James Harden is Rated Third Best One on One Player by SI

His shot selection has a lot to do with the coaching staff and, yes, Daryl Morey with his shot-o-metrics or whatever you call it. High-value shots: 3 pointers or close-to-the-basket shots. Midrange? Waste of the 3rd point from the 3-point line or the 3rd point from the and-one when he gets to the basket.

Me, I think our system makes it easier to prepare against us, but I'm less concerned now when our current success is predicated on the lack of a 2nd star and the misuse/overthinking of our $8,333,000 point guard.

 

WHAAAT!! What about the crossover step back jumper he uses and hits on a regular basis.

 

That isn't really a pullup jumper.

My definition of a pullup jumper is when a player is running with the ball but suddenly stops and shoots. Kobe is a prime example for this league, and McGrady was a prime example of this team.

Like this:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QfX22LEILA0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

We don't know if this is true,because when you get something working, and the opponents cannot stop it, why do you want to use other moves? It's like people claim that SHAQ is not good because he couldn't do anything other than power over people & dunk.

Harden's biggest strength is to get to FT line, and he lead the league on that department. Until other team can deny him to the hoop AND the FT line, there is no reason for him to take those pull ups.

About the post up games, that's what the Rockets don't want because it will slow the pace down, and the Rockets is just not good enough to score consistently in a slow-down half court game.

 

Do you know how difficult it is to be able to average over 20 points a game in the NBA. Not many can do it... So for you to make the statement that Harden's game is INCREDIBLY FLAWED is incredibly ridiculous.

And he went right several times last night. They where even talking about it on the NBA channel when they where showing highlights. So you are dead wrong about some of the things he can't do..

 

Dude that is a vague definition of a pull up jump shot and its the first definition that pops up when you Google it...

There are many variations of the jumper.

 

Harden has had that shot selection his whole career, Morey had been after him for a long time because he fit them perfectly with his game already.

 

James Harden is the ONLY player in the league who averages double digits in free throw attempts per game. He also leads the league in FTs made.

 

He's also 11 years younger than Kobe Bryant and 8 yrs younger than Dwayne Wade. Arguably the top 3 shooting guards in the league right now.

 

LOL indeed.

 

1) Harden's scoring game is flawed. It's not polished yet, there are still a ton of simple things he could add to his arsenal. That's not a criticism, it's praise, because the fact that he is 5th in scoring despite these weaknesses only shows how good he is.

2) Please do tell me what I'm "dead wrong" in. If you used last night as an example that James Harden could go right just as effectively then you need to watch more games.

The definition of pull up is not vague. It's one of the most commonly used move by all skilled scorers.

 

To call his scoring game flawed for the reasons you mentioned is kind of meaningless. It's like saying Hakeem's scoring game is flawed because he wasn't a great 3 point shooter, or Shaq's game was flawed for any number of reasons. The only guys you could really make an argument as not being flawed would be Kobe, LeBron, and MJ...and even with those guys, you could argue they're not elite perimeter shooters.

He's an elite scorer already and has the capacity to get better. I think to call his scoring game "incredibly flawed" is a bit misleading.

 

I like this response...

 

Shaq's game is flawed, and a lot of people would tell you that. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's a consensus that Shaq could be a much better player than he already is if he was able to hit his FTs more consistently.

Granted, maybe "incredibly" is an overstatement, but Harden's game is still far from polished. The fact that he can't use his right hand to score is a hole in his game, and a huge advantage once he begins using it consistently.

If you compare Harden to the other 4 top scorers in the league, Harden has the most limited number of offensive moves. Like I said, it's not really a criticism, but pointing out how good he could really be once he starts filling the holes in his game.

 

Of course he has room for improvement he's only 23 no one debates that... But to say his offense is INCREDIBLY FLAWED...??? And you say because of things like he can't go right... SO WHAT... Most people are right handed which makes left handed people difficult to guard.

And you also forget that he is putting up big numbers when he is the main focal point of the opposing defense and no other consistent scoring option on the team...

 

I don't know what your problem is.

If it's semantics, then fine, Harden's game is still "pretty flawed". Good enough?

Also, if you don't think not being able to go right is a problem then there is no point debating anymore because nothing is going to get through your head.

 

Actually I said he can go right... You state that he can't go to his right as in he never has gone to his right when he has...

So we're just at a standstill on that...

 

No we are not. When I said Harden can't go right I obviously did not mean he can "never" go right. Just like if I said Asik has no offensive game it does not mean Asik literally has zero moves around the basket. Harden has problems going right, that's one of the notable weaknesses of his game.

Also, you said it doesn't matter if Harden can't go right. I'm saying that's stupid.

 

This shows how dumb the Rocket coaches are for having Harden handle the ball all the time.

 

Harde's problem going right is that he can't shoot with it, as in I've seen him miss the rim with his right hand on a layup bad.