I never said Harden was better than Dream. Dream was a top 5 player of all time to me. I was arguing on offense. Harden is ridiculously efficient for someone who is not playing with another superstar that draws attention.
Seriously, the list of SGs in the last 30 years who were clearly better than Harden at age-23 consists of Michael Jordan (year he averaged 37ppg) and T-Mac (02-03). That's it.
The golden state games really tell the take of the kind of player he is. The first game the rockets have a historical performance offensively and he doesn't score twenty. The second game he goes to the locker room hurt and comes back in five minutes to help close it out
The one thing I do see from Harden that is similar to Jordan is he's not afraid of the moment, the pressure and he's always calm in the clutch.
Hard-on's are crazy on this forum. Lets see what harden does in the playoff before you start comparing him to the top 4 greatest center of all time, and top 10 greatest player of all time in Hakeem.
The calmness is almost surreal for someone so young and their first time being the focal point of the team
If he keeps playing like he did last night....the sky is the limit. I know it was just luck (or maybe not) but that shot he made from half court man that was sweet! It looked like he was just taking a regular jump shot!! Amazing, simply Amazing.
Yes but that's my point. Do you think if Hakeem focused only on offense would his efficiency rise (and vice versa with Harden)
you're smoking something....can't compare 3 point shooting and driving to an elite post presence. wait till the playoffs and we run into good defensive teams...can you dump the ball into harden when the game is on the line with tight D?
To be fair, Harden has been an absolute monster in the clutch so far this season. He has had a good number of games where he made big shots in crunch time, and a good number of games where he completely took over scoring in the 4th. This isn't putting the Dream down or anything, he's top 5 center of all time and one of the greatest to play the game without question. Just giving Harden credit.
harden has been great, but its still from the perimeter...and harden doesn't have the handles to get his shot at will. he needs some space or a pick at times, when there's good defense. Hakeem could get it off against triple teams in the block and fade away. you can't compare.
Off topic but on that play Ibaka (as good as a defensive 4 he is) is still guarding a 2 on the perimeter. Not sure if that was the Thunder's best choice perhaps Sefolosha or Durant could of prevented that.
I'm not comparing. Harden is only 23/24, and never had the chance to flourish as a starter until this season. I'm just saying it's unfair to Harden to say you can't give him the ball in the 4th with tight D. The Rockets have won a ton of games they shouldn't have won doing just that, and that includes yesterday's game. We also almost beat the Heat when Lebron was guarding Harden (and Lebron couldn't stop him).
To compare the seasons when they are both 23: Dream has much higher FG%, Harden has much higher FT%. Harden has higher PPG. Harden has much higher assist numbers. Steals are essentially equal with Dream having a slight advantage, 2.0 to 1.9 SPG. Blocks are not close. Rebounds are not close. Given all that, the most important thing to consider is this: Comparing Dream to a current Rocket is now actually plausible.
you're weren't comparing, but others on this thread are saying best offensive player in rockets history? if we ever get to the second round, and play a good team, they are going to double harden and take the ball out of his hands...and harden doesn't have elite ball handling skillz to get his shot at will, not saying one on one he can't a lot of the times...but to say he's better offensively than hakeem? the dream? everyone on the floor new exactly what we were going to do everytime down the court. dump it to hakeem, and they still couldn't stop him, against double and yes triple teams, cuz he could get his positions and fade away. Charles barkley watched helplessly two years in a row, hakeem raping the suns, and just simply said, "Hakeem is the best player in the world", and later just decided to join him. I watched harden get shot down by the mavs earlier this season from the perimeter. i'm not saying he's not really good, but he hasn't done anything in the playoffs, when the game slows down, certainly nothing yet to say he was better than hakeem offensively in his prime, who was the best offensive player in the whole league, and defensively. Harden doesn't have a good post game. Didn't someone say he could score from anywhere? Teams will double him from the perimeter in the playoffs if he is on fire, can he go into the post like kobe and jordan?
