the Clippers a better choice for Holladay over Harden?

This article was compiled from: The Athletic

Written by Law Murray

原标题：Why Jrue Holiday might be a better option for the Clippers than James Harden

Harden or Holladay? If the Clippers were faced with a choice of two choices, who should they choose? On September 29, Beijing time, Law Murray, a member of the Clippers, believes that Holladay is likely to be a better choice, and analyzes and compares this topic——

1. Attack with the ball

Harden is arguably the league's player with the largest percentage of singles on the ball, and he is better at singles than Holladay. In terms of creating free throw opportunities, while Harden is averaging less than his career peak of 6.2 free throws this season, it's still a lot more than Holladay (2.6 per game last season).

However, Holladay is more efficient than 79% of players in the league in blocking and scoring as a point guard, and his back-to-back singles efficiency far exceeds that of Harden last season.

Due to Middleton's injury, Holladay took on more offensive responsibility last season and became the second choice on Alphabet's side, and he himself was selected as an All-Star for the first time in 10 years.

2. Offense off the ball

Half-court offense, neither Harden nor Holladay did well last season, but Holladay did well with limited fixed-point projection. His catch-and-shoot three-point shooting percentage is 45.4 percent, Harden's same stats are 41.4 percent, and Holladay is more willing to run than Harden, so when Holladay is on the floor, the Bucks can play 102.8 rounds per 48 minutes, but with Harden on the floor, the 76ers only have 96.1 rounds per 48 minutes. In addition, Holladay's ability to finish in the box is also stronger than Harden, and his shooting rate inside the box is as high as 68.3%, compared to Harden's 57.6%.

One concern is that Holladay has not been doing well in the playoffs in recent years, a weakness that Harden often mentions. In last season's playoffs, Harden shot 39.3 percent from the field and 42.4 percent in his career, while in his three-year playoff season in Milwaukee, Holladay shot just 39.6 percent from the field, including 30.4 percent from three-point range. In the first round of last season's game against the Heat, Holladay shot 40 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range.

3. Stature and comprehensiveness

Although Holladay weighs nearly 7kg less than Harden, his defense is significantly better, in part because Holladay is willing and able to defend tall players. Holladay has been named to the All-Defensive Team five times, and last season was his third All-Defensive First Team selection.

Last season, even playing in the relatively conservative Bucks defensive system, Holladay averaged 1.2 steals per game. He averaged just 1.7 fouls per game, a career low. He's also a decent backcourt rebounder, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game.

The Bucks conceded 4.1 fewer points per 100 rounds last season when Holidayre was on the floor, while the 76ers conceded 2.6 more points per 100 last season when Harden was on the floor.

Holladay's defensive ability is significantly better than Harden's, especially when defending without the ball and defensively blocking.

4. Contract Details and Others

Harden executed the player option, his salary is $35.6 million next season, and he will become a free agent in 2024. Holladay's contract for the new season is $34.9 million, and the 2024-25 season is a player option, which is the same as George and Leonard. Another obvious difference is that Harden has to be a free agent to sign and cannot be renewed early this season.

In terms of word of mouth in recent years, Holladay is better than Harden. In February, Tyronn Lew publicly praised Holladay as an underrated defender, similar to Andre Miller. He did defend very well, against Xiaoka, defended the opponent to 2 of 9, and then played again, Xiaoka missed George, who shot 8-of-23 from the field and shot 1-of-5 against Holladay's defense.

Law Murray thinks Holladay is a better fit for the Clippers than Harden, what do you think?