ESPN Insider: Rockets are considering offering a "monster deal" to James Harden?

Did Superstar first option Harden play in the finals last season? Because I didn't see him?

 

Yes please to Harden.

 

he's pretty much Manu already, offensively. He just needs to step up on defense to reach Manu's overall level. But yeah, multiple all star seems about right for a best case scenario, It seems unlikely for him to reach the Wade/TMac level.

 

you didn't watch all Finals games.

 

When he averaged 12 pts, 5 rbs, 4 assists?

MAX CONTRACT NOW!

 

Tyson Chandler averaged 6-9 and 3 turnovers on .440 shooting.

Send him to Europe!

 

His playstyle is similar's to Manu's...

But Manu was always big for his team in crucial situations like the Finals. Harden made some pretty costly mistakes then and also seemed to brick every shot OKC needed him to make.

I don't think he is a superstar...Maybe like a 4-5 time all-star player.

 

The biggest difference to me is the defense. Manu is a good defender. Harden is a poor defender. I dunno Harden might surpass Manu. He is young. Nevertheless, he is no superstar right now. Just a very good player.

 

Manu stunk in his first finals no less than Harden did.
Manu was a rookie, so that's kind of forgettable on one hand, on the other hand he was 25 and the biggest star in Euroleague for years, so maybe not.

And anyway... Are conference finals less crucial?

 

You do know bigs get paid well in the NBA right?

Especially defensive, rebounding bigs. (Asik?)

 

It's sarcasm. Tyson Chandler is awesome, but only if you don't make those judgements based on a couple stink bombs. And the same goes for Harden.

 

Manu is also a hall of famer, it's pretty much assured that he'll get in. So I wouldn't say Harden will be better than him. He's plays so similar to him though and yeah Manu is a better defender.

Well, we'll see. Just going by what we have though Harden didn't play well in the finals. His numbers were decent...but he seemed to miss shots he normally made.

Yeah conference finals are less crucial. I know former players have said that the finals are another level from the usual playoff games.

With all of that said I just don't think he can be a superstar player. There is a certain mentality that these players have that he does not seem to have.

 

You must remember though Manu wasn't Manu until his late 20s since he came to the nba late. Harden can potentially surpass him though I find it unlikely.

 

If true they must believe he is that go to guy the team needs. A number 1 option maybe?

I think he is more of a Robin then a Batman. He can shine as a number 2 guy.

 

LOL @ this thread

 

What about LeBron? He faded in finals 4 times before last year but is an all star. What about Dirk in 05-06 final? There are so many examples in the league how great players come back and be a better player. BUT OF COURSE, Debbie Downers will identify them as those players who will never ever be a better player since they performed bad ONCE. /SMFH

BTW, what about Westbrick in the finals? Did you watch the finals? If Russell gets max offers I dont see why can't Harden.

 

By mentality I meant killer instinct, not if he missed shots or not. I meant the mentality of "That's it, I'm taking over." that Kobe has. That's what all the elite players have that really separates them from the other all-star players. They take over when you need them to.

Harden will no doubt put his numbers up, I really don't doubt this. What I do doubt is if he can be the man on a team, only time will tell. When I said that then it seemed that Harden would be willing to take less to play a lesser role and continue being the 6th man. Now we know that he wasn't willing to take less and that he even complained about a lack of shots and minutes. The more you read about him the more it seems that he's going to welcome being the man here.

Manu is still a HOFamer though and it would be interesting to see what would have happened had Manu been the #1 option on a team.

BTW, 'Westbrick' actually had a better series in the finals than Harden did. Yeah he did have some bad games but he had one amazing game where he scored like 40 points too. He also had a horrible game in there too though. Harden was extremely clutch in the previous series though, but the Finals (as proven) are a different animal.

Any ways you're going to have a hard time finding me saying any young player will 'NEVER' be this or that. I'll just state my opinion and say we'll see. I've learned it's not smart to put ceilings on young players no matter who they are. If they are playing well they are playing well and teams should continue to give them more minutes and bigger roles to see what they have. You never know when you may strike gold and have the next Rondo.

 

Harden and Girnobli have played big minutes in the end of games and played, the man. It's all about picking your spots to take over. His role prior to this one is perfect, he was not carrying, he was leading when leadership was needed.

He's already ready, provided that he does not change his attitude towards leadership. Let the other guys 'carry' the team until the momentum is going the other way, then take on the weight of the team until you have control.

This is basketball and this is Harden's game. The role players just need to play their part and let Harden play his.

Play within the team, even if it becomes a loss. Doing too much is the worst thing he can do. Remember T-Mac trying to take over every other minute of the game? It led to 42% shooting, over-wear and playoff teams that sat around waiting for Mac to do his thing.

Play for the knockout punch or wait until there's an opening to win the game. Otherwise, don't take over and play to improve.

 

Playing the man for a few minutes in a game and playing the man for a 82 game season is a completely different thing.

When you are the best player on your team and have that target on your back, there will be games when your team will need that effort from you. They will need you to keep them in the game and change the momentum of the game. If Lebron just played within the flow of the game during that Pacer series they would have lost, because it was the Pacers dictating the flow.

There will be a time where the team will ask a lot of him. That's why in OKC at times they actually had to tell him to shoot, because the coach understood the best players need to enforce their will on the other team at times. Maybe this is something he's learned, I can't wait to find out. I have doubts that Harden can ever be a real superstar elite player...a multi-time all-star I am certain...but a superstar Elite player? I just have my doubts.

This reminds me a lot of Yao. Yao was too passive at times too, only recently did he just start realizing that if he took over he could change the outcome of games it seemed. That Laker series, where he took over on the road is exactly what I'm talking about. He scored and scored and they could do nothing about it. It's a shame that just as he was entering his prime of primes that he had to retire. But that's what being the man is about I feel, answering the call when your team needs it.

That's why people went crazy about Lin. He was actually taking over games and making the big plays and ******* ruined our New York pick!

But it almost sounds like you are saying the same thing, I'm just saying that the 'man' is the one who will bring your team down from 15, the man is the guy who will stop the opponents 15-2 run.

 

i MOUSTACHE you a question.

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