People who are doubting his potential to be a top 5-10 player in the league have to keep in mind that James Harden was doing well in the first 3-5 games because they were running similar plays that the Thunder were running to help him find a role. When you have a new player in a new system you're bound to find some speed bumps in the road. People are also forgetting that Mchale's system isn't entirely all that successful yet. Most of our players are new additions anyways. If Lin starts to pick it up and Parsons continues to have a successful year Harden will gain from that because he won't be targeted as easily. Honestly it's easy to shut down one good player but hard to shut down many good players. If we can all get this team firing on all cylinders we'll be fine. Right now we don't even have Mchale back yet right? (Dish network customer, do not have CSN)
Not worried at all about Harden. Long season, gonna be some cold stretches. Overall numbers are still good.
Although I don't doubt his potential, I find it highly amusing you do not mention how opposing teams did not plan for Harden to be on the Rockets when drawing their defensive gameplan. I also find it funny that you state the Rockets were running similar plays for Harden that was ran in OKC, because obviously you think OKC's gameplan with Harden was iso-ball and PnR the entire game, which is completely untrue.
Even Lebron James put up abysmal percentages at similar career points when defenses collapsed upon him entirely, and Harden is no LBJ.
No in terms of both him and Lin are playing the PG position in pick and rolls with no roll man. From that perspective both of them will suffer. Harden just needs time to adjust to shifting more towards the scoring option than the facilitating option. Lin needs to carry a greater load of scoring as well. He needs to understand that unless he does that Harden will never be able to operate freely given the amount of double teams and blitz he would see in half court sets. With that said, if Patterson/Morris continues spreading the floor and Asik becomes more dominant under the basket, both Lin and Harden will play better.
Harden is not yet fully comfortable in our offense - that takes time and a lot of practice. The biggest indicator for that is his high turnover number. But he has already shown us on multiple occasions, what he is capable of. When he knows his teammates better and doesn't feel like he has to do it all anymore his percentages will rise. Harden is best in attack mode, when he is looking to pass when the defense crashes in on him. He is almost undefendable then. Give him time. I hope his defense will then increase as well - right now I still cut him some slack here, because he spends so much energy on offense. But his effort on this side of the ball is just not there yet. He has the talent to at least be an slightly above average defender - and if he wants to be considered a superstar he needs to be just that.
He is just pressing. Trying to force yourself into an umfamiliar role as primary scoring threat night in, night out is causing him to try too hard. He will need time to grow his game into one that can succeed constantly with the other teams' top defender covering him from now on. He will get there, it just seems like for being in the first week of December, most fans are thinking that the team is hopeless, Harden isnt the answer, Lin isnt gonna cut it etc.... The sky is not falling, The team has basically had the equivalent of a preseason with Harden, cohesion and success will be achieved, with patience
I feel like the thread timing is kind of weird. Harden was the epitome of a "clutch" player last night, regardless of whether or not you believe in such cliche. He was basically the Rockets offense down the stretch in half-court, an area the Rockets have traditionally struggled. Harden was crap for 3.5 quarters, but he showed superstar clutchness in the end. More than Kobe or Dwight Howard. The only reason it might not feel that way, was because those plays ended in FTs rather than baskets. So it didn't have that flow to it that you'd expect from a clutch performance.
he's still our best offensive player. he wreaked havoc on the Laker defense in the endgame, driving inside and delivering brilliant assists or getting fouled. His decision-making in the endgame was huge.
I agree... it is one thing to score 25 ppg - it is a whole other thing to help your team score in the final 2 minutes. A real superstar has to be clutch and help your team win and Harden is that. His shots will start falling again, so I am not worried.
like many have said, defensively he needs to improve. yes his shooting is down but no one is spectacular every single night. what mattered to me most was the way he handled things at the end. clutch FTs and moving the ball around for the best shot.
Wierd timing for sure. I was going to use this game as an example of how Harden is all that I thought he would be. He is a VERY complete player, outside of average defense his game is amazing for a 23 year old guy.
Harden and Lin were not effective. Facts are facts. Being a fan doesn't necessarily mean one can't be objective. However, one can't read too much into one game. Lin had a solid game the game prior. Harden, his best games were very early -- that is slightly more concerning as it looks like those first two games were outside the norm.
