Right now, I think with the addition of Smith and Brewer, Harden maybe got a little complacent, knowing that two plus defenders got added. Relatively plus; very hit-or-miss from what I have seen/recorded. At the same time, Harden is playing less minutes (right?)... That is exactly what has happened. This worries me because when he plays D, he doesn't shoot as well, and vice versa. His D has been slipping. To be fair, I have been a large critic of Harden, especially because of his D (no pun intended) since he joined. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the trade and knew he was something special. But if he has to be an atrocious defender to be the offensive player he is, it will be very hard to build a contender. And if he has yet another bad playoff series... not on my Rockets pantheon yet. Last year, I held out hope that he would bring his D in the playoffs. We were all disappointed. Guess we just have to hope again?
Harden play no D Curry & Klay better. Green too. and Livingston Top 5 in league: 1. Curry 2. Klay 3. Green 4. Steph 5. Thompson
Harden rests more on D because the entire offense runs through him Watch the highlights of Klay last night. 80% of his shots were catch & shoot.
Are you kidding me? Come on, Magic. My grip on the respect I've always had for you is slipping. Hanging by my fingernails! What brought this on? You aren't old enough for dementia, dude. (am I? can't remember!)
I don't know why everyone here cares what these other people are saying. Klay Thompson is a good player. So is Jimmy Butler. And Monta Ellis. And Bradley Beal. And a couple of other good SG's that I can't think of right now. But if we took Harden off our team and replaced him with any of these other guys, we would have several more losses than we do now. Any of them.
I think they are both great. Thompson is great at its role on the Warriors and Harden is great at his role on the Rockets. Thompson does do some things better then Harden. Harden does some things better then klay. Rockets as a team have crappy ball handlers so that's why Harden works. G'S has Curry so Klay is a better fit then harden in my opinion.
THe Rockets need to just make it passed the first round and Harden will become legitimized as the best SG in the league. Until then, people going to continue to bring up his no defense and that dwight is soft.
