Who was a better player for us - TMac at his best or James Harden this year?

T-Mac because he could shut down Dirk Nowitzki, and go toe to toe with any superstar when he needed to. Harden probably will improve though, and he's only a tiny hair behind T-Mac right now. I would probably take Harden going forward. T-Mac's propensity for long 2's jumpshots infuriated me, whereas Harden is the most efficient shooting guard in the league.

 

hard to say, we never left the first round with either player leading the team. overall i would say prime tmac, but harden is a more well rounded player than tmac and is younger than when we picked up tmac. too early to really say anything

 

T-Mac at his best is the answer to the question, but we have yet to see Harden at his best.

 

Tmac's prime was in Orlando and in 2004-2005 and after that was a injured downgraded version. Tmac was more creative on offense. He had the ability to play on the elbow as a scorer or as a feeder finding the cutters. Harden is more of a bull. He is more physical and gets to the line more.

 

I'll take first year T-Mac over James Harden.

That year, he lead the team in scoring, assists and steals; second in rebounding and third in blocked shots behind Yao and Deke.

Harden's offensive efficiency makes it an interesting debate but he's a big minus on defense.

 

No way in hell is Harden more well rounded than T'Mac was.

 

Oh how quickly we forget
Tmac was awesome..

 

Harden is no where near Tmac best year yet, we may discuss it again after 2-3 years when Harden in his prime

 

T Mac over james harden any day of the week

 

20-0 vote right now

 

Easy choice: TMac at his best. We would have won an NBA title in 2005 had we been able to get past Dallas.

Yet the answer will be Harden in 2 more years.

 

Tmac always made things feel unfulfilled.

 

Tmac at his best was like Melo from this year.

 

looks like im the only one so far that picked harden... ok Tmac is the reason i really got back into the houston rockets.. yes i loved the rockets since when they won the championships.. but i specifically liked the the Rockets when Tmac joined.. he was supposed to lead us to the promise land with yao.. but injuries were the Achilles heel of this team. Thats why i chose Harden.. SO far (knock on wood) he isnt injury prone.. his stats would state that at 23 years old he is producing to be a superstar.. he will only get better! im voiting for harden because he has a bright future with this franchise.. and i am very confident!!! 2013-14 will be a fun seaon! I cant wait

 

Wow Tmac was better than melo. At his best he was much better than Melo. Tmac was more talented than Kobe at his best. The problem was he was too good that it came to easy for him. Kobe out worked him in every way but more than that Kobe out passioned him. Kobe had that fire in him to win. he was driven. Tmac was weak mentally. He thought he was entitled and didn't put in the effort just to win. Not on him but on making the team. Tmac was more talented than Harden ... not really even close but knowing what I know about Tmac I pick Harden over him everyday.

 

I'll wait for a couple of years to make that distinction. Remember that TMac was a defensive beast in his early years but evolved to become a tremendous offensive force after he left Toronto (probably due to the lack of supporting cast when he played for the Magic).

We know that Harden is also a gifted and efficient player in his first year with the Rox but Id like to see two things before he can surpass TMac, at least from my POV.
#1. He needs to become a solid to above average defender - a player that you can put on the other team's best player.
#2. Lead the Rox past the 1st round.

The guy is only 23 years old and he is still evolving as a player and leader. It is not far-fetch to see him improve defensively concurrently becoming an even more dominant scorer.
I guess we will see in a couple of years, but even then he's only 25-26 years of age. Pretty scary stuff. I guess potentially, Harden can surpass TMac's body of work for the Rockets moreso due to James' youth

 

For those who want to watch T-mac's recent performance, getting Kobe sweeped, here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUDdrF1lrS0

 

2013 Durant > McGrady at his peak = Wade at his peak > 2012 Durant > 2013 Harden

Not fair to put a young Harden up against a great player at his greatest though. I think when it's all said and done Harden will go down as a hall of famer and an all time great.

 

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