Let me first preface this by mentioning that James Harden is paid millions of dollars to play a game... So I mean this strictly on the court: I feel sorry for James Harden Harden is not responsible for the offensive "system" in place. He's expected to essentially put the whole team on his back on one side of the ball every game. It's an impossible task when he's surrounded by players who can't make shots, rebound, or catch on the roll. He's never had a coach here who put him in the best situation to thrive. It's always been on him to do everything on offense. Defenses know the drill. Just limit him and the rockets are done. It's extremely popular right now to compare Curry to Harden and talk about how "he's on another level". Maybe it's my homer glasses, but to me Curry could never bare the brunt of the offense for seasons on end and carry a team on his own. He's never had to. VERY few stars have been able to pull this off. When you're the ONLY true star on your team all of your weaknesses are magnified. We've been spoiled by seeing him drag this team to wins too many times. The reality is we've been an overachieving team with one true star and a bunch of average (if we're being generous) role players with virtually no system whatsoever. That kind of team has no chance against teams with multiple stars, role players who are borderline all star types, and coaching staffs who actually have a plan. It's a shame that everyone hates this dude even in his own city. He's not perfect but let's not pretend he doesn't care.
TL; DR but Stephen Curry >>>>>>>>>>>>> Jim harden And it ain't even close. They are on different tiers
Curry plays on a team with a great defensive system and Harden plays on one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Also plenty of other great offensive players aren't plus defenders and no one says anything. Whatever narrative makes you feel most comfortable though.
Hardens chooses to: not play defense. Not get along with Dwighy Chuck 3's not use picks Not move off the ball Dribble down lackadaisical Be seen at clubs after losses. Be a ****ty leader. Horrible excuse interviews. **** HIM
These responses only illustrate my point. We're on a Houston Rockets fan site and only one person has said anything positive about our best player. Y'all are crazy shortsighted.
I agree but to a much lesser extent. The system doesn't help Harden much. We should have better shooters and better movement in the offense. Our players should be able to catch and shoot or be dangerous in the pick n roll. On the other hand, it's Harden that insists on playing this way. He's not good at much else but passing. He is not a good team or individual defender and he's terrible moving off the ball. Hasn't yet learned to use screens effectively. His one key skill is he is the best player in the world at scoring one on one. So we have to build around that. But Harden does also need to improve other sides of his game. It will even help him as he ages. One thing I will say is that GS does more for Curry, SAS do more for Leonard, OKC do more for Durant, we need to be able to do more to help Harden score. The system is not doing that at all.
Nah he's like Carmelo Anthony. Wants all of the spotlight and handling the ball 90% of the time. He wouldn't have it any other way Carmelo also made the WCF with the Nuggets
You think Kobe Bryant or Jordan would differ to 38 yr old Jason Terry in the final minutes of a playoff game? No. Let's be real here. Harden is a good player but has never shown the mental fortitude to be great.
