No need to apologize, but I don't see any particular reason to believe that player A makes player B significantly better through motivation (as opposed to drawing double teams and getting them easier shots) in any specific case. Does it ever happen? It might, though I'd doubt that it's widespread, since players who reach the NBA are already guys who've put immense work into their game, since the wash-out rate at each level below the NBA is huge. Do we know which cases those are? Probably not.
WTF is this BS? Lillard leads the Blazers past a crippled Clipper team and wins 1 game against a Curry-less Warriors, and suddenly he's better than Harden? Just out of curiosity, who in the NBA is a great leader? Can you name more than 5 while telling me exactly what makes them a great leader? Is Chris Paul a great leader? Is LeBron James? I think Durant has led as many teams to the finals as Harden has.
Nice answer. JVG said Dame would have the same success as Curry if they swapped. I think that's a bad hot take. Steph is an average defender, Dame is a horrendous defender. Steph makes everyone around him substantially better, Dame puts up lots of points and that's it. And Harden vs. Dame, please. Dame is All-Star caliber but he's not in that elite mix of players that can carry a team.
I don't think you can capture it in stats... (whoever does actually figure out how to quantify leadership will make a lot of money though) I don't see it as any different than any other type of work where you have to collaborate/work in teams. You always take the guy who is a better "team player", inclusive, relatable, empowering others over someone who is not, especially when the gap in talent/smarts/etc is not really that wide. I don't pretend to know how Harden is with his teammates, but everything I've read/heard says he's not those above characteristics.
Yeah, Harden's individual talent is elite but he is not a leader. The fact that the Rockets are out and Portland is still playing is evidence. This is the Portland team that traded 4 of their 5 starters from last year. How good would they be with Dwight? What a wasted opportunity this season has been.
Definitely Harden. That being said, I have always felt that Lillard is underrated, and continues to be. Just shows how good point guards are these days. I don't think he's that far behind the Curry/Paul/Westbrooks of the world, but you hear about him probably five times less than any of those guys.
I think it IS widespread actually. It's a team game where people have to work together. You get your leadership from 2 places in the NBA. Coach or players. the article wasn't about practice or working hard, I agree almost everyone in the NBA is an extremely hard worker. But it was about how Lillard treats his teammates, how relatable he is, etc. I don't know if any of it is true, but that's how I would define leadership. I mean, if you were to think "locker room cancers" have an effect on how a team plays, why wouldn't leadership have the opposite effect?
Lillard got completely out-classed by CP3 in the first round of the playoffs and shot like 36% from the field and PORTLAND STILL WON THE SERIES. Please stop this nonsense that Lillard is carrying Portland, that's an insult to guys like Mccollum, Aminu and Plumlee who are either borderline allstar or solid role players.
I don't disagree that there are good guys that people like being around. What I doubt is widespread is players who are SO awesome to be around that it significantly changes the amount of games their teams win, beyond just their playing ability.
Kobe actually comes to mind as the guy who isn't enjoyable to work with and they still won titles, but those teams also had Phil Jackson.
No doubt but being a leader is more than being a good teammate. There are a handful of great leaders around the league. I don't see Dame - or Harden - in that group, yet.
Not to that extent, no. Raising a team's record by even an extra win or two is a lot to believe just from "I like playing with this guy." The Kobe/Shaq Lakers probably weren't a "enjoy working with you" team, but they were extremely successful.
Harden's numbers are inflated because he does 95% of all the ball handling in our Moreyball/Heroball offense
