Harden is more effective in scoring. He got almost 0.3 points per shot than Carmelo. But Harden's field goal percentage was quite bad, ranked 230 among all players. He was so effective because he was getting many free throws, which is his biggest strength by far. Harden will certainly improve, but I doubt he will be a center piece to build around for a championship team. He is more comparable to Carmelo, not Kobe. He does not have Kobe's leadership, defense intensity and other intangibles Kobe has. Even Kobe never win a championship without another superstar around him. Harden is no Dream. You either need an other worldly dominant player like the Dream or you need a true team oriented squard like the Pistons led by Billups to win a Championship.
Of course! What a dumb question on my part. Should have guessed them. Was thinking past Rockets players and got tripped up. Who do you think will break into the rotation next season, Terrence or Thomas?
It's all good. IMO TJ would be the starter because of his versatility, he just needs to get his man defense better, he's ready. TR should be pretty good as an energy guy off the bench type that could play both forward positions, defense, rebound and run the floor; needs to cut down on TOs and shoot a higher percentage. His offensive game is not NBA ready. Of course, if Dwight signs, Asik stays and coach decides they should play together that'd be a completely different story. TJ as a stretch four would still be pretty useful but TR would have trouble seeing the floor.
You sure do got the book on a 23 year old player who just had his first year as a starter... Do you remember Kobe's early years...? Do you remember how he was jacking up air balls in the playoffs...? Kobe came off the bench his first two years and didn't look like the super star player he became. You should go look at Kobe's first two years as a starter (years 3-4) and compare them to Harden's first year as a starter and you just may be surprised. Defensively Kobe was better but he had Shaq behind him and was on a veteran team with a great coach in Phil. Harden's offensive numbers are better and he doesn't have Shaq, and he's not on a veteran team and he doesn't have Phil. And many will say Shaq was the leader during his time with the Lakers. In addition to everything else Harden does on the court, he also creates for others. Melo is just a shooter and he doesn't command double and triple teams (because he takes mostly jumpers). The Rockets where amongst the top scoring teams in the league, finished the season #2 _ took 82 shots a game. The Knicks finished #11 and took 81 shots a game. The Rockets also finished with a better field goal percentage (the Knicks shot a lil better from 3 point range). And it can be argued that the Knicks have better scorers on their team and a center who can actually catch the ball. Harden is a better player than Melo yesterday... And plus Harden finished the season on a sore foot and fatigued. You could be right, but right not all things point to you being wrong.
I think a good off season is all TJ needs. I believe his offensive game is NBA ready... At least for what the Rockets need him for. Patterson didn't look great last season and TJ is an upgrade over Patterson and he can play 3 positions on the court and his ball handling skills are very good (from his days of playing point guard). T-Rob is probably trade bait...
When did he play point guard? His shot-blocking ability is also very good. I see TR as a slightly taller and stronger LeBron minus the guard skills. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/jul/14/thomas-robinson-teaches-lebron-james-lesson-/ After watching this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF0vQGFpHrs&feature=player_embedded I believe he would benefit greatly from Dream.
Wow, Hakeem still got that smooth and nimble pivoting. Watch how small the radius of his turns/pivots is, compared to the currently best player LBJ.
While I agree with a lot of what you said, I don't think Harden commands doubles any more than other good scorers. If anything it looks like the ISO plays leave him one on one more than the average ball handler. He's also a better defender (when healthy) than Harden. Also, Melo played with a torn labrum and still nearly led the Knicks to a potential game 7. Sorry but at this point Melo is a better player than Harden.. maybe not in 2-3 years but he is today.
Response I agree that Harden is not a franchise player. Without his fouls, which he mostly initiates and seeks out, Harden is just an above average player. To Melo's defense, Melo does not seek out fouls. Harden seems to initiate fouls by moving his arms; I could easily see officials calling fouls on Harden for this. I mean Harden is a good player, but it almost seems like he "games" the way refs call fouls.
Response One difference: No way to guard Melo (Melo is really an offensive superstar), but Harden can be stopped by good D. Having said that, I would not want Melo on my team either unless he's willing to share the spotlight.
