I'm obviously referring to Basketball IQ. He's not the biggest, he's not the fastest, he doesn't jump the highest, he's not the strongest(well maybe pound for pound he is). However, he seems to be the best at whatever he wants to do. Remember when he was known for having the best Eurostep? No one even talks about that anymore. Remember when he was just a shooting guard? Now he's the best passer in the NBA. Remember when he used to get all his fouls going to the rim? Now he gets them on 3 pointers and he shoots more 3 pointers than any other shot. Every season there is something new and totally unstoppable. Wait until next year when he tells us that he was right handed all along and he was playing with his left for the challenge. Play him close, he drives to the rim for an easy layup. Bring help at the rim, he throws an easy alley-oop to the Capela. Slack off of him, he hits a 3. Double him, he finds an open man. The guy just knows how to take whatever the defense gives him in big portions. I think the only way to get beat Harden is to tire him out over a series.
He’s up there. Coincidentally one of the guys i’d put up there with Beard, if not better, is CP3. Conley, Lebron, Wade, Kawhi, Jrue all come to mind.
Just like athleticism, BBall-IQ is pretty useless if you can’t use it on the court, effectively. Like Quarterbacks in Football, who might know what they should do, but can’t react fast enough to make the right choice. Another analogy is me with Women. I might have proper Relationship IQ, and know the right decision to make, but when in heat of The Game, I just don’t see the play unfolding sometimes....you know, like ”Man down on Aisle Three” bro. The ability for Harden to slow down the game and use his BBall-IQ is tremendous, and what separates him from guys who we traditionally call smart — like Steve Kerr as a player.
BB-IQ implies being to be able to do it on the court in comparison to a certain Harvard educated basketball player who can't do it on the court when the lights are on.
NBA reddit, would like u to believe that Harden isn't a smart player but a dumb flopper who only earn his points via free throw. The amount of disrespect and salt that Harden gets from the haters is quite astounding.
Even if Harden and Lin were sitting in a Film Room together, breaking down a game in slo-mo, Lin could not figure out how to beat a given defense as well as Harden. Even measured by Armchair IQ methods: Harden > Lin. Harden > Rubio too, for same reason.
I’d say it’s up there with Bron Bron and CP3. Those three are arguably the only three players who can control/dictate the tempo and pace of a game. Unlike LeBron though, Harden can shoot and unlike CP3, Harden has size. Overall his combination of smarts, size, handles, passing, and shooting makes him the best player in the league.
I’d say it’s up there with Bron Bron and CP3. Those three are arguably the only three players who can control/dictate the tempo and pace of a game. Unlike LeBron though, Harden can shoot and unlike CP3, Harden has size. Overall his combination of smarts, size, handles, passing, and shooting makes him the best player in the league.
Above and beyond the Xs and Os, Harden’s IQ mirrors his broad skill set. He is capable of seeing more because he is also capable of doing more. Look at how well he creates. And then how well breaks defenders AND defenses down. I think strategy gamers might call him tactically savvy. Strategically I think we have to look back to CP3 Dantoni and Bzedelik.
That’s more a function of his usage rate and his position is kind of undefined, if not revolutionary. I mean the dude was averaging almost 30 ppg and over 11 assists just two years ago? When was the last time we seen that?
Seriously though - if he looked like Steve Nash, this wouldn’t even be a question and he’d have 3 MVPs. The narrative would be how he overcame his limitations to dominate the league in a totally unique way. Of course, his core strength and foot/hand coordination are absolutely elite, but that isn’t as noticeable or sexy as Westbrook firing himself out of a cannon with reckless abandon.
Lol thank you, now I can use facts when arguing with friends but to bad the media doesnt have the balls to show that
What's truly amazing thing about Oscar Robertson and Tiny Archibald when they scored as much as Harden with equal assists is they had Zero turnovers. Spoiler The NBA didn't start recording turnovers untill 1977-78.
One, that's more about usage percentage than anything so you can't just compare him to low usage guys and call it a fair comparison.... and two the number by itself doesn't speak to how much offense he creates when we does have the ball in his hands. A turnover is bad, but if Harden alone generates 26+pts in a quarter from scoring or assisting and has a couple of turnovers, you will take those two turnovers every quarter with that type of production.
