[Grantland] Zach Lowe: Harden, Lin among the most efficient driving into the lane

You need to read though the link. Learn before you speak.

 

You make a great point, but Kevin Martin is nothing compared to Harden. Harden will Euro step the defender or flat out move him out of the way on the basket. Martin would bounce off the defender like a racquet ball

 

Repped. For real man

 

Harden usually struggles against good shot blockers. He needs to develop a floater.

 

LOL get over yourself.

Kobe by is far one of my favourite players but the dude is way better when he's a balanced triple liner like he was 2 weeks ago. Not a double liner, and certainly not a single heavy liner. The reason I don't care is because I do not care if the Lakers win or not.

17 pts - 9 rebounds - 8assist (with a win consistently ala Lebron James) > 38 pts - 4 rebounds - 4 assists. (those numbers by Harden in Miami are not sustainable).

Not a Lebron fan. Don't like his style but gotta respect his game. The dude will go down as the most complete player in nba history just because the dude has a basketball IQ of a genius. A close to triple double line through out his career is much more impressive than "leading scorer" without a ring. (T-Mac). From what I remember, Hakeem (a superstar) didn't take many lousy shots. Gotta forgive me, I didn't care about the Rockets until this year.

 

Having Harden or Lin drive is better than having Carlos Delfino drive? Thanks, technology!

 

Disappointment is relative, pretty much by definition. Relative to his Linsanity days, he's a disappointment. Relative to his draft position, he's a great success. Relative to his salary and the 29 other starting PGs, he can't be too far on one side or the other from about what is expected. For me, I was bashing him hard on the offseason, so I'm comparatively pleased with how he's performed.

 

^ This! We are young, we are exciting and we are exceeding expectations. Just enjoy the ride people.

 

So Harden is about to show the world he's on Durant's level?

LOL. A couple of things I got from this article apart from Harden.

1. Lin, when he drives, is as efficient as Tony Parker.
2. Delfino is the most turnover prone player in the league when he drives.

 

James harden is the finals. Pretty much what happened.

Almost a 3rd of Hardens points are from the Free throw line. It's a scary thought, of what would happen if he doesn't get the calls.

Harden is shaping up to be a Lebron Lite. I think he can overcome whatever is thrown at him. He has a good future ahead of him.

 

I would actually say he is a average point guard. he's not the elite star PG's but he is no worse than your average joe PG in the NBA.

 

James Harden didn't struggle in the finals because he didn't get calls, he struggled because 1) He was given the task to guard Lebron 2) The whole Miami gameplan was to shut down Harden. They trapped him whenever he went for a PnR, and a big part of Harden's game is in the PnR.

A third of D-Wade's points comes from the free throw line too. In his prime seasons between 04-09, he only failed to average 10 free throws in one single season, and in that he averaged 9 free throws nonetheless.

Point is, you take free throws away from ANY player and they will struggle.

 

Spoiler

Obviously, averaging nearly a triple double and winning rings is better than scoring in high volume on unsuccessful teams. No one would argue otherwise.

But LeBron-like players are once-in-a-generation. Harden is not LeBron and never will be. I love Harden, but being a triple-double threat every night just isn't something that goes along with the type of player he is. So the idea that Harden "should" do that is just ridiculous.

As far as his shot selection, it could of course be better. But as I tried to point out before, a sometimes questionable shot-selection is not unique to those with abilities comparable to Harden, as I'm sure you know. The aforementioned Kobe and T-Mac, along with many others (AI, Westbrook, Melo, SF3, and countless others) come to mind.

The only ones who could arguably be exceptions are MJ, LeBron, Bird, Durant... you get my drift. And Harden just isn't in their class. He's a an elite scorer and might someday be a great leader, but he's not an all-time great.

I guess I should have specified superstar guard/wing.

Spoiler

 

this guy definitely knows what he's talking about.

 

I think there's a fundamental difference in the way they draw fouls that will allow Harden to get more consistent calls. Martin's fouls often came using his lack-of-weight to bounce off his defenders. Often, he was getting foul calls while not driving all the way to the basket. Harden, however, consistently goes to the hole strong. Because he holds his arms out, defenders have to reach in and foul. Harden shows the ball and the fouls are very obvious. It's harder for refs to not call them.

In addition, Harden is good at finishing around the basket even when he gets fouled, something that Martin wasn't nearly as good at.

 

Looks like nobody here is backing you up, buddy.

I'm not saying that Lin is a star. But he has clearly proven that he belongs in the league, and for an undrafted PG in his first year as a starter, that's a good place to build from.

 

It would improve the league overall--could be a Stern mandate--but from a team standpoint there's no way in hell I'd want to share with the league what is every Rocket player's lowest-percentage shot etc.

 

This, not to mention he isn't being used the way most starting pgs are. We should be set for quite a while in the back court.

 

@2012'er #1

I've read the articles and watched the games, and looked at the statitistics. I will revise my statement though.

"Under most objective...."

@2012'er #2

He has proven he can get hot in a Mike Dantoni offense for twenty games. He has also proven he has a tough time being effective alongside better players, which is where he will spend the rest of his time in the NBA.

@2012'er #3

He brings the ball up the court and is taking 11 shots a game. He is being used however he chooses to use himself. This is what he makes of himself. It is no one else's fault.