Harden will likely play more minutes per game than Paul, but he is also going to be the two guard when they are both on the court. Who do you think will lead the team in APG? Last years' stats: Paul - 9.2 APG in 31 MPG. Harden - 11.2 APG in 36 MPG. Bonus question: Who will lead the team in scoring if we add Carmelo?
In total, probably Harden cuz he will play more minutes as you said. But that doesn't even matter. CP3 doesn't need to prove he can assist no more. Distribute the minutes, sit back and enjoy.
Chris Paul. Harden is a great passer but I'm not convinced he's a true PG and his turnovers show that. He's just a talented SG who has good vision like Lebron and t mac
Lebron is the primary pg for the Cavs just like harden has since he got here. Pbev just doesn't have the vision of harden. However cp3 is more careful with the ball.
I think Harden will lead in assists, but his apg will be in the 8-9 range with Paul & EGO playing major minutes. Speaking of major minutes, there is no reason for Harden to average more than 34 mpg with Paul & EGO there. That's been my pet peeve for the last 2 years. Actually. no one on the Rox should average more than 35 mpg. I'd like everyone to be fairly fresh for the playoffs. That bonus question is a tuffy. However, I'll go out on a limb & say Melo would be the team scoring leader. I don't think anyone will average more than 24 ppg with that trio.
Clint Capella is going to the All star game this year. Hell he may average close to 20ppg. I'm sure Harden will lead the team, but this is about to be a breakout year. Remember CP3 made Tyson Chandler bigtime
I picked Paul... because even in 31 min he is going to have better weapons that he has ever had..... so i fully expect him to average 10-11 assist a game... Harden is going to average around 7-9 assist...... I think Harden will lead the team in scoring..... then Melo... then Paul.....then Gordon.
It's a good year not to worry about stats and worry about style of play instead. I just want to be unpredictable.
I think most of the time Paul will be the SG offensively when they're both on the floor. Harden is still one of the best passers in the league, while not being great off the ball. Even in his OKC days, he was not elite off the ball. Paul, meanwhile, is elite off the ball. Top 3 in the NBA. When Paul came, every time he was asked whether he's here to reduce the PG load on Harden insisted on adding that Harden was going to reduce the PG load on him too. I think Paul is going to put up an uber-efficient 25/7 (50/40/90%) and Harden will put up a less efficient 25/10. If Melo joins, we'll see a bit less scoring from these 2 guys but they won't be giving the ball up to Melo except possibly late in the shot clock or if we can keep getting an extreme mismatch in our favor at Melo's position.
I think Paul and Harden will have roughly the same amount of apg. Adding Paul was amazing, not only for everything that he naturally brings to the court (those things don't really need to be said as his resume speaks for itself), but also for the fact that Harden can get a little more rest throughout the season. Harden was an absolute beast last year. I'll admit I was a bit on the fence with D'antoni's decision to run him at the point. But, he stepped up and had a frankly historical season - definitely mvp worthy. The problem is his supporting cast wasn't as great as some of the other top teams in the West and Harden had to drain himself dry every night to keep the ship running. It showed in the playoffs. He straight up ran out of gas towards the end. That is all going to change with cp3. Harden proved he can carry a team to home court advantage, but this year, he doesn't have to shoulder the load and can be fresh for the playoffs. The rest of the west should take notice. Adding Carmelo would just allow everyone to share the load and remain fresh for the post season. Long story short, cp3 and Harden probably average less assists per game than they did last season, but the team is going to benefit greatly. Just my take.
Good take. I think both average slightly less assists, but that is just nitpicking. Both Paul and Harden are obviously better with the ball in their hands. But I don't see that as an issue. Under D'Antoni's system, the team isn't wasting time getting into the offense. Either Paul or Harden can initiate the offense, break down the defense, and make the right play whether that's finishing a drive or kicking out to an open man. Suppose Harden drives into the lane, draws defenders, and passes out to an open Paul. If Paul has the shot it's money. If a defender closes out, Paul can then initiate a secondary offense and start the process over again. Teams are not going to be able to keep up with that. It's going to be r****ded, and the efficiency of the offense will be right up there with Golden Shower State.
It's better than money. He shoots 49% from 3pt range on those shots and it takes him a split second to take that shot, and no matter who closes out on him they won't have the quickness to stop him from attacking overly-aggressive close-outs. We were the best half court team in the league last year. I don't think we really need improvement in that area except late in the shot clock, in the playoffs, against elite defenses. Where I REALLY want Paul to take the lead is to do something he can do really well but has not done so far in his career: take control of running transition. Harden is incredible speeding up and slowing things down, but in transition we have to always attack fast. It's what great teams do and has been a staple of MDA's offense. I want Paul to lead the break any time he can, and I want him to push the hell out of the ball Nash-style. If it slows down, see if you can set up the offense or try Harden for a PnR. If Harden is committed to getting up the floor like a real teammate - and I suspect he is - then we will devastate people and shatter records even without Melo. I know people think it's impossible to outperform the Warriors offensively, but I don't necessarily believe that. I believe MDA is a superior offensive coach, and with Harden/Paul/Anderson/Gordon we have superior offensive talent even if not superior overall talent. I often say that if MDA/Bzdelik were coaching the Cavs, that would be a much longer nba finals series. People will once again be predictably surprised by what an NBA offense does. MDA has arguably never had 2 scorers as good as Harden and Paul on the same team. I'm extremely excited.
