Could James Harden lead the Rockets to a Championship?

Conditionally yes. Harden is a supremely talented player who needs to understand that his teammates will follow his lead -- that they will play hard and tenacious defense as long as he does.

Somebody put a stat that says we were one of the worst teams in transition defense. That sort of effort is just unacceptable. Contrast that to the reigning champs -- whether a shot is made or missed, they all get back on defense. We just allow too many easy baskets, no wonder the mediocre record.

 

No because he couldn't win with Westbrook and Durant. Also the only thing Harden is leading is the drive to the strip clubs.

 

I just don't see this 'supreme talent' that Harden possesses?

He's not athletic. He's a poor finisher for being a star guard. He relies heavily on a third party's willingness to blow the whistle. He's streaky as a shooter. He is heavily turnover prone. This season especially, he only gets by his man when he has full momentum down court and his defender is back peddling which most NBA level guards can do. In the half court to get by his man he needs to do some form of push off.

I think his talent is overrated. His offense is heavily inflated in a system where he can only excel and where he can conserve energy on defense because there is no accountability on the team.

 

People here give Harden too much slack. He is and always will be a Melo type of player because he has No Heart. Its either you have it or not.

 

This x 1000

1986-1987 Micheal Jordan : avg 37 PPG but the team was 40-42

2002-2003 Tracy Mcgrady : avg 32 PPG but the team was 42-40

2005-2006 Allen Iverson : avg 33 PPG but the team was 38-44

2006-2007 Kobe Bryant : avg 32 PPG but the team was 42-40

2008-2009 Dwayne Wade : avg 30 PPG but the team was 43-39

I guess they were all losers too, even though all those teams would have fared much worse if it weren't for a single superstar carrying them night-in-and-night-out.

Interesting how Chicago Bulls still managed to win 55 games even after Jordan retired. Interesting how even Lebron had to team up with Wade & Bosh to finally get that ring.

As if it takes 5 players to win, and overall talent level, not just one player's, and good coaching absolutely matters in building a great team. Who knew, huh?

 

Currently, no.

 

He would have a chance if he stays in Thunders.
He will have a chance if he will be third star in a team or as a role player off bench.
No chance in Rockets as far as how this team is built.

 

it could happen... add another high caliber player, the right role players, a good coach, James matures... it's possible he could lead to a championship... I'd call it 10% likelihood...

 

What the hell? Every single metric says otherwise. Do people here just throw **** at a wall until it sticks to devalue their own players?

DD is similar. It doesn't matter how many good performances someone has, or if every measurable statistic shows he's wrong. Every coach in the league could take turns slapping you people in the face, saying your wrong, and you'd still stick to your guns.

James has improved in (quite literally) every facet of the game since his rookie year. This means we have every reason to believe he'll continue to get worse. Makes sense.

Like, what the literal **** could get someone to believe this? It's completely baffling.

Are you guys also voting for Donald Trump? Protectionism and all that garbage?

 

He improved from 14-15 to 15-16? Can you provide me your pot dealer info? He must be holding the good stuff.

Harden from age 25 to 26 has gotten fatter and slower and to blame that on a ****ing ankle injury that 99% of NBA players experience every ****ing year is a joke.

The guy is regressing. Unless he has a serious paradigm shift in his lifestyle, I don't see him improving from here on. Anything can change though.

 

If Harden continues with ISO ball then no. I know that we had a year bad year with our role players and that isn't on him. Hopefully we get better players and he can trust them more and in turn have to do less offensively. Harden needs a bigger skill set then step back three, bulldoze the lane and hope to get calls.
Harden is a great player, more than likely a top 5 player, but not all top 5 players have what it takes to win a ring.

 

notice a pattern here? those who don't appreciate Harden do not follow stats or other objective metrics. I mean, might as well just go with personal opinion on everything.

Which team is the best in NBA these days? GSW? nah, who cares about record, my feeling tells me Lakers are the best.

 

+1

Harden would be awesome off the bench and a lock to break Crawford's Sixth Man of the Year record

 

The reason is simple.

Harden is the #1 player already on FTA and his FG% is still below 45%.

You can not expect he will rank higher in the future, so it is more likely that his FTA will drop than increase. That will make it too difficult for him to finish a season with FG above 45%.

LBJ was king on FTA, but he had FG% constantly above 45% and now 50%. I am not saying that Harden is in a comparable level close to LBJ, there is a huge gap there.

 

Harden percentage is very Ref Dependent
He has alot of misses where I thought Fouls should have been called
also
I think the team philosophy hurts him too
he is a GOOD Three Point Shoot
but
I think he could be a GREAT Stop and pop shooter
I have no doubts that from 20~10 feet he would be lethal
His step back in that area seems to be automatic to me
His post up is pretty good
but
We don't run enough

Rocket River

 

At this moment nope... Too much like Adrain Dantley....

He has a lot of growing up to do mentally and right now I just don't see that happening....

T_Man

 

Can he carry us to a championship? No.

Can he be one of 2-3 pieces which you build around to be a title contender? Yes.

Is he our best option? Yes.

End of discussion.

 

He has to be surrounded by players who can play a lick of defense. I want the Rockets to go after someone like Whiteside, because that's someone I envision playing next to Harden. Harden is like Carmelo at this point.

 

Can compare him to 2 of the best shooters in NBA history

 

Will Dwight Howard return to Houston? Can James Harden lead the Rockets to a championship? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!



But in all seriousness, who knows? I think there is little doubt James Harden is one of the 5 or so best players in the world. Will that ultimately lead to him winning a championship in Houston? Nobody knows, but if you build a strong team around him I don't see why we shouldn't have a shot to win it all any given year.