I'd still take George. You can't teach heart and George has more heart than Harden. Also, George is so much better on defense and you can't win a ring without defense. Harden is more gifted offensively but Francis and TMAC were also very gifted players but they never made it in their careers because they lacked heart.
Would you built a team around a not so gifted offensive player like George ? How will he carry the team ? He isn't a very good shot creator (He is at his best when he shoots off the screens) and as a facillator is simply good(3.6assists). From 31.12.13 to 13.01.14 (7 games) 34.7 Fg% , 20.9 3Fg% , 8.4 rebs, 3.9asts and 2.7 Tovs.
I disagree with most of what you said, but most strongly with "Steve Francis didn't have heart." WHAT?! Dude had the most heart of all the players you listed lol.
Indiana seems to be doing quite well with him as their best player. Like I said, Harden is absolutely the better offensive player, but that doesn't mean another GM wouldn't take George over Harden if they like the option of going with someone that can impact the game in so many other different ways. Its just a matter of preference at this point. My point is neither player has really been able to distinguish himself over the other right now. I think alot of folks will be watching to see what happens this year in the playoffs with both guys. Harden might get a pass because his supporting unit isn't nearly as talented, but it could be if Morey makes a few trades at the deadline. Still... having Harden even in the discussion is pretty awesome.
I agree with you. It's just the fact that When Harden has a bad game (bad defense or offense) everyone compare him with George. Indiana has a very good team defense which covers him if he has a bad night.
Is this serious? Francis would constantly drive in to the paint, throw his body around and get after it. Mcgrady had heart. Before he got hurt, the guy was a top 5 playoff performer of all time. Harden is much better than George offensively. You need to watch a few of George's games before you make stupid post like this one.
I am going to go with: - Davis - George - Harden - Drummond - Westbrook Big men like Davis make so much of a difference. Much more than wings like George or Harden
The Pacers built their team around Reggie Miller was a player that came off multiple screens. George is a two way player so yes you can build around him. The Pacers are showing us that as we speak.
George is partly the reason why the Pacers are so good. They have a cohesive unit, very good defenders in every position (Hill,stephenson,George,West,Hibbert) and a good bench(watson,scola,mahinmi,Granger). Offensively, they move the ball around a lot. All things considered, i will be worried about the Pacers when we face them at playoffs. Of course, i don't believe that the rockets will go deep so ...
Anyone with a brain would choose Paul George over Harden. This conversation isn't even close. The large gap in defense kills the argument. When PG plays against shooting guards, he holds them to an average of 3 PER. When he plays against other SF this year, they have an average of 13 PER. Also maybe last year Harden would make an argument about much better offense but the numbers have been really close this year. And really Harden is number one among the weakest position in the NBA. 1. Harden 2. Arron Afflado 3. D.Wade 4. Wesley Matthew/Klay Thompson While in George's case 1. LEBRON 2. DURANT 3. PAUL GEORGE 4. CARMELO Considering that PG can lock down any shooting guard you see and can defend the strongest position in NBA, anyone would take Paul George over Harden.
You disagree with most of what I said. Okay, so you're saying that defense is not an important component of winning a ring? You can't go far in a playoffs without defense. The thing about George is that he made his name last year by playing solid against Miami, the defending champs. He took that momentum and transformed himself into an All-Star player. That's legit. Meanwhile, Harden has a tendency (and this goes back to his OKC days) to not show up in the playoffs. The stuff that he does - drawing fouls by running into players - and his lack of real defense will kill the team in the playoffs. Finally, to counter your point, playing with heart doesn't necessarily mean you have to carry the team on your shoulder by playing hero-ball the whole game. Or going on TV and say "it's on me". Francis and TMAC did a lot of that, but where did that take us? Playing with heart means you're dedicated to winning and improving the team as a whole. You can tell George and the Pacers want that ring this year. They want to get the first seed so they can take home court. They are playing with a singular purpose and passion and to me, that's REAL heart.
Lol this thread..... Anyways in regard to the question I think the answer for both teams would be harden. - harden would excell playing for Indiana offensively I thinks that a given and defensively it wouldn't matter. Lance would guard the best wing and harden would take the weaker of the two wings. I'm sure both gm's wouldn't do this trade for credibility but I'm sure the pacers if this was 2k and their was no media or no emotions would do this in no heart beat
If you're talking about building a team around one player for the next 5-10 years in the hopes of winning a championship not named Durant or Lebron, yeah Kevin Love is a clear winner in terms of age, ability, stats and health.
So let me get this right..... Harden gets knocked down because of his defense, but Kevin Love (a very poor defender) does not? Further, Harden defends the lane as well as Love, that is all you need to know. You then discuss "health"..... Love has missed 122 games over the last 4.5 years... he has missed nearly 34% of the games his team has played. As far as being a "winner"...... how many times have the Wolves even SNIFFED the playoffs in his career? ZERO.
Kevin Love, who has never won more than 40% of his games in a season, plays poor defense, never made the playoffs, missed a huge chunks of the last 2 seasons, and is currently playing on the most unclutch team in the league, is the 4th most desired player to be built around with behind Lebron, Durant and Davis. Okay.
