Do the Rockets really have a superstar on this team?

Harden

Howard

/thrd

 

harden goes on 4 or 5 game hot streak and these threads will disappear

not to mention dwight's spin move on the low block is improving

 

Jordan always had Pippen to do his dirty work... And don't forget that Chicago almost made it to the finals without Jordan (NYC cheated)... And Kobe lead the Lakers straight to the Lottery the year after Shaq and Phil left... Won only 6 games out of the last 27 games of the year... Harden got a team with equal the amount of talent Kobe had to the playoffs... Soooooooo _ I guess Kobe's so called defense didn't mean much...

 

I really do not like the "superstar" label. It is fuzzy and ill defined and engenders arguments every time it is applied to anyone other than the "big three".

I much prefer the term of franchise player. Is that player someone you can build a franchise around. How many of them are currently in the league? 10-12. IMHO Rose and Love currently are not franchise players because of their injury history. A franchise player must be durable and dependable. I know, that is a tough pill to swallow, but both may again in the future be termed a franchise player. Love much sooner than Rose obviously.

Franchise players have to be durable, be a dominant force on the court, attract other very good players to the team, be willing to be the "face" of the team, and be willing to put the team on their back and carry them if necessary.

So who are the league's franchise players? Currently LBJ, Paul, KD, Harden, Howard, Westbrook, Parker, Melo. Borderline or just in? Blake, Wade, Brook. Soon to be franchise players if not already? George, Hibbert, Curry, Lilliard, Davis, Irving, Wall. Were recently but probably no longer because of age? Dirk, Duncan, Kobe. Health issues? Love, Rose. And of course I have missed players who should be in one of the aforementioned categories. But you get my drift.

So why are Howard and Harden franchise players? Well, Harden erupted last season and personally put a 33 win Rockets franchise on his back and dragged them into the playoffs. Howard? Well he had 5 NBA teams willing to offer him a max contract, including our beloved Morey. I bow to my betters.

 

I doubt. Unless Lin starts again. Harden needs a playmaker for him to shine too.

 

I give up.

 

It's the officiating. Shaq was allowed to bully his way to the hoop -Dwight is not. I know Shaq was more dominant but Howard is no cream puff

 

if howard could hit 3 more free throws, he'd be averaging 21/13. that's superstardom considering his eff rating is among the top players.

More pnr's and less post ups until he develops the baseline jumper from dream is all i ask.

 

What???? Hate hate hate. Hardens a beast, does he have holes in his game? Of course so did Lebron, Jordan, bird and magic at age 24. I also know that he's in that company of players in terms of the season he had last yr. meaning at the tender age of 23 our very own James harden, starting for the first time being the number one option on a team pegged to be a bottom 5, 33 win team and took them to 45 wins and the playoffs while going head to head with KD at an even 2-2 after westbrooks injury.

Hardens a stud and is one of 3 players in the league that can get hit at any time and totally take over a game and roll off 10-15 points in a row by themselves. The other two are named Lebron and Durant.

I've seen harden have god mode games of 35+ points on 20 or less shots with 8 or more assists and 6 or more rebounds quite a few times in his young rockets career. Once again the only other players doing this are Lebron and Durant.

Now I'm not advocating that harden is on Durant and certainly not lebrons level but what I am implying is that harden is most certainly clutch and a superstar because the numbers and boxs all check out and his potential is on those guys level because he's so special on offense. Harden will improve on defense he's to good of a player and athlete with elite size length and strength for his position. Don't forget even the great Kobe Lebron and Mj were considered weak defenders early on.

I encourage you all to really watch the games the stuff harden is able to do is incredible and only a handful of players have ever been able to do the things he can do on the court. Theirs a difference in say Paul George who's the it guy right now and James harden. One of those guys can single handily win games and take them over all by himself and the other cant. I'll give you a hint the one that can plays in red and has a very big beard. Lol

Peace out ladies and gents...... Enjoy harden, players like him don't come along often were witnessing greatness it takes time but his prime will be well worth the wait.

 

LOL TheBeard happened way before Linsanity (fluke)

 

Kobe is old man. In his prime he was pretty great on D. Harden is arguably the best offensive Two in the NBA while at the same time the worst defensive Two in the NBA.

Kobe was the best on O and D as a shooting guard during his prime.

 

Guys lets be honest. Harden is a young Melo.


He is not a young Lebron, Wade, Kobe, MJ type of player who excels on Offense and Defense and have the intensity and will to dominate the game.


You can debate if Melo/Harden who plays one way, No d, ball hogs, is/was ever a superstar.

Melo also lost in the 1st round 8 times in his career.

 

I agree with you but Harden took over a team that was winning 40 to 42 games a year for 5 years straight.

 

Harden doesn't take as many shots as Melo does.

Harden is a willing passer unlike Melo.

 

Many would disagree that he is a willing passer. The ball sticks to Harden. Yeah sometimes he hold the ball till there is 2-3 secs left then pass it to someone like Lin so he gets a TO 3 sec violation, a missed shot lowering his FG%...


As for shots he takes just as many shots as Melo but Harden flops more and is liked more by the refs so many of his shot do not count as shot attempts by FTs instead.


Harden is a younger Melo.

 

you repeating 100X does not make it true

 

That's ridiculous, Harden > Melo, except from a pure spot-up shooting standpoint and I don't even want Melo as a 3rd star on this team.

I don't like the superstar labels for them right now (it's sorta subjective anyway & from my view should be reserved for LBJ, Kobe, etc), but there is no doubt that Harden+Howard are stars with superstar potential and are our foundational pieces. Every trade/move from here on will be how to complement H+H.

 

Everyone knows he is a young Melo.

I wrote and showed earlier how Harden is more comparable to Kevin Martin than a Lebron.

OKC won more with K-Mart than with Harden and if Westbrook didn't go down in the playoffs they might have won it all last season.


Melo and Harden will both give you great offensive stats but neither plays a lick of D. In fact Harden is the worst shooting guard in the NBA on D because he doesn't even try.

 

Both Harden and Howard played like allstars or stars most of the time.
There were only couple of games where one of them played like a
TRUE SUPERSTAR.

Both RAPM and PER can indicate Harden is not on the level as last year. And Howard is a bit better than in LA but not by much.

 

Except for age in what way is Harden > Melo


Melo is probably the best pure scorer in the league and is the reigning scoring champion. He just doesn't get "superstar calls" and as many FTs as Harden who really excels at flopping.