If Zion keeps snacking Darius might just be the 2nd best player out of that draft behind Morant….
Comparing Darius and Ja might be interesting. They're so different in their approach to the game offensively. Let's look at offense.
FT%
Ja: 75.4% career.
Darius: 86.4% career.
On the subject of FTs: Ja is a high flying rim-attacker who averages 5.3 FTA. Darius only averages 2 FTA career (2.5 this season). 62% of Ja's FGA take place 0-10 feet from the rim. Darius only attempts 40% of his shots from that range.
3P%
Ja: 32.3% career on 3.4 3PA.
Darius: 37.8% career on 5.3 3PA.
On the subject of 3s. Darius shot 35% his rookie season. 39.5% last year. and 39.2% thus far this year. The trendline is highly favorable. Versus Ja who shot 33%, 30%, and currently 35.6% on increasing volume each season. Some detractors would point out that Ja has only been assisted on 56% of his career 3P, and Garland 66%, and somehow this can explain the difference. To which I say: that's what you get for being a ballhog. but seriously, that number is down to 49% for Darius this season. He's running the show and creating his 3P shot more than it's being created for him now. and it's still going in.
Ja averages 7.3 assists per game career. Darius = 5.3. Ja came in as something of a finished product in this regard. Being healthy also helps. Garland has been slower to develop, but he's caught up.
Seasons 1 through 3: 3.9 -> 6.1 -> 7.2. We can look at potential assists and all that, but for the sake of saving digital ink, I'm just gonna call this a draw. They both pass the eye test as legit floor generals even if they do it a little differently.
Turnovers are basically a wash. Ja's are a touch higher but he also has high usage.
Ja is clearly a more physical player and this likely accounts for his superior rebounding numbers. As does being a rim attacker. You're closer to the rim on drives and kicks, you can get your own misses easier, etc.
Last note:
Darius seems to be about a year behind Ja in raw production. This makes sense due to the nature of Darius's injuries. Ja averaged 19.1 pts last season on 15.2 FGA per game. Darius this season: 19.5 pts on 15.4 FGA. Ja is averaging 5 more PPG this season, but he's also taking 3 more shots per game. We just need to keep unleashing Darius the scorer and I'm sure the gap can be bridged. If we go on effective FG% that takes 3Ps being more valuable than 2Ps into account, Darius appears to have surpassed Ja as an efficient scorer already.
