03-04 Suns didn't have Amare for 30 games and turned the team over to D'Antoni after 31 games. A coach change nearly mid-season and injuries account for 29 wins. The season before that they won 44 games with Marbury as their point and a rookie of the year, STAT. So, yes, Nash and a full season of a system benefitted the Suns in the following years. But lets not pretend there were scrubs (including the coach) equal to what we had this past season. Let's also not discount that making players better require that other players willingly play to their strengths. If you are a terrible post up player but insist on me feeding you in the post, you're not going to look better unfortunately. We had 3 seasons of Dwight. Our best season in 2 decades came when we only had him for half of 1. What happened then? He fit himself in and played to his strengths when he was able to play. Why change that after it worked so well? Cause it's your contract year and you gotta get yours?
Once again... Teaching time. Harden was the SOLE legit ball handler, playmaker, and shot creator on the team. This was flat-out not the case with the Suns who had multiple ball handlers, playmakers, and shot creators. You damn fool.
Just a little history lesson, since so much emphasis is put on "breaking the turnover record" Players in NBA history to score 2300 points, 600 assists, 500 rebounds in one season: Hasn't been done in 26 years, since you know Michael Jordan managed it. And by the way, turnovers weren't kept as a stat in Big O and Hondo's days, so you probably would have seen similar numbers for those guys. BUT NOT AN ALL NBA PLAYER
yea because he cant think or soeak if anything else. What idiots fans are. This unfair disresoect of Black athletes is exactly why all the Black players shoukd not participate in anything fir this ungrateful country and let the white play in the olympics and not even medal. Amerikkka would be a pile of steaming crap without Blacks.
Harden apparently is appreciated (especially judging by the extension he got) - http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/nba-...james-harden-appreciated-kevin-durant-thinks/ No real epiphanies here, although they make a good point that other players who had a great year statistically did not make a spot on the All-NBA team.
Put any of those guards on the rockets with brewer as their starting sg or pbev as pg, tjones/dmo as their Pf, a center who refuses to play PnR, and Mchale/jbb coaching them 41 wins or less will be the most they will muster too. They will probably be injured or run out of gas after playing more than 38 minutes a night by the time playoffs start.
Yeah, last season was not entirely Harden's fault by any stretch, and in comparison to the prior season when they won 56 games and were #2, he had a lot more votes for All-NBA and the MVP, even though statistically he was very similar (except for WS).
Harden is definitely a great player and definitely should have been selected as an All NBA player, but these only xx player accomplished xxxx point, xxx rebound, xxx assist in a season stats are practically useless. With arbitrary cut offs, increasing # of categories & arbitrary stat categories used, you can pretty much make any all star player look like some kind of all time great and a member of some exclusive arbitrary stat club. Why the 2300 pts, 600 ast & 500 trb cut off, other than the fact if it's any higher Harden would not be included & any lower it does not look as exclusive any more? Also why only those 3 stats in particular, other than the fact that's the 3 stats Harden excels in? If you tweaked the criteria to >= 1800 pts, >=300 Asts, >=550 trbs, >=150 steals, >= TS% 0.555. Now suddenly Paul George is an all time great and the the only player to achieve those stats since MJ in 1989.
WOW Harden is incredible. He should be right there with Curry when people bring up his name, but the damn media especially at ESPN and bleacher report hired a bunch of golden state warrior fan girls to report on the NBA
Its an exercise to illustrate why the "turnover record" is overblown, not to show Harden being an all time great player. You can eliminate rebounding if you feel it is "arbitrary", but it won't change your list much. It would add Tiny Archibald's 72-73 season. PTs + Assists is not arbitrary as they are the two stats closely related to offensive production. You either score, miss, assist or turn the ball over. Yes. Harden had a lot of turnovers. He also had a near record of points created. That is the point.
2300 pts, 600 ast & 500 are elite numbers especially for an SG in what world does averaging 21.95 pts and 3.66 assists become all time great? and as for other stuff he does... http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=10636667#post10636667