Harden was 23 in his last season at OKC. Harden was a rookie at the current age of KPJ and had like a 52% ts. Don't be dumb. Also having KD and Westbrook next to you helps with efficiency.
I doubt KPJ will have Harden's career but comparing Harden's stats when he was 23 to KPJ who is 20 while Harden played next to Durant and Westbrook is silly.
I mean, his TS% when he was 20 was .55. That’s not too far removed. Not too mention KPJ is averaging way more points and assists than Harden did at 20.
the Harden comparisons need to stop unless people are just saying they’re similar because they’re both left handed and take stepback threes and leaving it at that right now, he’s more D’angelo Russell with more athleticism that struggles to shoot than he is James Harden
3% difference in TS% is significant...55% TS is average, and 52% is typical John Wall territory of course he is, KPJr has way more usage and shot attempts...the most shots Harden took in a game that year was just 15...Porter is averaging 14 shots a game while Harden averaged 8...he was playing his role as a bench player on a 50 win team
Harden seemed to always find a back for fts. Because his fg% was pretty bad at 40%. and efg% was pretty bad at 48%.
James Harden struggled to shoot just as much or even worse at 20. His fg% was worse and efg% was about the same. So his ts% of 55% was a result of drawing fouls. He also played around far supurior talent that provided far supurior pacing. Durant brought gravity with him as soon as he got into the league.
It’s unfair to write off KPJ’s success just to usage. KPJ’s Assist %, .34, is crazy for a 20 year old. Like, almost triple that of Harden’s first two years. Harden didn’t touch that percentage until he was 25.
OKC had little spacing. The only shooting threat aside from Harden was Durant, and teams weren’t selling out their defense for 2nd year Westbrook. Spacing in today’s NBA is much better than back in 2009 in general based off how team’s emphasize it and approach offense as opposed to back then when things like 2 non-shooting big lineups was still the norm. yes, Harden’s basic FG% was worse his rookie since he was a terrible finisher, he shot a horrific 47% at the rim...drawing fouls is an important skill, and something Harden was already adept at in college and coming into the league, where KPJr still needs to figure out how to do it or his efficiency will remain below average with his shooting at the level that it’s at
yes, his assist percentage is nice if y’all want to keep comparing him to Harden, then go ahead...Harden was clearly much better than his basic box score stats in OKC which is why I don’t get into all this trying to compare numbers between the 2 Harden’s 2nd year he averaged a measly 12, 3, and 2, but when they put the ball in his hands more in the WCF he does this What is Harden averaging his 2nd year if he’s on some bad team able to do whatever he wants in low stakes games? Certainly much better than 12 points and 2 assists. What is he averaging his 1st year? next season he averages 17, 4, and 4, but it was clear he was already All-Star caliber and a top 20 player in his 3rd year, but was playing his role as the 3rd wheel off the bench nobody saw MVP, all-time great coming from Harden, but he was taken 3rd in a strong draft for a reason
Dude.... It's Kevin ****ing Durant. There isn't a single player next to KPJ that has the ounce of gravity that KD has. The Rockets are one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. Spacing isn't something this Rocket team is good at. Durant helped Harden immensely. By the time Harden got to the league KD was already one of the top 2 scoring threats from the perimeter in the league. And even though Westbrook was never a knock down shooter, his precense drew attention as he still was a all-star level scoring threat that also KPJ has no one of that level playing next to him. That's two star to all time great scoring threats next to Harden that KPJ doesn't have to ease attention off him. KPJ seems to be always be playing in crowds and traffic.
Again, playing on a good team should imply better efg% and fg%. Better teams have better players. Better players provide better spacing and playmaking. Westbrook and KD feed Harden better than anyone on the the Rockets do with KPJ. If you want to put Harden on a hypothetical bad team to increase his volume stats you have to acknowledge the large probability of efficiency drops. Also Harden with far supurior talent around him at 20 averaged 1.4 turnovers per 1.8 assists which is pretty bad. At 20 with far worse talent around him KPJ is averaging 6.3 apg while only averaging 3.5 turnovers. That's an impressive ast/to ratio for a 20 year old who hasn't played pf before.
Harden played like 10 minutes a game with KD on the floor his rookie year yet you’re talking as if Harden was attached to the hip with Durant OKC had Durant, yet still had terrible spacing. I hope u don’t think that just because a team had young Durant and a bunch of non-shooters, that automatically means that team had amazing spacing. 2nd year Russ wasn’t any all-time great scoring threat
What? I never said he was an all-time great scoring threat. I explicitly stated he was an all-star level scoring threat. That's two teammates that were all-star level to all time great scoring threat. I'm sorry that's going to generate more open opportunities for you than this current Rockets roster that has no one close to that around KPJ. I don't know where you got ten minutes but that's almost half of Harden's playing time when he was 20. That would still be signficantly a large percentage of his minutes on the court.
Harden probably would’ve had below average efficiency his rookie year with more responsibility solely because he couldn’t finish at the rim, a problem he didn’t have moving forward his efficiency has remained high the more defensive attention he’s received as that has been the theme his entire career because he has always been a good shooter that can get to the line
Yes at the same age Harden's two main advantages over KPJ is strength and shooting. KPJ I think is a better ball handler, passer and finisher at 20. Shooting is a skillset that can improve for a 20 year old. I doubt KPJ will ever be anywhere near as string as Harden as that's one of Harden's attributes that makes him elite at getting to the line.
2nd year Westbrook was not an All-Star level scoring threat...in no world is 16 ppg on 42% from the field, 22% from 3, and 49% TS All-Star level scoring threat...as talented as Russ was, he was nowhere close to All-Star level Harden’s rookie year that’s also a significantly large percentage of his minutes with KD off the court...Harden wasn’t out there with tremendous spacing his rookie year
