I am worried about Harden. The guy is a great player right now, but I fear his work ethic. He has a body type that is liable to...expand...if not carefully maintained. Also, he hasn't had a lot of injuries (knocking on wood, knocking on wood furiously) -- if her ever does, will he have the work ethic to rehab and come back without losing a step -- or will he be like so many other stars who allow their first major injury to ruin the rest of their careers? So, as great as he is, I am worried about him. If I had to guess someone for him to be a comparable player to at the end of his career, I would choose Mitch Richmond. I hope I am wrong and he ends up on a much higher level -- but we will see. I am certainly rooting for him as long as he has that crazy red "R' on his jersey.
And a very different player, who played in a very different (read: more conservative) offensive system. When JH played in OKC I made the Roy comparison, but after watching him play as a starter for 1.5 seasons, to me Harden's game resembles Wade's far more closely than Roy's. His superior jumper largely makes up for his deficit in athleticism (on offense anyway); he doesn't need Wade's lightning-quick first step, as defenders have to respect his shooting ability. And while James will likely never be on Wade's level as a defender, he clearly possesses the tools to be at least above average in that department. He's on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
So was Sam Bowie pre-injury, Grant Hill pre-injury, Bogut pre-injury, Ilgauskas pre-injury, Arenas pre-injury, Mashburn pre-injury, Penny pre-injury etc. etc. etc. Roy had 3 great seasons, but Harden has the potential to have 10+ if he stays healthy. Also Roy in his prime was never the offensive player that Harden was.... not even close. He had the athleticism to get to the rim, and beat his man off the dribble, but as far as creativity & skill goes... its not even close. He was however a better defender, rebounder, and was not as turnover prone. IMO when comparing players of now and past you really can't say give me X player if healthy cause that's not fair. Health is just as important as skill & athleticism at the end of the day and its a big part of the player. At the end of the day give me the guy who ended up having a career rather than the guy with more athleticism who didn't have one cause of injuries.
Harden is similar to Roy in that they are not superior athletes, like a Wade, they rely on their footwork, positioning and IQ, both great shooters, great playmakers, both are primary playmakers on their teams. Both cannot carry a team by themselves, and with enough game planning can be stopped. Put it this way, if you switched Harden and prime Roy, the Rockets would be in pretty much the same position as now, a dark horse contender looking to add more pieces. If you replaced Harden with a prime Wade, the Rockets would be competing with OKC for the best record in the league, and would be considered one of the favourites for the title.
Harden's next step should be to develop more of a killer instinct. Some games he has it, and he is relentless in the clutch. Other games, he seems not to care and is strangely unaggressive in crunch time. Exhibit A is the Clipper game. He had it rolling through three quarters and only took a couple shots in the 4th. I believe he is already a top ten player easily today.
When Harden came here and before he played his first game here, I thought to myself that he has the ability to have Dwayne Wade's body, but Phil Jackson's mind. I think the fact that Harden does not use his athleticism fools a lot of people. The dude is athletic. He just knows that he doesn't have to use it every single second of every single game.
Playing 40+ minutes a night is a pretty good way to stay in shape. Also sounds like the Rockets are starting to come around on taking diet during the season very seriously. As long as he keeps from getting seriously injured he'll be ok. Most players (except the occasional Felton) that get really out of shape are the ones who go through an injury and never quite get healthy enough to ramp up their workouts to lose weight. Also I dont know if you've ever actually seen Harden up close at like the Galleria or anything but compared to a normal red-blooded American (or Merican) he's pretty damn long lanky, and looks quite skinny to me. On TV for whatever reason, those Rockets uniforms just make people look a bit chunky. The guy is not fat despite what people here think.
Harden is not even close to BRoy in terms of type. Harden is a score first player. BRoy is more of a facilitator and does everything.
I'd put Harden in the same boat as Dirk. He has all the talent and skill necessary at his position and he will win a championship (or more) if in the right situation. The next tier of all time greats have the same exceptional talent and skill but also have the tenacity to lock down defensively and score at will in crucial moments. I know it sounds fluffy but right now I just don't see the same mentality that Wade/Lebron/Kobe have out of him. Right now, Harden's performance is highly dependent upon his competition.
That's more due to the offensive systems they play under and the personnel. The Blazers had a lot more offensive talent and played a much slower pace. Roy could score with the best of them, and their Assist % are pretty much identical.
He's not close to Dirk, has a long way to go to be considered the same caliber of player as Dirk to be honest. It's not will, he's just not as talented as Wade/Lebron/Kobe, those are players that have won MVPs(Wade never won but I think he should have won in 08/09). Harden will never be an MVP caliber of player.
Well yeah I agree but Dirk is more than a decade older than Harden. I mean in much broader terms, Harden's on pace to have that type of career. People didn't think as highly of Dirk until he had an exceptional defensive/rebounding team (and coach) around him to cover for his weaknesses. If Harden wins, expect to see more recognition thrown his way. I disagree on the talent (except for Lebron). Harden can do anything Kobe/Wade can he just doesn't compete defensively and settles for jumpers too often in crunch time. The talent portion really overrated. Guys like Tracy Mcgrady and Vince Carter had more talent than Kobe, they just weren't as active on defense and went away from contact in crunch time.
Really, really, so very damn good. That's about the sum of it. I'm just glad to be a Rockets fan and see it happen. Go James Go!
Actually Harden is very deceptively athletic. He measured with a 37 inch max vertical, despite having a pretty high standing reach. Heck, his max vertical reach is identical to Blake Griffin (11'8.5), coming out of the draft. Harden has the athleticism, he just rarely uses it.
No one knows, maybe not even him. He flashes enormous potential. He is already an elite player and is destined for even greater things. He must develop his defense, work on conditioning (stay away from late night drinking and strip clubs), and refine his overall game, especially passing. Potential and twenty five cents won't even get you a spoonful of coffee. He has to go to the "LeBron" level of development and dedication to make it to the top of the league.
