to be fair to Harden, it sounds as if he hasn't been healthy. if this is the case, this team has no where to go, but up.
Did you state this year? Did you not watch a single game last year? Harden has sat on our end more than any Rockets player ever. He never chases a play. He was and is almost always the last player back on any turnover, and if he loses the ball, forget about it. Its about to be 5 on 4 time for at least 10 seconds. Using his foot this year is just ludicrous. Ill go as far as to say anyone who thinks otherwise didnt watch any games last year.
Guess you never thought or called Kobe a ball hog then. I mean if leading your team in assists is all it takes. How about Iverson? Steve Francis?
As stated multiple times by multiple players and analysts. You are not a superstar if you play D like Harden.
Just flat out wrong and incorrect. I'll say you are the one who doesn't watch the games. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/clKryagYzic" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> To say he NEVER chases a play is just flat out wrong and unfair. I've seen him do it PLENTY of times and sometimes on a turnover he is the only one running back down the court and thus the only one fans see on the screen and thus the only one blamed. Not surprised. I've seen people blame Harden for not stopping Redick when he wasn't even the man guarding Redick for the entire night except when he was caught on a switch.
Hardens Accolades Allstar NBA Third Team 6th Man Of The Year All rookie 2nd team Olympic Gold Medal Finals Appearance Paul George All-star NBA Third team All-Defense second team All Rookie second team So if Harden isn't a superstar, George sure isn't. Also how does Harden NOT have a accountable role? You think if this team doesn't go far people won't blame him? People blame the entire team defense on him oddly enough.
Lol. Did you just claim that he wasnt responsible for guarding Reddick? Oh how the tables have turned. Dont look to closely you sound exactly like an excuse making HOD. Dude is a lazy cherry picking, iso all day or I wont move without the ball, horrible defender. I challenge you to watch ANY Rockets game. Count how many times Harden never leaves iur end on a turnover. Count how many times on his own turnovers he stops playing until the other team is already set in their o, hiw many times the Rockets have to play 4 on 5 while Harden walks back on D. The post how maby times he gets back first. Nit counting plays where he refused to move from the top of the key to begin with. You might be shocked. If you watched any games at all over the last two years you shouldnt be.
LOL at calling Haren a superstar when he is an absolute negative and liability on D. You might have a case if he is at the very least average on D but he is totally inept and lazy. There are only a handful of superstars in the league at any one time. Currently: LeBron, Durant, Love, Paul and George and they all play average D but much more elite offensively than Haren (Love, Durant) to great D (LeBron, George, Paul).
So in your mind it's clear that Paul George is a superstar but even the thought of Harden as one is a joke? Wow.
This season so far PG is definitely playing at superstar level and has his tam at 13-1 with several clutch performances. I like Harden and what he brings to the table but he needs to play at least average D IMO. I gave him a pass last season because he had the burden of the offensive load but that's not the case anymore. Also the point is Harden gets his points but what's the point when opposing two guards like Monta Ellis and JJ Reddick light him up
love is elite offensively compared to Harden? and did you just say Durant is better than Harden on defense? I'm not saying Harden's an elite defender but he's defense is about the same or better than Durant harden averages 39.9 minutes a game, same as durant 5.2 assists a game, again, same as durant 2.0 steals a game, more than durant, and defensive specialists paul george, tony allen, jimmy butler, and kawhi lenard 0.8 steals a game, same or more than all those guys above plus wade and blake griffin all those while averaging 25 points a game behind Lebron Durant Love and Melo with his foot problems if JLin played with Durant, will the same fans who called Harden lazy and no D also call Durant lazy and no D? if not then they're either LOF or HOH
Defense cannot be gauged clearly using stats. It is obvious that Harden is lazy on D despite his steals. The guys he is guarding light him up on a regular basis. That says it all And Durant is better than Harden on D, no doubt
This season so far. That's what I mean. Harden has been healthy for what, five games? IMO it's entirely too early to use this season as the sole determination for "superstar" status. No doubt PG has had a great start to the season, but things can change. Remember how bad Lin looked to start last year? That was a bad sample of him as a player. And people made the same mistake and blasted him for it. Time will tell.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10026607/james-harden-houston-rockets-miss-next-two-games The Houston Rockets will hold James Harden out of their next two games thanks to a sore foot that has been plaguing the star guard for more than a month. Harden missed Saturday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and will sit out their following game Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies before being re-evaluated. The soreness in Harden's left foot has been troubling him to various degrees since the middle of training camp, according to sources. The 24-year-old Harden is averaging 24.2 points per game -- the sixth-highest average in the NBA -- and a team-leading 5.4 assists this season.
Shouldn't we have learned by now that regular season statistics are meaningless? *cough McGrady* George had Indiana within a few minutes of the NBA finals while guarding Lebron James. Harden couldn't get us out of the first round. This isn't a knock on Harden at all, but he's gotta prove to be a great defender. Scoring 110 points a game isn't going to win in the playoffs. Ask Nash's Suns.
Why'd you say that like George actually hindered LeBron that series. LeBron actually did better in that series and shot higher percentages all around on top of a higher ppg. It was Wade who sucked.
