Trade Harden

OP my mans here want smoke! Say you catchin a fade on sight!

 

You're probably referring to this year. Where he is much improved. In fact, the biggest most obvious rebuttal to the Lebron for MVP campaign this year is the fact that he's actually been worse than Harden defensively, or Harden's been better than Lebron.

I'm referring to the rest of his career, and in particular to the comments that he carried such a high load that he was just exhausted last year in game 6. Yes, he carried a huge offensive load. But given the relatively small defensive load he's carried, on the whole he shouldn't have been exhausted. Just pointing out it reality.

 

It was a mental exhaustion more than a physical one. Also, I do think Harden kind of 'gave up' last year, and this is not me trying to defend Harden at all, because what I'm about to say is far more damning than what any of the Harden critics has said so far on this board: the reason why I think Harden can never be the "best player" in this league is because too much of his success depends on exploiting lapses in his opponent's - and sometime the referees' - judgement. From drawing fouls to blowing past the defender after hypnotizing dribbling, it always involves an element of outsmarting his opponent.

That's all well and good, and you can even put a positive spin on it and call him a savvy, crafty and smart player, but what happens when there are no mistakes to exploit? Remember, Harden had to develop this unique style, because he's not the best shooter, not the best defender, not the best passer (although arguable), not the most athletic, etc. So when it's time to just dominate through sheer physical force or talent - such as LeBron or Curry - Harden simply can't do that.

It's one thing to put up great numbers by exploiting defensive mistakes, and it's another to just bulldoze your way to the basket or hit tough shots from 35 feet. These are two different ways of playing elite basketball, but the latter is WAY more conducive to maintaining efficiency and productivity in the playoffs, when the defense tightens up and the players become more disciplined.

Interestingly, backpicks.com confirmed this observation in his recent article on Hakeem Olajuwon while pointing out the reason why Hakeem was so successful in the playoffs :

http://www.backpicks.com/2018/03/25/backpicks-goat-hakeem-olajuwon/

"Olajuwon was one of the few who improved in the playoffs, elevating his scoring volume and efficiency.... In other words, Hakeem’s offenses were inelastic, likely caused by his ability to take and hit difficult shots. This is a double-edged sword; Olajuwon’s poor shot selection and isolation tendencies can prevent an offense from flourishing, but they also made Houston resilient to most good defenses. There was nothing for the opponent to take away because he was already taking hard shots."

So basically what this is saying is Hakeem was a big man's version of Kobe in the 90s, and while it wasn't always a good thing during the regular season - often leading to sub par efficiency - the strategy paid off big time in the playoffs. Again, there was nothing for the defenses to take away from Hakeem, because he was ALREADY taking and making incredibly difficult shots (especially for a center.)

Harden is in a sense, anti-Hakeem in this regard. While he has gotten better this season, Harden still needs to be somewhat open to make shots at an elite level, otherwise his shooting % quickly turns pretty unimpressive. The whole point of stepbacks or change of direction and speed - Harden's signature moves - is to create separation. And while these do work quite well vs. 95% of the league's defenders, against the likes of Andre Roberson, Kawhi, and Paul George? Good luck.

At the end of the day, great players are almost impossible to stop no matter what kind of defensive scheme you throw at him. For Harden, that's not the case, because over the years I've encountered too many situations where all of Harden's strengths get nullified through making just few tweaks in how the defense is covering Harden - including double teaming and pressuring him on the ball, often leading to Harden comitting 4 to 5 straight turnovers like a mad man.

 

LOL the hate is strongest on this one

just curious, who is your MVP this year?

 

are you saying he did not put any effort at all to defense last year?

and offensively his effort and the burden he carried wasn't any greater than any other superstar last year?

 

Is it time for this thread's revival? Mood is pretty awful and we only just lost 1 game.

 

he was our best today, why would you trade an MVP

 

Harden has been amazing in the playoffs. so no. He is a top 4 player and has carried our asses thus far. no thanks. He is here for the long haul.

 

would trade harden when he's like 35 for the next superstar.

 

Why was 1 of the worst threads I’ve ever seen bumped? Harden has had a very good playoff run so far and is pulling his weight, it’s his sidekick CP3 who hasn’t been all that spectacular.

 

If rockets lose this series, I would seriously consider trading him. It has been how many years and he has never made it to the finals as a rocket.

 

Trade him and then do what? Please, tell me...

 

Trade him for Ingles

 

how many teams besides the warriors and the spurs made the finals out of the west in hardens time here?Lorna malvo ?

 

Trade Harden!?

 

Bwaahahaha

 

Fchowder you ain’t fooling no one

 

This has to be the most moronic thread that I've pursued briefly. It is pure stupidity to trade a top 4 best player in the League just entering his prime. Instead of trading him, you build around him. There is no such thing as a perfect player. MJ, LJ, Bird, Magic and many more were/are not perfect players, but any team would have loved one of them on their team. Harden is another great player any team would love to have. So we should thank our lucky stars that Prestie was an idiot to trade him to us. Trade Harden? Hell NO!!!!!

 

You don't trade a superstar in his prime. With that said, if we lose this series, his fate here in Houston may lie in CP3's hands. If CP3 is demanding the supermax, then we may need to end this bromance. You cannot give CP max money at this point, and expect to actually win a chip. If he takes a paycut, and we get a third star, then we have a legit chance. If not, then why bother?