all in all im still grateful for harden but i just hope he has that drive to improve and turn into that top 5 player i know he can be instead of wind up another joe johnson
So a Top 20 player in the league at the age of 23 with a whack coach and no offseason preparation with his team "****n sucks" and is "garbage"? That is why I can't take you seriously. You just show a clear lack of objectivity when you say things like that.
James Harden is basically Kevin Martin on steroids. When you have a guy that relies on getting to the line to be effective he is by definition going to be inconsistent. You never know how refs are going to call games, and you never know when defenders will foul or not foul a player. While Durant gets fouled a lot too, you are confident that if he does not get to the line he can make shots. Kobe can make shots. Wade can make shots. LeBron can still get into the lane at will and finish through contact. Westbrook can make shots. Dirk can make shots. I am not confident that Harden can make shots on a consistent, night-in, night-out basis. He really needs to work on his offensive game this offseason. As of now, he is nothing without the refs.
Unfortunately, Harden does not have nearly as much talent as Lebron or Durant. Everyone knows that. What I personally want Harden to do is to know that also. He needs to know his place. He should have Lin create most of the shots and work off of that to have good efficiency. He is not Kobe, Tmac, or Durant, in that he can create his own shots consistently.
Nope. I make my own judgements based on empirical evidence. Lin produces 13ppg on 44% shooting and 6 assists 1.5 steals a game on a very low usage rate compared to other starting pgs, which is pretty good. When he is being used at a high level, he produces linsanity numbers like 22 and 10 plus his team wins, allstar level. He has to improve jumping off his right leg when going to his left and needs a more consistent floater. His 3 pt shooting and mid range jumper is actually decent. Defense and athleticism can always be improved. My judgement on Harden is also based on facts. Anything else?
Hardens been one of the most efficient players in the league on high usage, and led the Rocket's to their first playoff berth in 3 years. I used facts for that as well.
If Harden is having an off-shooting night, like most nights lately, it would be nice to see him pass more or play off-ball more. Since the All-Star break: 24 games, 42% FG, 41% 3PT March: 13 games, 39% FG, 42% 3PT April: 8 games, 39% FG, 33% 3PT I just think the season has worn him down like some others have said. It's his first full year of starting. He may be 23, but he's still human.
my two biggest pet peeves with harden: 1. Excessive flopping. Instead of trying to make the shot, his first instinct is to flop. 2. Excessive iso dribbling then with 5 seconds or less passes to a teammate who has to jack up a shot because harden took 20 seconds dribbling the ball and doing nothing. The second could be coaching since the utterly inept Mchale doesnt have any set plays according to chandler parsons.
Kevin Martin is the most one-dimensional scorer in the league, that depends completely on teammates penetration and whistles from the refs. Martin also does ALL of his damage in the first quarter where Harden does a lot of his in the 4th. I know that is an unpopular thing to say right now because of the trend; but, he shows up a lot for us in big moments. We are all just mad because of recent memory.
Ok. "garbage" in the sense that he is overrated. He is most definitely not the 8th best player in the league. Yeah I understand he's young, I already agreed with you on that one, we'll have to wait that one out. His coach sucks too, agreed. Now let me ask you a question, how good do you expect him to be? Do you think the rockets can win a title with Harden as the best player.
Barely first playoff birth. IMO, this team would be much better suited if Lin were to run point and get everyone good looks, and for Harden to get his in the flow of the game. In the few games when Harden was out, imagine if Harden had someone like Garcia's mentality and took what the defense gives him rather than force the issue every time. We'd be much more dangerous.
Harden just isn't filling the right position enough. He needs to play off of the ball more and focus on spotting up and his mid range game. Only then will the game come easy to him and he can go back to being a super efficient scorer.
