If you look at the top 10 players in this league, is there anyone with a bigger discrepancy is their best and worst games. Maybe its just cause I watch all the rockets games and obviously not all of everyone elses, but I can't think of any of the other stars playing as terribly as Harden on their off nights. He just completely folds into a player that doesn't belong on the Knicks. Its incredibly frustrating and makes it so hard to value him as a player. He's like a rich mans Josh smith wheres he can straight win you games by himself and play so bad he loses you games.
No one else in the Top 10 has to do so much by themselves. We definitely need another player that commands the double team. That is why a player like Aldridge(who maybe can't create for others) is so attractive. You have to choose to double LMA or to double Harden, which frees up easy buckets for Dwight.
Honestly, James played like trash last night. Pure trash. He was nonchalant, his defense was weak, his offense was broke, and he didn't seem to have any heart in the game. However, I'm chalking this up to him being purely exhausted. The guy CARRIED the team all year. At some point, your legs give out. His shot was short most of the series, I his handles were weak too. We need to give him some help on the offensive end so they guy can get a break.
Ceiling- Michael Jordan Floor- LeBron James Harden needs to work on conditioning a little bit. I think he was just flat out tired last game. As were several players, to be fair.
During the 2009-10 season, 25-year-old LeBron James shot a combined 33 percent from the field (18-53) and 2-of-13 from distance in Games 4-6 (all losses) of Cleveland's second-round playoff loss to the Celtics. In the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals, against the Detroit Pistons, 25-year-old Michael Jordan shot 5-of-15 in Game 4 and 4-of-8 in Game 5 losses. Harden, at 25-years-old, played 17 games this postseason and averaged 27 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists per game. The only guys to match or exceed those per game averages in the playoffs at 25-years-old or younger: Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady*, LeBron James, Oscar Robertson. Harden is just 25-years-old. He's improved every offseason that he's been with the Rockets. Who knows what the future will hold, but don't let a few bad moments/games this postseason distract you from how great he was this season. * McGrady's postseason that year only lasted four games, so a much smaller sample size.
and for those of you who want to stress harden is only 25,,, mind you its not the age, its the mileage. six yrs in, that's not really young. any fair comparison s/b made on "the 6th year", not age 25.
Even Kobe had triple double with 10+ TOs 3 times in his career.. The hate on Harden is ridiculous, he has been there for us all year. Oh did you guys forget that athletes are human too? http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/03/kobe-bryant-ties-modern-faux-triple-double-record/
Depends on his life style choices. If he keeps himself in top condition, his ceiling is almost unlimited. I don't see that happening right now, and last night's game is a case in point. There are reasons he played so poorly. I was one of the first on this board to discuss Steve Francis' "partying lifestyle." I took heat for years, but I was dead on right and you now see the results. Saying that star athletes have a right to their personal lives sounds good, but is unrealistic and unprofessional. They make millions in a highly public venue. Do they have any responsibility to those who pay them, watch them, support them?
I think this just enforces that he needs to continue to develop on the defensive end. When Lebron, Kobe, Jordan etc. had bad games in their "younger" years they still had an impact on the game on the defensive end. When he just doesn't have it one night, he needs to find other ways to impact the game. I hope it comes with more experience.
Well if you're going out the night before big games drinking and partying and not getting some good rest you're going to be tired. He needs to learn some discipline.
Okay. During the 1989-1990 Eastern Conference Finals, sixth-year Michael Jordan shot 5-of-16 in a Game 2 loss and 7-of-19 in a Game 4 loss. During the 2012-13 Western Conference semifinals, sixth-year Kevin Durant shot 31 percent from the field in the Thunder's series-clinching Game 4 and Game 5 losses to the Grizzlies. Sixth-year Dirk Nowitzki shot 5-of-22 in Dallas' Game 4 loss to Sacramento in the first round of the 2004 NBA Playoffs. Sixth-year LeBron James shot 8-of-20 from the field in Cleveland's Game 6 (and series-clinching) loss to Orlando in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. He also had eight turnovers in Cleveland's Game 4 loss in that series.
This. Let's not overreact. It was a bad game, but the guy is so young, and put the team on his back all season long. Even great players have bad games. Curry had a 6-16 shooting and 5 turnover clunker against Memphis in the second round. He just wasn't himself last night. In a weird way it still felt like growth from last season though. Against Portland he tried to do it all himself, and couldn't, and put up bad numbers. Against Golden State he tried to do it all himself, and he did, with a masterful game. But there's a reason why even the best players can't sustain that, and the best teams can't overcome 3-0 deficits. They are human, and that stuff takes a toll. Hell, I did a tough crossfit workout Monday and could barely move Wednesday (I even went and got a sports massage). I can't imagine how your body must feel playing 40 minutes of playoff basketball where you were responsible for half your team's points. Hopefully next season he'll have a little more help and won't have to have games like that, or if he does, someone else can carry the next game.
fair enough. and you point is? my guess is,,, so what harden had a terrible game, he can still be as great as those folks? if so, that's not really a very good logic, is it?
