I'm very encouraged by his statlines the last 3 games. He averaged < 6 ft's a game, yet put up monster numbers despite that. That shows me that he can still be great even when not getting the whistle, something that may happen (and has in the past) in the playoffs.
This is the NEXT level of playing Fantasy Basketball. I don't think even I'm that nerdy. I couldn't keep up with those kinds of metrics unless Yahoo built in the algorithms into the site.
Tonight's Rockets Pelicans game is a matchup between the two guys who have been the best players in the NBA this season.
my only concern is that he is playing at a super high level and it has kept the Rockets amongst the top teams in the NBA despite the injuries and lineup juggling, but once the Playoffs come around - is there another gear he can go up to? Elite players have that third and fourth gear let alone second gear that separates them apart. Right now I get a feeling like Harden is playing at the best level he can and come playoff time - while he is still going to be a tough cover there wont be anything new or different that teams will have to counter. We've seen playoff Dwight - are we seeing playoff Harden prematurely?
I want to note that one reason why Harden scores so well on all these things is that he fills the box score. For example, he gets a lot more blocks and a bit more steals than Ariza, which are factored into BPM, but Ariza always gets the tougher assignment. He also gets more defensive win shares because win shares are split equally. And Ariza suffers because Harden's replacements have been Jason Terry and Francisco Garcia, both of whom have been terrible defensively. While Ariza gets subbed by Papanikalaou, who's a solid defender himself. I'm not dogging on Harden because he's been very good defensively this year. I'm more trying to give some props to Ariza, because his spectacular defense has really helped Harden in these metrics while he himself is not really showing up.
I think you are seeing his peak level. He has been regularly dropping 30-40 points with 7 assist and 7 rebounds. This level of play is GOAT level with the added DNA strand of Clutch sprinkled in. I don't think it is possible to play better.
All he really has to do in the playoffs his make his shots, unlike the past two seasons. He is just playing so great right now that you don't think he can play better, but he can. I don't see why he couldn't.
As far as offense goes, I wouldn't be surprised if you are right. He has improved defensively but he still has some ways to go before he gets a sniff at DPOY. In addition, he is just 25yrs old and his knowledge of the game will keep getting better. It is scary to think that we might still see a better Harden but the fact is, he still has a lot of room for growth. We are so lucky to have him on our team.
Harden and Davis (with a healthy Durant possibly better) are the two best fantasy NBA players right now, and Harden is likely one of if not the most efficient scorers in the NBA right now so this is no surprise. The defensive eff. is awesome to see.
If he plays better, he would probably be blowing out opposing teams single handedly. I honestly don't think a higher gear exists for him right now until he further integrates a post game for when they try to lock him down on the perimeter with double teams.
I can remeber the first time that I really noticed James as a player. It was during the Rookie/Sophomore games in his second season. I remeber seeing him in transition and thinking "man, this Harden guy is pretty good." Never would I have thought that he'd be wearing a Rockets jersey one day and putting together an MVP season while doing it. It's obvious to me that Harden, Davis, and Curry are currently setting the groundwork to own the league for the next 5-7 seasons.
