+1 Any OKC or HOF fans here? How do those who have watched Hardin night in and night out rate his unselfishness offensively and defensively? I'm hoping Rockets turn into a bunch of team-first unselfish players that play each possession to win, regardless of stats or highlight film plays. Lin brings that hard-nosed work ethic offensively and defensively.
You don't don't think Harden is going to improve playoff chances, and attendance - and make the Rockets attractive for more talent? Why? Personally, I am A LOT more interested in the team now.
Is it possible to be a poor ball handler but an excellent point guard? I'll cheer for lin and want him to be successful but dragic, who gets under everybody's skin on defense, would look awesome next to Harden. Hoping lin rises to the challenge. I think he will but for some reason I'm nervous. I guess all the threads about him have gotten me this way.
Agreed, these superteams are soooo bad for the NBA... I mean, what percentage of NBA fans want to watch the Timberwolves, Raptors, Cavs, Bobcats, Bucks, Magic, Suns, etc. The NBA is now more like MLB, with only a handful of teams out of like 30 that are actually able to be champions, i.e. the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Spurs, Lakers, Thunder... I find myself rooting for teams like OKC, the Spurs, the Pacers all season long, as they have constructed their teams the right way, shrewd drafting and cap management, with no free agency collusion among the league's few max-level players.
Based on these comments, I like Lebron's communication style better, taking the high road, similar to his comments about Linsanity.
Harden is very selfish(stat wise). He was crying about his stats during the game 1 victory against Miami.
I've been following OKC and SAS for several years now. Harden is essentially a combo guard -- more shooting guard than PG. A very good perimeter shooter, with great ability to penetrate and drive the paint, who happens to have very good passing skills and plays well off the ball. He's an unselfish player. He doesn't hesitate to pass to open shooters. He's the opposite of a ball stopper. And his ball handling skills means alot of the time he's effectively playing either as the PG or a 2nd PG in the OKC lineups. He also happens to be one of the best ISO players in the league, and plays the PnR very well. He demands double teams not only when he's shooting, but when the ball is in his hands in general. As such, expect teams to face a very difficult choice... double team Harden and leave Lin in ISO, or double team Lin and leave Harden in ISO. Opposing teams will have to defend against PnR plays off both sides at once... from Lin AND from Harden. He's also plays well in transition. He'll fit very well into the uptempo game that McHale is pushing. Essentially, those open court Lin passes... Harden can make them pretty decently too. Don't be surprised to see even MORE transition scoring assuming our other players can move their feet down court fast enough. His Defense isn't great. However, he's an upgrade from K-Mart. And given McHale's style, expect him to work Harden to improve his D. At the age of 23, there is still alot of room to get better on that end. Harden is definitely not a diva. So don't expect any crazy locker room antics unless it involves string cheese or something. Good fit for the Rockets.
You do know when the Cavs had Lebron people were watching right? The Timberwolves and Raptors are actually not that bad this year if Rubio and K Love come back. The Knicks are the most overrated team, I mean how many championships have they won in the last 20 years? 1. The franchise is the worst giving away Lin for nothing, even OKC was smart enough to get a ton for Harden. They could've even gotten 1st round picks for Lin but noo Dolan is an idiot giving up Linsanity for nothing. OKC is smart, Martin is good this year, Lamb has great potential and those first round picks will be useful. The Rockets have always been a powerful franchise from the Olajuwon Era to the Yao Ming to now the Rush Hour 4 era.
Woj's articles are always biased and written in a way that tries to push whatever it is he's trying to push. That scenario he described could have happened in so many ways, and it's entire possible it was made out to more than what it was, or it could have happened the way he said it did. Regardless, as a player, Harden is quite unselfish, as some poster a few comments above mine explained.
Fair point to date given our history with Hakeem as the only true success, but I am hoping Hardin and Lin will have the work ethic, charisma, unselfishness to draw other similar types to the Rockets. Hard working stars, not prima donnas who just pad their stats and whine when they don't get their shots, don't help on defense, and just go for flashy steals and blocks. Look what Lin did with the Knicks bench last year. Team players are what win championships. Only when stars become team players that they truly win. Sure, it is great to have a superstar that works his butt off, but if we can't get that right away, let's do it the old Detroit Pistons way, a bunch of unselfish team players (even though I didn't like how dirty they were), none of which were great 1 on 1 players--other than Isiah when he was on. I believe Lin is a superstar in the making, but we will see how that pans out as lots of people disagree, fairly or unfairly. His defense is there, and his offense is catching up.
RUSH HOUR 4 ERA, brilliant! Seriously, getting Harden is the best thing that could have happened to Lin. People need to realize that with attention on Harden, Lin has real potential of recapturing Linsanity or just short of it. Lin can be the 18/8 player with Harden running the court next to him. Lin's been running on low energy this preseason, for whatever reason (be it his knee, or pressure being tagged the franchise player, deferring to Kmart, etc)... but given Harden's ultra-hi-energy, hi-tempo style of play... it will revitalize and reinvigorate Lin's play.
Moses was before my time so I wont comment, Francis was never a superstar, Barkley and Drexler would be akin to landing Paul Pierce or KG at this point, which doesn't really count in my book. Olajuwon, McGrady and Yao are legit. Thats 3 in the past 30 years. We don't know what Harden is, because he has been the third option on a contending team. The only real comparison we can make here is a guy like Chris Bosh who went from a 24/11 as 1st option, to an 18/8 guy as 3rd option. Harden is an 18/4/4 guy. Is it out of the realm of possibility that he becomes a 24/6/6 guy? Thats a great start IMHO. Says who? Charlotte, Milwaukee, Goldenstate have been terrible for years and they arent any closer to being a contender than we are.
I wonder if those who want the protected draft picks instead of Harden just like gambling by nature, because I don't want those odds. I want the sure solid, young, hardworking player with upside.
