James Harden: One of the top 6 players to build around

So what's your point? And the Rockets end up with one of the worst records in the league if they didn't have Harden. If we had Westbrook, he doesn't carry the team into the playoffs like harden did.

 

Yeah but Harden isn't on the team, bro? What are you trying to say there? That if Harden was still on the team with out Westbrook they would have done worse? What? The Thunder would have done much better with Harden + Durant duo. Not a championship, but a west final. No one wins alone to begin with. But i'll tell you this, if Durant was the one to get injured and not Westbrook, the Rockets would have won that series.

 

I would put that 6'10 SG Paul George ahead of Harden. He plays hard D and harden sucks at it so PG all the way. He's a great scorer too so hes da best man

 

Seriously what would have Westbrook do if Durant was the one injured on that series against the Rockets?

 

Westbrook on rockets would be a one and done west team I think. I'm assuming you are not considering defense in this comparison. Westbrook on rockets running ISo to him would see Westbrook leading the league in scoring and in the MVP talks. He'd probably have a 60 point game too.

 

Now that I think about it, I do want to make an adjustment to my list. I think Carmelo has a slight edge over harden because they both play the same ISo hero ball offense, but Carmelo is better at it. He led the league in scoring. He also is a better defender than harden...not that Carmelo is a good defender or anything.

I'd also add Kevin love to the list too.

 

What logic did you use to come to this conclusion?

Melo shoots about 5 more shots per game to get 2.8 more points. He has a higher USG% and a lower TS% and AST%.

Amazingly Melo averages 1.2 less TOs per game and somehow has a worse AST/TO than Harden.

I will concede he has a more multidimensional scoring ability since he can post up and has the ability to make some really bad shots, but as far as the complete package of scoring efficiently and setting up teammates he is behind a 23 year old Harden.

 

i want to see him play at least one more season before i would make a decision on this one.

 

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. Irving
4. Wall
5. Harden

So, it looks like I'd put him at #5.

 

I chose 3. To me, the only players who are definitely above him on that list are Lebron and Durant. Chris Paul would be, but he's too injury prone. I think a case could be made for Irving - because he's younger than Harden.

So my list is (of those mentioned):
1. Lebron
2. Durant
3. Harden
4. Irving
5. Paul
6. Westbrook

I'd also note that if Anthony Davis can get healthy, I'd rather build around him than Westbrook too.

 

Regular season - I would be all over Harden on this one, probably at #3. But man, he just didn't have it in the playoffs. I hope that illness/injury fully explained it.

 

1) Irving
2) Anthony Davis
3) LBJ
4) Durant
5) CP3(due injury concerns)
6) Curry Harden Westbrook

 

Well, we don't have that scenario to draw from, but it couldn't be much worse than what happened with durant solo. Ibaka may have played a lot better if Westbrook was in there. Interesting how under rated Westbrook is on this board. Kobe considers him to be the closest thing he's seen to himself in the league.

As far as harden goes, being that this is his first year as the first option of his team, there's really not enough time to call him one if the best in the league. I did rank steph curry, Blake griffin, kyrie Irving and brook Lopez ahead of him, but mostly due to the positions they play and the high ceiling on Blake griffin. Great centers and pg are harder to find so curry, Irving, and Lopez are purely position wise. None of them have played long enough to be considered a guaranteed franchise player. That said, it seems that building around a player really only means the next 4 years. When the contract is up, players are 50/50 stay or go. Or at least that's how the sportswriters like to tell the story. For all we know, harden will only be on the rockets for 4 years before he opts out for a bigger market...assuming he gets a big head with all the shots he's getting in Houston.

What makes Kobe great are not the stats he gets year by year or the crazy 81 point game or even the rings. It's his longevity that puts him in the same breath as Jordan. While Kobe was doing his thing, the next great ones have come and gone, but Kobe is still here. These include Vince carter, Tracy McGrady, Gilbert arenas for a couple years, and even dwade to some extent, etc...

 

No disrespect to Paul George - but you can't build a team around a guy because he plays hard D. Harden's got the offensive presence it takes to build around.

 

ahead of irving.

 

Anthony Davis and Irving over Durant and LBJ? Am I reading this right?

 

Another player only fan with an agenda against harden.Look at his join date

 

He has an agenda dude.

 

Pretty sure he's already admitted that he is a Lakers troll so I wouldn't really take his opinion too seriously.

 

I think this can be answered more easily after next season, if Harden is still the main guy and we don't bring in someone who changes our offense drastically.

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. Rose (As long as he's healthy)
4. George (giving the edge here)
5. Howard (We are talking about building around, not dropping on a Kobe led team full over-the-hill gangers. He did a lot with his team in Orlando.)
6. Harden