One thing I like about Harden is his demeanor, which may put off some people. That air of confidence of his and yet still being smart. That is something special.
Kobe Bryant is definitely not the best SG in the NBA right now. Offensively he's fine though I think his shooting cools off. But he's miserable on the defensive end. He consistently gets lit up on man defense and is horrible at help defense. I'd take Harden over Bryant right now, easily. It's not really relevant how good Kobe used to be. If that was the standard, the best SG in the NBA right now is Michael Jordan.
Based on stats alone (and lack of support from team in getting those stats) you would have to pick Kobe. But ask yourself this: if the season were to start over again and we had Kobe instead of Harden, do you think we'd be better or worse than 21-14? I'd say worse.
you forget to take into account teamplay and leadership abilities imho Harden is way in front of Kobe...Kobe is just good at filling stats sheets...TEAMPLAY, inspiring and leading others -ZILCH!
I think Kobe is currently slightly better than Harden, and we would have a better chance of winning a championship with Kobe on the court instead of Harden. But going forward and with his better contract, Harden for sure.
Monta Ellis is better than Harden.... That's what a lot of other poster said in some forums I've read.... Right now, its a toss up between Harden and Kobe. I think Kobe is a little better than Harden, but the impact Harden has on the Rockets makes him far more valuable. Kobe may be averaging more points than Harden, but he takes a hell of a lot more shots also. But there's no doubting that Harden and Kobe are the top 2 SG in the NBA right now. Wade may used to be a great player and the 2nd best SG in the NBA, but his athleticism has left him and now he's hitting the wrong side of 30, has slowly decline. What hurts Wade is that he depends on attacking the basket relentlessly in order to be successful and he had never have a reliable jumper like Harden or Kobe.
The thing now that I wonder is in a few years, would Lebron team up with the best SG in the NBA in James Harden when his running mate has decline gradually over the years?
Kobe may be ahead by a hair, but not for his production this season, just for his ability to win a game by himself in the final 2 minutes of a game. Harden has been sensational, but the last 2 minutes part has yet to been proven. It is his first year as the "MAN".
The Lakers are going to need 8 Hall of Famers on that roster to give Kobe some badly-needed help. :grin: And let's be honest, Kobe would still be taking all their shots.
Nah, he'll go back to Cleveland and win with Irving, who will likely be making a case for best PG in the league.
I voted for Harden, just because Wade & Bryant are on the decline, Manu doesn't play enough minutes. But to solidified the "Best SG in NBA" title, he needs to give a much better effort on the defensive end, and that's the only weakness of his game.
No, we would be far worse then we are now with Kobe, we would have less wins than Lakers are having now, and with Harden Lakers would be in top 3 teams in the West... Kobe perhaps has a slightly higher numbers than Harden but is a lot weaker basketball player than Harden.... people get blinded by his stat sheets and media popularity but there is much more to bb than stats...Kobe Bryant obviously lacks leadership skills and teamplay spirit -essential skills of a good player...
