Yeah but Haberstroh has firmly been in James corner for a very long time. He understands the numbers and the difficulty of what James does.
A few interesting observations: 1. Harden's DPS (which, I can only assume, measures individual defense) is on par with Kawhi Leonard for this year. 2. Harden's DPS is also better than Kevin Durant by 2x. 3. Steph Curry, Damian Lillard and Kemba Walker are hot garbage on the defensive end with NEGATIVE DPS values. 4. If Harden gave you absolutely NOTHING (e.g. 0 value) on defense, he would still be better than everyone. 5. His overall TPA score is better than the dynamic duos of: Paul George & Russell Westbrook Steph Curry & Kevin Durant Better than the Big 3 of: Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler
Consider that the comparison with James indicates this is not at current top 5 player level...it's at ALL TIME top 5 level.
And here is another thing to consider about his 61 points last night; Harden actually had a terrible night from the three point line. He only shot 25% from there (5-20). Had he made his usual average of 40% he would have scored 9 more points for a total of 70. Just mind blowing.
yup. He shot 17/38 overall so on 2pt shots he was 12/18 for 67%. If you convert half of his 3pt attempts to 2s, at that 67% level of accuracy, he would have went: 12/18 actual 2pt FG makes = 24 points + 7/10 theoretical 2pt FG makes (I rounded up) = 14 points + 5/10 3pt FG makes = 15 points + 22/25 FT makes = 22 points = 75 points basically, Harden had an off night in my mind lol
I always assumed Dream was untouchable in Houston lore. Harden is a firm #2 in this city’s history with Altuve prob 3rd. If Harden can with a chip and another MVP...he actually might surpass Dream even with one less ring.
what makes it even more impressive is hes doing it with the same ease he used to average 25 + earlier in his career
Sorry to bring up the NFL. But some of these stats are like how JJ Watt compared to other defensive ends 4 years ago. Harden and Watt are/were basically playing a different sport.
the basketball analytics nerds are loving harden right now. i love that they actively shatter those annoying negative myths about hardens freethrows defense and selfishness. like in your face you lowly trolls who cant even do basic math.
Absolutely jaw dropping. Every night is like Christmas morning, opening a new gift. We have never seen anything like this.
The big difference is Dream was an all around great: pts, rebounds, steals, assists, blocks. Harden *only* in three of those categories. Two of those three are about defense, and while Harden is a better defender than given credit for, he'll never be an all time great on defense. Hakeem was...and in ways that often astounded even the opponents.
