This. But he will never be better than Durant short of some major, T-Macesque injuries. I don't care if Westbrook may be better on D. Their difference in efficiency is ridiculous. And Westbrook's higher assist numbers are more due to playing with some of the best shooters in the game.
A good follow up question to pose to the board I think is; do people think this is Harden's ceiling? I could see him having a 29-7-7 type season.
Harden is better than Westbrook. There's no doubt about it anymore, at least for me. Durant on the other hand is another beast, which I'm not sure Harden will be better than or have a better career than. That's no insult to Harden though, he's a superstar in his own right.
Westbrook is Steve Francis 2.0. Franchise was just ahead of his time in terms of the combo athletic pg. the league was different when Steve played the NBA is tailor made for players like Westbrook and Rose, Steve would have been the exact same thing. IMO Rose is better than both not in skill (their all similer) but his preparation and approach to the team that sf3 and Westbrook just don't have that separates him from those guys. Look at Steve's numbers in Houston and his 1st yr in Orlando, their identical to what Westbrook does. I don't think people realize how good sf3 was. Westbrook is shooting 39% this yr that's worse than jermey Lin who gets bashed daily for his shooting and has hovered around 4 TOs a game every yr. now with that said I think harden is already the better player and I think Russ is a great player but pgs don't win chips elite wings and bigs do. Now on to durant I think his talent alone is hard for anyone to top but in terms of winning a chip I think harden could make it happen faster if they were both on similar constructed teams because of his playmaking. Now that's doesn't mean I'm saying talent wise harden is the better player even though I don't think it's as fat off as ppl might think. What durant needs is a legit big time post threat like Kobe had if he gets that he can win multiple chips. I just think its gonna be hard for him as his team is currently constructed Westbrook is not the best player to pair him with get him a Dwight Howard and he's gonna win 3 in a row.
Durant is just a freak. He's basically a 6'11 Ray Allen and he's developing a post-game. By virtue of his height and athleticism he's a nightmare match-up for any defense. His ball-handling, court-vision and passing isn't elite but there's no one with a comparable skill-set that has his height, length and athleticism. It'll be interesting to see Harden's development though. Really, he doesn't have a diverse array of moves like the elite SGs of yesteryear nor does he possess elite athleticism, but he's 6'5 and 220 pounds, built like a tank for a guard and he's got veteran touch and elite BBIQ. In this era where we've got a lot of undersized combo-guards and weak depth at SG Harden is pretty unique as well, he doesn't have to be explosive like Westbrook or Rose he just euro-swags his way to the basket. This team has a lot of upside, and a lot of roster flexibility. We're just short of a legitimate post-threat and some growth from key pieces from being a contender.
He's already better and more equipped to lead a championship level team than Westbrook is. This might be another discussion but Westbrook is essentially a younger version of D-Wade and should be played at the two, IMO. Durant is still on another level, though.
KD is still better than Harden. But IMHO. If Harden develops a consistent shot like KD he would be better since he has the ability to pass and steal the ball. Harden is definitely better than westbrook.
I can see Westbrook having a shorter shelf-life. He relies on explosive athleticism a lot and that doesn't last forever.
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