Does Harden have the potential to be better than T-Mac in his prime?

IB4TINMAC

 

T-Mac was a an all time great for like 3 seasons..the rest he was an all star living on a superstar name. He was never a superstar in Houston, thanks to JVG's system. I do believe he could have had several more 30ppg years under another coach before finally being worn down. Not many players can stay healthy and play at a high level for so long. In T-Mac's case, he had a deteriorating body coupled with a most likely mental issue or chemical imbalance. I don't believe the whole "mentally weak" phrase people like to throw out.

His incredible physical ability at his size was enough to say he was better than Harden imo. Harden will be all-star level most of his career. He will have the longer career, but he will never be remembered for how incredibly talented he was as T-Mac in his prime. People will always remember him b/c of how well he was marketed by addidas and they will always watch his Orlando day highlights. Harden will be precious to Rockets fans only(if he stays a Rocket till he retires or past prime).

 

If you are talking raw physical ability, the answer is a clear no.

If you are talking pure scoring ability, the answer is still a clear no.

If you are talking about total greatness, the answer is maybe. We don't know if harden can flourish as the No 1 guy, and lead his team to playoff success. I'm an open critic of Tmac's general gutless ness and me-Mac behavior. I want to see if harden has that mental toughness that all great players have, in addition to their physical ability.

 

I'd also like to say if we got T-Mac right after he left Toronto. The haters would not exist in these forums. He would be loved as an all time great for doing what he did in Orlando if he did it here including doing all he could with the JVG/Rick teams. Everyone would be on board with how he didn't have enough help...which is the truth. Those Rockets teams were old and weak at every starting position except a few and had weak depth. Even if it still ended the way it did, he wouldn't be hated if he was a Rocket through those Orlando days.

He wasn't so.....whatevs bruh.

 

Agree..personally I think he was better at a point than Kobe (didn't he win back to back scoring titles before Kobe did), better rebounder and passer than Kobe for sure in his healthy prime. Yeah if he had Kobe's heart and stayed healthy no doubt he could been in conversation for GOAT.
I like Hardens play and he certainly should be looked at as top 10 player in the game right now and hasn't hit his prime yet. Hopefully he can continue to develop, certainly feel in a couple years he could arguably be the top sg in the game.

 

No way Harden has T-Mac potential and this is not a diss on Harden. T-Mac was like bigger, more atheltic, quicker and arguably had better court vision and passing ability. Kevin Durant is only player in today's nba who has what can be compared to T-Mac's potential. Durant is longer while T-Mac has a better handle.

 

Tmac is the more gifted talent, but Harden's skillset is more conducive to winning games.

As gifted as Tmac was, he was primarily a jump shooter. He took long 2's and 3's which is a very inefficient way to score.

Harden attacks the rim much more than Tmac and gets to the line. The percentages favor Harden that he'll get more points than Tmac who settles for jumpers.

Those are just the tangibles. I'd much rather have Harden in my foxhole than T-Mac who is a proven loser in terms of basketball. (See later in his career where he quit his last 2 years as a Rocket)

The only thing Tmac has over Harden is his low turnovers and passing, but Harden's passing is pretty good. He just gets careless.

 

Apples to oranges. I would compare harden to wade because of their similarity in style of play. Tmac is much taller and lanky so he was able to rise whenever he felt like it. TMAC still relied on screens to get his shot off though. harden is like a freight train slicing thru the paint.

 

i said it about three weeks ago that harden is like a smoother version of wade.

i don't want to go off on tracy's negatives, but to the poster above who said tracy is more talented but the jumpshooting ability is also a negative is probably true. in harden and wade for that matter you have guys who get to the line when they are having off nights. i never thought of tracy as not being able to get to the line but just a guy who relied to much on his jump shot. looking back however maybe he just physically wasn't the players harden and wade are?

i haven't seen a lot but i watched highlights of how easily harden got to the rim in that video someone posted (i have to start repping those videos) of the ny game and i've never seen tracy have a game like that.

 

Harden's attitude + health + skill >> Tmac's attitude + health + skill.

 

Harden's game is more sustainable and effective in the long run. He doesn't settle for petty mid range jumpers, he always, always seeks to get to the rim and either get an easy layup or a foul to get to the free throw line.

In addition:
Harden is the much, much better shooter (FT and 3pt).
Harden may not have Tmac's dribbling but he crosses up his man and has a devastating first step all the same. Their passing skills are similar.

So while Tmac's streaky shooting might be the factor in whether you win or lose a game, you will always know what you're going to get from Harden. He will win us more games than Tmac will.

 

Anything is possible but T-Mac in his prime was arguably the best player in the NBA. Harden would have to be the best or second best player to be at the level of T-Mac at his prime.

 

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=230956

You mean this?

From yours truly

:grin:

 

James Harden can make the HOF, same can not be said for Tracy McGrady...

 

Tracy McGrady was never "arguably" the best player in the NBA. The argument would have gone something like this:


"Is Tracy McGrady the best player in the NBA?"

"No."

"Oh okay, I didn't think so either."

 

Who cares how good T-Mac was in his prime? Did it ever amount to anything? The only thing I am interested is, how will Harden develop at this point in time and will it be as a number 1 or number 2 option.

 

Even Orlando-era McGrady, like in 2002-2003, which was "arguably" the best year of his career, he still wasn't "arguably" better than Tim Duncan, who won the MVP that season. And the season before. All McGrady did was put up empty stats on a Magic team that went 42-40, a complete mediocrity. Kind of like some past Rockets teams we're all familiar with... *cue dramatic music*

 

Answering the OP question: No.

As of today, McGrady's got a far better shot at the Hall. Harden's going to have to get up a solid level if he wants HOF consideration. The league's history is scattered with career 20 ppg types that will never make it in.

We have to wait and see if Harden can get there. He's doing really well this year and is demonstrating Morey was dead on giving him that max contract and franchise player status.

You want to get into the Hall, you need to either be All-NBA multiple years or be a fixture in the postseason, or both.

I like what Harden's doing, but right now today we can't say that he's on course to shoot past McGrady.

 

All Harden needs to do in his tenure as the Rockets' 1st option is get us past the 1st round and he'd have accomplished far more than McGrady has his entire career.

 

Yes he has the potential.

Will he be? We have to wait and see. I know we like to make fun of Tracy McGrady now around here....but T-Mac was a hell of a player when he was focused.