Who was a better player for us - TMac at his best or James Harden this year?

without a doubt tmac.

did yall see the type of garbage harden was throwing out there in the playoffs?

however i will say this...we are comparing tmac in his prime vs harden in his first yr as THE man...

harden has a chance to be better than tmac if he improves his game.

 

There was no such thing as "T-Mac at his best", and that was the problem.

 

No question, Tracy McGrady.

Even if you don't vote for Tracy, then you didn't watch him.

 

This. I followed Tracy til his last days with Houston. He had amazing runs, but always ended with disappointment.

 

Orlando T-Mac > Future Harden > Houston T-Mac > Current Harden

 

egggggg-zaktly. future harden will make us forget tmac (hopefully).

 

Tmac was crazy gifted in his prime. I used to wonder why orlando did that trade. After he bulked up, his mobility went away . First year, he was as good as Kobe in 2004 2005. Harden can get there but he needs to learn to defend and post up.

 

Tmac was amazing. I think harden will get there, but he's not there yet. He doesn't have the natural talent, but I think he makes up for it in work ethic.

 

what kind of ridiculous poll is this. Ofcourse T-mac at his prime was way better than James right now!!

But does that mean he will always be better than Harden? We'll find out in a couple years. But I do mean a couple years because I feel like the way Harden drives into the lane looking for a foul every time doesn't work in the playoffs so he will need to expand his game for this team to get anywhere close to a championship.

 

T-Mac came to the Rockets as a 25-year-old with 7 years of NBA experience under his belt, including 4 seasons as "the man" in Orlando.

James Harden came to the Rockets as a 23-year-old with 3 years of NBA experience under his belt, without ever having been "the man" before.

Unless you are just blinded by hatred, it should be fairly obvious that T-Mac in his prime with the Rockets was superior to this season's performance by Harden.

Also, for those claiming that "future Harden" WILL be better than T-Mac, I think you are making quite a leap of faith. I'm a big Harden fan, but the guy has not shown the ability/willingness to be even an average defender. McGrady in his prime was a plus defender, even showing flashes of greatness on that end of the floor. With Harden so good on offense already, it is hard to imagine him being significantly better on that end going forward (although he should get better).

Until Harden commits himself to being a better defender--realizing that he shouldn't be expected to be great given his offensive workload--I can't quite put him in the class of "prime T-Mac" just yet. However, he is still so young and has shown a good work ethic overall, I am confident that he can improve on the defensive end.

One can only HOPE that Harden can reach the "prime T-Mac" level over the next several years. So far, Harden has had health on his side (knock on wood), something that failed McGrady over time. Also, it is yet to be seen whether Harden has the mental makeup to be truly and CONSISTENTLY great, another criticism of T-Mac.

It is far from a foregone conclusion that Harden will be better than McGrady at his greatest. But I sure as hell plan to enjoy watching him try.

 

A prime T-Mac was on track to end up as a top 10-15 player of all time. That skill at that size and with that athleticism is rare to find.

 

T-Mac

 

Pretty good summary right here.

 

Remember this game guys! Im not a T-mac only fan by any means but I do not hate on the guy.

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I was at this game and it is still one of the most amazing games I've been to in my life. Anytime we're down by double digits with under 2 minutes to go, I always think there's a chance we can do it b/c I witnessed this.

 

Agree completely. T=Mac especially in his primeThe OKC series made me look at something I had not really paid as much attention to in the past. To me it seems that Harden has learned too much of his game from Westbrook and Durant. Not that this is bad, but competing with Durant for taking most free throws, throwing up silly shots like Westbrook does makes you wonder.

I think he got so many foul calls during the regular season that it hurt his game in the playoffs when he didn't get all of those same calls.

 

I'd say Tmac. But when we got Tmac he was well into his prime. Harden is freaking 23 years old... As a huge Tmac fan, I think Harden will be better.

 

Tmac in his prime was more well rounded than Harden will ever be. Tmac's passing alone kills any comparison

 

T-mac was better with the rockets before his injuries, but harden is young, we have not seen the best of him yet.

 

A better question would be who was better at their best, and I think you'd have to give Tmac the nod when you just talk about being at their best, but then again we've only had one season with a young Harden, and I would say it's premature and unfair to make the comparison.

I think Harden has the potential to surpass Tmac's best with us by a long shot, but the sample is too limited to know yet.