If you actually think Durant would choose Harden over Westbrook you're crazy. I think talent-wise they are very close to each other. The other thing that matters is chemistry. Who do you think he's going to choose, the guy he parties with during the summer? or the guy he goes to war with every day during the season. Believe me, I would love for him to come here but I think it makes sense that he would be more loyal to Westbrook.
Harden has a crappy playoff game: everyone has bad games, look at what he did all season, no one is more valuable than him. Durant has a crappy playoff game: that's just who he is, who cares what he did all season and even earlier this season, dude can't win, keep him the HELL away from this team. Never change, guys!
This!!!! When harden played with durant or hell even and Allstar level player then I'll listent to this tyoe of statement.
People forget how amazing a player Harden was when he played with Durant and Westbrook in OKC, he put up incredibly efficient numbers (17 PPG on 66 TS%) and was basically the second best player on that team despite being a sixth man (had higher WS, WS/48, BPM, VORP, TS% than Westbrook.) That is the kind of Harden you get when you pair him up with legit superstars, diverting away some of the defensive pressures off of him. We haven't done that since he came here to Houston.
Harden doesn't play with another Allstar level guy let alone somone of durants caliber whe routinely puts up a 28 PER. The 12 TO game was terrible no excuses there but he was also the only ball handler on a depleted team and was dog tired from carying the load all year with a deep playoff run and playing in summer basketball with team USA were he was the team captain. You can think russ played good Defense because he's going 100 mph but the guy is out of place all the time and lost curry for wide open shots that killed OKC in the 4th quarter. If you rember last year when KD was out wettbrook ended the season on his triple double streak but during those last 40 games he also was avg close to 6 TOs a game. He's extreamly careless with the ball. Harden was bad this year no doubt but russ actually turned it over about the same pace but yet it's not talked about at all. He played lees games and till was only like 18 Tos shy of hardens terrible mark. And yes harden has had bad playoff games every player does. But imo if KD and russ cante get over the hump with this deep team in year 8 of playing together, they never will. I like russ I just think he's relies to much on his athletism he can't shoot and is wreakless and not good at all in clutch situations. Harden was there closer when he played in OKC he's handled the ball in the end game situations. Just in the last two playoff series this year against SA and GS russ had cost them 3 games with terrible plays. There deep big rebounding players have won them these games this year and you need your role players to step up Hakeem Jordan curry all those guys had role players come up big and bail them out of games. That's why the game 6 comback last year against the clips is stupid imo to point that as some sort of flaw against harden. I mean that's what good teams that win chips have. Role players step up and do something's they don't usually do. You have to have that to win a chip. Last year iggy won mvp of the finals not curry he guarded and slowed Lebron down. That doesn't take away from currys impact.
Again, all true but everything you're saying also applies to Harden. It's a bad idea when you try to claim Harden>Westbrook and then trash Westbrook by writing a huge post about things that precisely apply to Harden.
Hypothetically speaking there is no telling how good Harden would be now if a player of Durant's caliber played next to him. It's not happening though. The reason is because KD already plays with Westbrook. There's no reason to go elsewhere. Harden/KD could very well be just as great as Westbrook/KD, but it's not happening. I don't know why people are having this discussion. Maybe Westbrook is better than Harden. I won't argue it. Doesn't mean a KD/Harden duo wouldn't be championship material. I still think KD/Westbrook is championship material. Just have had some tough breaks and lousy mistakes.
I don't think they are championship material. OKC lost so many games this season when they were up by double digits in the last quarter. They are a hell of a team but something isn't quite 'there'.
How does this work? Doesn't every player on the floor have to play defense every time down the floor on defense?
Would love to get him, but at this point it would be a very low IQ decision for him to join the Rockets, and that would greatly diminish my confidence that he alone is all we need to win it all. He's on a team with Adams, Ibaka, Kanter, Waiters, Payne and Westbrook. All of them are either entering their prime or are in their prime. Durant joining the Rockets is like Melo staying with the Knicks - the FA decision tells you a lot about the player's intelligence.
Westbrook, Adams, Roberson, and Ibaka will be free agents after next season. Dan Gilbert is their owner.
Durant won't come here because D'Antoni, but a demoralizing playoff loss where your team was up 3 games to 1 and they choked is certainly something that could make someone want to leave.
Understood. But imo harden is the superior offensive player. He's the better shooter I think we can both agree on that. He also plays a style of basktball that's less eratic and doesn't fully rely on being faster and jump higher than everyone on the court. Which I admit should not be held against weatbrook because it's part of his great abilty and it's really what makes him uniqe, but we've also seen what happens to these type of players as they get older. I think there both even in terms of playmaking with Westbrook having the slightest edge in rebounding. But harden is the fat better scorer he does it more efficiently and shoots the ball a lot less to get more points. How many times do you see harden shoot 25+ shots? Westbrook does this almsot every other game. Also harden imo is the far superior late game performer and the numbers plus the eye test back this up. Sure westbrook has the potential to be better than harden on D and he is a little better but the difference is not a lot. And harden as we've seen when locked in can actually be a positive on that end as he's a pretty good on ball defender and is one of the better guards at Blk shots. There both big strong and long for there position so really there's no reason there both not top 5 defensivly for there position. Really that's were I want to see harden really take that next step this coming season. If he does that then I think we can all agree that he's finally matured and "gotten it" time will tell but offensivly he's one of the best top 3 with lebron and curry these guys can do it all on tha end of the court.
You right something is missing. His names James Harden. He was the guy they would give the ball to down the stretch to make the right plays in the clutch. Go back and watch that finals appearance they made back in Hardens last year In okc. That WCF series against the Spurs it was all harden that won them that series he closed the show and made big play after big play.
