espn (trueHoop TV): james harden is the new carmelo anthony

Before this escalates im just gonna....

Spoiler

 

Its all good.

 

Carmelo at 24 was putting up great stats and his team made it to the WCF. Can Harden do that this year?

 

Ball stopping =/= Carmelo Anthony. Wade, Lebron and a ton of other players in the NBA were ball stoppers when they were the primary scoring option on their team.

There are so many ways they are different. Harden is a far more talented playmaker (not even close in that aspect), far more efficient player and takes up far less USG% to be effective. Heck, Harden's 2PT% this season is better than any of Melo's in his career.

 

Really, because Melo put up seasons of 47%, 48%, and 49% shooting while averaging over 25 points per game when he was the same age as Harden. Harden has never averaged over 25 points per game in his career.

 

Henry Abbott and David Thorpe are LOFs! They are paid by the Taiwanese government to advocate for less Rockets ball stickiness (read as: more passes to Lin). The Taiwanese government also paid McHale to use the word "sticky" more.

 

Did you watch the 8min video? If you do, watch again and "listen" to what they are discussing.

 

Harden averaged over 25 points per game last year.

 

You mean other than last season?

Harden has failed to hit a TS% of 60 all but once in his career, and that was his rookie season.

Melo has never even come close to that type of efficiency.

 

Haha, I had the same thought!

People: David Thorpe is a very knowledgeable basketball mind and not just some "ESPN talking head". His analysis is CORRECT (at least in my opinion). He's actually extraordinarily complimentary of Harden. Go ahead and invest the few minutes is will take you to actually listen to the segment.

 

I didn't like how even the coaching staff seemed afraid to be too critical of Harden last year.

This year, it almost seems like a trend to hate on Harden. While it may be unfair at times, I do hope that this means that the coaching staff will have more leverage and cover in making the Rockets a more balanced team.

I think Dwight has become the most important player for the Rockets. It's no coincidence that the best stretch for the Rockets this season has come with Dwight playing his best basketball. If he's averaging 20+ points, double digit rebounds, and shooting FTs in at least the mid-60s, then the Rockets become unstoppable because some combo of Harden-Parsons-Lin-TJones will provide additional scoring. Bev, Brooks, and Casspi are also capable of offensive bursts too.

As the video said, with Harden as a ballstopper, the Rockets are a good team. But they need to be great, and they can't do that with Harden doing everything.

 

It really was.

Bad title. Watch the video on page 1

 

Jesus some of y'all are so sensitive. This was a great video with great points.

 

I think that's fair. But harden has been playing differently for the past 2 weeks or so, definitely moving the ball more and looking to be more of a playmaker

 

If we can get a 2 seed with 54 wins like the Nuggets did, and then play Dallas and Phoenix, the 6 and 7 seed like Denver did, we might have a chance.

 

Exactly.

The ONLY thing he really "compares" Harden to Melo with is ball stopping.

Most everything else is on point. The guy is extremely knowledgeable.

 

Yeah I dont really have a huge problem with anything he said.

The ball stopping with this team isn't necessarily even a James Harden problem. Its going to be a constant battle because you have a system in place that is predicated on putting your wing players in P&R, and gives the perimeter players all the freedom in the world to create from outside-in.

That being said, with the style of play played the RIGHT WAY(moving the ball/running the floor/making quick & extra passes), this team will have the best offense in the league. Its just going to take a little more time, great team chemistry, and James Harden to be a leader in the way Thorpe eluded the comparison to Lebron James.

If James Harden is being compared somewhere around Carmelo Anthony but HAS THE POTENTIAL to be closer to Lebron James in the way he affects the game.... guys that the ultimate complement any rational basketball analyst can give.

Even if Harden stays the way he is, thats still pretty good, and maybe even good enough to compete for championships with the right pieces.... If he improves even more, and does alot of the things Thorpe is eluding to in this piece more often that's pretty damn exciting to have a player like that be part of your team moving forward for years.

 

That says it all.

 

I dont understand why people on this board get so defensive...David Thorpe was spot on with his assessment of James Harden. Harden actually has the genes to be able to pass and not be a ball stopper, but for some unknown reason, he believes he has to that guy instead of trusting his teammates. I think that comes with time, and surely expect James to figure it out within the next year. James Harden can be the top 3 player if he just figures out how to play within a system as opposed to making something out of nothing all the time. Nice post OP

 

Just curious - - today, which player is more apt to attract other players to his team. And why?