It is hard for a center to win in this era of the NBA. Harden is just more valuable than he is imo. Howard's D has been fantastic, but I think if you replace him with Asik or Robin Lopez, Rockets would still be pretty good 50-55 wins, if you replace Harden with lets say Jamal Crawford, I don't think they'd be that good.
Hardens D isn't as bad as it's made out to be and on the opposite side of the spectrum Dwights offense has been underwhelming. Hardens offensive game is elite, like elite elite. IF Dwight would commit to being a predominantly PNR player it would be Dwight hands down. I don't fault anyone for picking Dwight, but I think most people/analysts/GMs/coaches are going to take Harden, not all, but most.
I disagree completely with those statements. Yes, Harden has been that bad, and yes, Dwight has been that good. I have actually recorded this with a 3 game sample after people considered Harden to have "improved" his defence. Sarcasm? Agreed, I am wrong many times. I think he did too. Oh, I didn't know averaging 18.5 on 59% shooting is underwhelming, especially given his rocky start and a team that didn't know how to utilize him well. Yea, most GMs will take Harden because he is 5 years younger, but if it was just for one year contention, they probably would take Dwight, save Dolan or MJ. Edit: jordnnnn, How many people/analysts actually break down the film on defence, and know what to look for when they are breaking it down? Few.
I guess I should said underwhelming by his standards. You can go down the stats, advanced or traditional, and this is barely a top 5 season for his career. The problem, for me at least, is he could be better. The team knows and has known from the beginning exactly how to use him, but he doesn't want to be used that way. It was a rocky start, but I don't think it had to be if he would commit and stick to what he's good at. His post ups can be cringeworthy at times. And when I said most would take Harden I meant for 1 year of contention. But that's just my take. Like I said I don't fault you for taking Dwight, his defense IS that good.
Howard can not carry this team. His offense is slightly above average and his defense is marginally better than Asik.
Harden was a major piece we needed on this team. No doubt Harden has more value than Howard at this moment.
LOLs at no one arguing why the ESPN ranking has Noah above Howard. Do y'all think Noah is better than Harden? If Howard was so effective, wouldn't you rank him above Joakim Noah for MVP? When did Howard slip below Noah? I mean, maybe he did. But that's a sign that Howard is not better or more important to wins than Harden. ESPN ranking in the OP is just silly.
Noah's getting run simply because the Bulls are in the East and the Bulls recent hot streak. If the Bulls were in the west, given their conference record splits(hint: they suck against the west), they'd be treated like Minnesota right now. Just a middling team. ESPN gonna ESPN.
Actually, not with all the injuries we have. Also, the Rockets are improving 10 games with Howard replacing easily the SECOND BEST player on the team last year in Asik for most of the season. And as Morey has stated, improving win rate towards the top is much more difficult to than improving win rate at the bottom. If you believe that Harden improved the Rockets by 15 wins last year by replacing Kevin Martin(Vegas had them at ~30 wins before the trade), then this is at best a wash. Overall I think it's a tie.
We have won games without each one but Harden gets my vote. Harden's ability to take over games , hit clutch shots and create easy scoring opportunities for his teammates speaks volumes. Some fans on here tripping on his defense. but if you have watched any games lately, you would see Harden putting much better effort in that department.
My eyes disagree with you. Harden has Improved his D dramatically since the all star break. He's EASILY the 3rd best in the NBA post all star break. He's been on a complete tear.
For the first 2/3rds of the year it was Howard. He is a beast defensively, and while not a go to scorer, his finishing ability provides great offensive value. But over the last 3rd, Harden is clearly this teams MVP, and as the results have shown, this team is much better when Harden is our best player. Not to ignore what Howard still does, he is spectacular, but at the end of the game he supports Harden, and nothing is more important in the NBA than a dominant closer.
The fact that Howard can do all 4 of the listed things disproves what you say. But yeah i agree that Harden is more important.
Everybody can get better, and everybody can have cringeworthy moments. I disagree with you about Harden: at this current moment, where has Harden brought the Rockets? Amazing as he is on offense is as terrible as he is on defence. Meanwhile, Dwight has brought Orlando to the '09 finals. Dwight has had some great playoff series. Give me the franchise center over the franchise shooting guard all day and twice on Sunday. (I really sound like a Harden hater; I am still a fan). Really? Slightly above average? The majority of teams still double the post: that by itself shows how much teams respect Dwight. Guards are scared to go in the paint against Howard. Also, being marginally better than one of the best means he is still, arguably the best right? I don't see how that is a negative... Give me a list of players who have a higher FG percentage and more PPG. I just kind of ignored it, honestly. Just wanted to focus on one topic. Really? http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=252043 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=251988 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=251910 Harden was the worst defender, and it wasn't even close. This is after the all-star break. Your eyes are deceiving you. Man, I wish I could of broken down the Bobcats game: that was just gross. I don't even want to get in on Harden's lazyness on the pnr, and rotations where other people pick up his slack. Harden should thank his lucky stars he has Dwight (and Asik) waiting in the paint to erase his mistakes. Didn't Kobe take the game winners instead of Shaq? Who was more important to that team? Also, I consider the first 43 minutes of the game more important, where Harden is an atrocious defender, than the last five minutes, where Harden is clutch like no other. However, while Harden is going off at the moment, when he cools off and actually misses in final minutes, Dwight will show up. However, credit to Harden for making everything recently.
The first part of the season, it was undoubtedly Howard. He was our most consistent and dominant player. Played every game, kept us in games and anchored our defense with Omer "injured". And Harden was slumping, struggling with turnovers and his defense. But since February, it's been all Harden. He has been carrying us and has stepped up his whole level of play since the break. He has been simply amazing. Not a knock on Howard because he has been great as well, but wow, Harden is making his real superstar debut right now.
