tinman quoted you with the little red dot where I can read all of the context. You quoted yourself without the red box to perhaps hide what you really said. tinmans quote was from a new standalone paragraph in your post. The only part he omitted from your entire paragraph was that isn't context. Your statement stands, quote is fair.
Absolutely wrong. Isn't a shot fake a form of deceiving someone? what about a crossover? Hakeem's Dream Shake was all about misdirection and pretending to go one way instead of the other. It's no different than what Harden does. Most of the Harden's FTs come from drawing legit contact by cajoling the defenders to reach in. Sometimes it get's a little bit fishy, for sure, but those are not the majority. If Harden is so good and skilled at deceiving the defender to reach and commit fouls against him, why should that be held against him? And if it was so easy, most of the players in the league would be doing it by now, since free throws are one of the most efficient ways to score. Dismissing it as dirty tricks just because it's aesthetically unpleasing to the ordinary fans is just foolish. By the way, Harden is an elite scorer even without the free throws. If you think Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Demarcus Cousins and Russell Westbrook are elite offensive players, you can't say Harden is nothing without the FTs, because Harden's effective FG% (which takes into account the value of 3 point shot) is just as good or even better than all of those guys, while averaging more points. The only guys that have Harden beat in terms of 'shooting efficiency' while scoring just as much are Curry, Durant and probably Lebron. So spare the hate, and give the guy some credit.
the discussion was about regular season performance, so maybe you should learn to read before making an argument
Harden doesn't need FTs to be considered an elite scorer. If you take away 8.8 free throw points from the Harden's season average 29, it still leaves him with 20.2 That is STILL THE THIRD HIGHEST POINTS PER GAME behind Curry and Durant, if you take away the free throws points from all the other players in the league. But, what about the shooting efficiency tho, right? For that we should look at eFG% since the regular FG% does no justice to a player like Harden who attempts a lot of 3s in a game. For example, Ray Allen's regular FG% is nothing special at 45%, doesn't mean he was a mediocre shooter. That's what happens when take shoot a lot of 3s, since it's more difficult to make than 2s, obviously, but is still worth it because making 4 threes is same as making 6 twos, saving you two possessions while scoring just as much. Among the Top 10 scorers in the regular season, Harden's eFG% is 4th highest at 51.2%. That's better than AD, Westbrook, Lillard, Cousins, Paul George and DeRozan. Harden is more efficient shooter than, believe it or not, Kobe, Wade, T-Mac and Iverson.
OMG.... Did this guy just compare Hakeem's dream shake to Harden's head snap back and arm flail?!?! REALLY?? WOW... Dude, just stop. Extending your arms and snapping your head back isn't a talent. Unlike Hakeem's exquisite post moves, Harden's 'move' is dependent on a third party, the refs. Is Hakeem's post moves dependent on the refs and whether they feel like blowing the whistle or not?
Harden doesn't need FTs to be considered an elite scorer. If you take away 8.8 free throw points from the Harden's season average 29, it still leaves him with 20.2 That is STILL THE THIRD HIGHEST POINTS PER GAME behind Curry and Durant, if you take away the free throws points from all the other players in the league. But, what about the shooting efficiency tho, right? For that we should look at eFG% since the regular FG% does no justice to a player like Harden who attempts a lot of 3s in a game. For example, Ray Allen's regular FG% is nothing special at 45%, doesn't mean he was a mediocre shooter. That's what happens when take shoot a lot of 3s, since it's more difficult to make than 2s, obviously, but is still worth it because making 4 threes is same as making 6 twos, saving you two possessions while scoring just as much. Among the Top 10 scorers in the regular season, Harden's eFG% is 4th highest at 51.2%. That's better than AD, Westbrook, Lillard, Cousins, Paul George and DeRozan. Harden is more efficient shooter than, believe it or not, Kobe, Wade, T-Mac and Iverson.
93-94 Hakeem Olajuwon vs 14-15 James Harden PPG Harden > Hakeem RPG Hakeem > Harden APG Harden > Hakeem SPG Harden > Hakeem BPG Hakeem > Harden FG% Hakeem > Harden TS% Harden > Hakeem PER Hardern > Hakeem Ortg Harden > Hakeem Drtg Hakeem > Harden Net Rating Harden > Hakeem WS Harden > Hakeem WS/48 Harden > Hakeem BPM Harden > Hakeem VORP Harden > Hakeem
LOL at comparing Haren To the Dream at this point They are several tiers apart as players It's like comparing a Lexus (Harden) to a Bugatti Veyron (Dream)
93-94 Hakeem Olajuwon (Team 58-24, 1st in MVP Voting, DPOY) PPG-RPG-APG-SPG-BPG 27.3-11.9-3.6-1.6-3.7 52.8 FG% TS% 56.5 PER 25.3 Ortg 109 Drtg 95 Net Rating +14 WS 14.3 WS/48 .210 BPM 7.0 VORP 7.5 14-15 James Harden (Team 56-26, 2nd in MVP Voting, Player's MVP) PPG-RPG-APG-SPG-BPG 27.4-5.7-7.0-1.9-0.7 44 FG% 37.5 3P% TS% 60.5 PER 26.7 Ortg 118 Drtg 103 Net Rating +15 WS 16.4 (franchise record) WS/48 .265 BPM 8.4 VORP 7.8
I don't like Veyrons. They are fast in a straight line but not agile. It's like comparing an S class Merc to a La Ferrari.
Offensively, Harden is much better player than Hakeem ever was. It's not even close, honestly. TS% James Harden 60.5% Hakeem Olajuwon 55.3% Career Avg. Offensive Rating James Harden 117 Hakeem Olajuwon 108 Career High Offensive Rating James Harden 125 Hakeem Olajuwon 114 Career Avg. Offensive Box Plus Minus James Harden 5.4 Hakeem Olajuwon 1.1 Career High Offensive Box Plus Minus James Harden 7.4 Hakeem Olajuwon 3.0 Career Avg. Offensive Win Shares James Harden 8.2 Hakeem Olajuwon 3.8 Career High Offensive Win Shares James Harden 12.2 Hakeem Olajuwon 7.9
He's officially in full breakdown mode. Is this is a joke account? larsv8, jordannn or whatever his name is, Jay Google etc.(The "Harden is infallible" Gang) Are you guys going to defend his statements?
Do you have any counter evidence, or just gonna keep whining? I'm talking about regular season numbers, in the playoffs Hakeem was definitely better. TS% James Harden 60.5% Hakeem Olajuwon 55.3% Career Avg. Offensive Rating James Harden 117 Hakeem Olajuwon 108 Career High Offensive Rating James Harden 125 Hakeem Olajuwon 114 Career Avg. Offensive Box Plus Minus James Harden 5.4 Hakeem Olajuwon 1.1 Career High Offensive Box Plus Minus James Harden 7.4 Hakeem Olajuwon 3.0 Career Avg. Offensive Win Shares James Harden 8.2 Hakeem Olajuwon 3.8 Career High Offensive Win Shares James Harden 12.2 Hakeem Olajuwon 7.9
93-94 Hakeem Olajuwon (Team 58-24, 1st in MVP Voting, DPOY) PPG-RPG-APG-SPG-BPG 27.3-11.9-3.6-1.6-3.7 52.8 FG% TS% 56.5 PER 25.3 Ortg 109 Drtg 95 Net Rating +14 WS 14.3 WS/48 .210 BPM 7.0 VORP 7.5 14-15 James Harden (Team 56-26, 2nd in MVP Voting, Player's MVP) PPG-RPG-APG-SPG-BPG 27.4-5.7-7.0-1.9-0.7 44 FG% 37.5 3P% TS% 60.5 PER 26.7 Ortg 118 Drtg 103 Net Rating +15 WS 16.4 (franchise record) WS/48 .265 BPM 8.4 VORP 7.8
The Rockets GM and coaching staff have created an offensive system where Harden excels while the team suffers. There are so many other factors such as pace, era, and offensive system THAT YOU ARE COMPLETELY IGNORING. I don't have time to argue with idiocracy. I have finals to worry about. The only thing you are proving is how not important many of these advanced stats are.
and absolutely no proof to back up the claim, as always. BTW, I'm a Hakeem expert myself, so I can demolish your nostalgic view of Hakeem if you want. want some info?
What happened to that great Hakeem after Ralph Sampson got traded? from 86-87 when Hakeem officially became 'the man' of Houston to 92-93 season, Houston missed several playoffs or frequently got eliminated in the first round of playoffs. The first time Hakeem had legitimate playoff success was when he was 31 years old in 93-94 season.
