You will NEVER hear me argue that Harden gives consistent effort on the defensive side of the ball. However, I do not think he is as bad as the perception has been. Harden played the first 30 games of this season injured, his ankles and feet were a mess. Since his health has improved, so has his defensive performance.
First of all, I didn't knock down Harden because of defense. Even accounting defense, I would still take Love over Harden in the situation we're talking about. Power Forward is the 2nd strongest position in the NBA in terms of elite talent. Yeah the health is a bummer but some of it been freak accidents. On the other hand Harden's play style is alot more dangerous health wise. There is a reason why Anthony Davis was number one on my list. Harden been on much better teams then Love. Love puts up monsters stats despite being double team every game because nobody guards Rubio. If you're talking about building a team around specifically one player, yeah Love is better then Harden to me.
I agree with you, but people saying that Love is above Harden is crazy because since when did Love become an all-pro defender. It just makes me mad that people knock harden for his defense and for some reason not being a clutch player. Harden is Clutch and plays average defense and people need to understand he is a legit star instead of taking him for granted and nitpicking every damn aspect of his game.
The rockets team with harden last year didn't have much talent and harden still led them to the playoffs. Id definitely take harden over love.
Love is a stat padder who leaves his assignment to get rebounds. Harden scores when it matters, in the 4th quarter.
It will be sweet if we made it to the Finals indeed lol. Hey I agree they are a defensive oriented team thanks to their defensive minded coach. But they are hoping PG elevate his offensive game. They have to match the HEAT offensive production
Kevin Love.... seriously... geez, the band-wagoners this year sure are coming out in full swing. Just cause people like the Starters, Bill Simmons (who i actually like), or the goofs on Inside the NBA LOOOVVVEEEE Love, doesn't mean that he's all the sudden jumped over every 2nd tier (anyone not Lebron or Durant) player in the league. Fact is the guy plays zero defense (Harden actually plays SOME defense), almost always disregards contesting his man for a shot instead to position himself for a rebound, seldom commands a double team due to his lack of posting up and insistence on being a catch & shoot 3 point shooter (which he's incredible at), in 6 years has only been healthy to play in 70+ games TWICE in his career, and has never been good enough to bring his team into the playoffs. Kevin Love is pretty awesome at stats, but there is nothing about what he's done so far that puts him up there with the likes of PG, Harden, or CP3. As far as trade value goes Anthony Davis is up there, but he's not yet up there in the class of Harden/PG/CP3/Westbrook YET. Same with Drummond to a certain extent although his trade value would still be much, much lower than that of the aforementioned players.
IMO- On the Court value- 1. Lebron 2. Durant 3. George/Harden/CP3* 4. Westbrook 5. Gasol/Hibbert/Howard * 6. Curry/Melo * 7. LMA/Dirk* Trade value- 1. Lebron 2. Durant 3. George/Harden/CP3* 4. Davis 5. Westbrook 6. Love 7. Curry 8. Gasol/Hibbert/Howard* * - Order is debatable
I realise it's just a minor point but curry on his below market value contract would net so much more than loves contract which will make him a FA in 2015. A
True. You could probably list them in the same category or even rate him slightly higher than Love. I guess its just all the media love Love has been getting this year that got me thinking his trade value might be that high.
A better question would be: If you were the GM of the Rockets and both Chandler Parsons and Paul George were on the market, and you could sign only one of them, who would you choose? Who do you think has a higher upside?
This might going on well after they are done playing. So no sir its not the end of discussion yet. Lol
Harden - Better offense. Better playmaker. George - More athletic. Better defense. What more needs to be said?
I think harden is such a rare player that he will eventually become a good defender. He has all the tools to be one, he's big 6'5 230lbs and has the length 6'11 to be absolutely scary for opposing 2 guards and even some 3s. He'a also a very good athlete with high bbiq. The thing with him that is different than Paul George is that he has been endorsed openly by the two best players in the league (Lebron, Durant) One thing you can't deny about harden is that he's as gifted on offense as their comes in the nba. He's the only player that can put up lebron and Durant numbers on a consistent basis. I believe that a deep run in the playoffs and the disappointment of losing should make him keep improving his game and become that elite defender I know he has the tools to be. He's to me a lot better player than Paul George I thought the comparison was very premature to begin with. The type of feel for the game that harden has is truly special and possessed to maybe 25 players that have eve played the game. If harden is as dedicated as I think he should go down as a top 25 player of all time and lead the rockets to plenty of deep runs and great years.
Entered thread to see Harden vs George debates. Left with only seeing Harden vs Love on defense debates.
Both teams should back pick Harden in a vacuum. Harden in that Pacers team would flourish, he can lead the offense and have the team hide him defensively. And don't say Paul George is significantly improving his offense, check his game stats for the last couple of games, after that hot start he is coming back to the mean.
