This trade was incredibly exciting. Harden had all-star potential. Didn't realize he had MVP potential at the time, but those first couple of games were an invigorating clue that he was the best player we'd had in years.
Nah, man, Paul was a Point God with Wake Forest already. Best since Duncan. And that is some huge footsteps to follow.
No, I knew CP3 was a superstar. There was no disputing his place on the league's best players list since he came into the league. I watch games, but I'm not really paying attention as much to other players on the other teams. I could tell you CP3 was a good defender but I didn't know how smart a defender he was before coming to the Rockets. I could tell you he is a great PG, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you how he manipulates defenses to get shots or get others shots. There was a time last year I thought Harden's passing was on par with CP3. I know now that CP3 is just a different kind of passer. stuff like that.
This is why even if you don't watch other teams play (which happens a lot), at least try to track stats and numbers, because sometimes it can be highly instructive. I knew Harden was going to be a really good player, because he was killing advanced stats during his OKC tenure. Especially in Harden's third year when he won SMOY, Harden put up better WS, WS/48, TS%, BPM, VORP than Westbrook, and very similar PER. Westbrook was already considered an all-star caliber player by that point, so there was no doubt Harden too had an all-star level potential. Morey - being an analytics guy - must have noticed this, and figured Harden was severely undervalued. And he was right.
In my defense, I did technically say Harden was better than Kevin Martin. I also give myself credit for recognizing Harden could create his own shot. AND I didn't really DISLIKE the trade I just doubted it a little. I remember really liking Lamb too. I was disappointed he was gone in the trade. I still think he could have been a very good Rocket. Yeah, that was my plan all along I'm here for all of you. I'll take the L. For the culture.
Not a thing you can say loudly out of CF without anyone looking weird. I remember everything about this night. My brother called me, he was a Raptors fan, but even he was excited, we had just seen him shine at the Lakers vs OKC series. I was out at a friends house, ready to go to a party and we talked so much about it I even thought of coming back to the house and just keep talking basketball all night. Oh, the wait was so long to finally be able to play with him on 2K, don´t even remember, just when you were learning the best realease point from Lamb. And then the Detroit game, oh my god, I was so excited. Has been hard to stop watching the Rockets since. And I Believe Harden will be forever a link with my brother. I really wish he can get his MVP this year, the man has worked so hard for it. Great Thread. I think I was still a lurker here.
Young CP was taking a team led by David West, Tyson Chandler, and old Peja Stojakovic into the playoffs and consistently competing against the likes of the Kobe led Lakers and Duncan led Spurs, among other teams. Then later in his career he took a Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan featured team against the same type of top opponents in the league. While his team didn't fair well in the playoffs, he undoubtedly should have made at least one WCF and one NBA Finals team. This guy was a superstar for quite some time and you just learned, in his 13th season, that he was legit? Baffling.
