Paul George still has a lot more to prove on offense before I accept he can be a #1 option on a playoff team. And he is still in the Least, which automatically docks points from his resume. (Have you SEEN how terrible the East is this season??) I maintain that I'd still take Harden, but I have to admit that PG is starting to close the gap. Let's see how their #s compare at the all star break and then we'll talk.
I wonder how many of you guys have actually seen any Pacer games this season. You'd think George was LeBron James lol. When did this turn into a Pacer forum?!
So what?? a) It's a team sport b) They DIDN'T beat the Heat c) You can't read too much into one series
James Harden has better steals & blocks per game average than your golden 'Boy George'...that's while playing injured this season, but last years 'defensive' stats also give the edge to the Chairman of the Beard...just saying. Both are also averaging 24.2 pts per game. Boy George is having a breakout season, but once defences figure him out, say around or just after the All-Star break, I expect his numbers to fall back to around 19-21 per game, especially after he plays against some teams that aren't cellar dwellers...see post below. Harden is the better player, & better fit for this team. Also y'all forget about Harden's defence vs OKC in last years playoffs, & at the beginning of this season before the foot problems. Short memories...
Imagine if this Rockets team was in the East? Of course Boy George's numbers are inflated by playing a majority of his games against the flyweight division that is the Leastern Conference. Who have they beat? Orlando 4-8 New Orleans 6-6 Cleveland 4-10 Detroit 4-8 Chicago 6-5 (5th seed in East) Toronto 6-7 (4th seed in East! Lol!) Brooklyn 3-9 Memphis 7-6 Milwaukee 2-10 New York 3-9 Boston 5-10 & Philadelphia 6-9 Their one loss? Chicago 6-5 Their opponents combined record is 62-102 (.378) Of the 13 games only 2 have been against Western Conference teams, & only 3 games have been against teams that (as of today) have winning records, and only just at that...2 games against Chicago who are 6-5, & one game vs Memphis at 7-6. Who has been Boy George's hardest opponent to date? Melo? Deng? Rudy Gay? I have nothing against the guy, I think he is going to have an amazing career, but y'all are losing your mind over a guy that hasn't even played against some top tier teams yet! Harden is a better player, fits the Rockets system better, & as I've pointed out before has the same, if not better 'defensive' stats than 'Boy George'. Perspective is everything mate.
Paul George by a landslide. Give me an elite wing defender, with good to great offense and clutch compared to Haren a total negative on D, apparently elite offense (Ft's and pull up 3's) but so anti clutch
can you give an example of an "elite wing defender, with good to great offense" who led a team to a championship? and LOL if you think Harden's game is just Ft's and pull up 3's
Can you give me an example of a so called elite offensive player who ONLY gets to the line and has a pull up 3 and is a total negative on D, not even close to average who led a team to a championship? This can go on forever but fact is George is the younger, better all round player and has more upside.
I've pretty much avoided this thread and here is why...it is stupid. I say it's stupid because it's the equivalent of somebody on the OKC Thunder board saying would you rather have Kevin Durant or Lebron James? Or would you rather have Russell Westbrook or Chris Paul? Newsflash...both are great players and you could make a strong argument one way or another. Just be THANKFUL you even have one of those guys on the team you root for. Damn...some of you guys just look to be unhappy about something it seems like. How many teams would line up right now to trade for James Harden if we put him on the block? How many teams out there wish they had a talent like James Harden on their team? Yet some of our fans want to go with the grass is greener approach and lust after star players on other teams that they don't watch nearly as much to see what those guys suck at. Harden pisses me off sometimes too, but honestly I can't think of a player other than Dream that didn't frustrate me at some point every game since I started watching the Rockets. I'll go ahead and add my 2 cents on the topic for whatever it's worth. Harden has his faults as does George. Both are young and still have room to grow their games. If Harden has two healthy feet and plays defense I think you have to go with him, but if his defense remains hindered, George is your man. A healthy James Harden trying on defense is better than Paul George right now. We'll see. Time will tell.
That's the thing. He has shown zero inclination to play D. It was kind of understandable last season but his lack of effort on D this season is unacceptable. All he has to do is play at least average D and not be a total negative on D
I honestly don`t know where this anti clutch thing comes from - there is one thing he is not good at, and that is last posessions of any quarter. Why is he not good at it? Because we don`t really run a play. He has hit plenty of late game clutch shots and he has hit game winners before. We just need to figure out what to do at the end of quarters from a playcalling perspective. A great wing defender is important - but you can hide bad defense. Put Harden on the other teams worst weapon, overplay the 3 point line and let Dwight/Asik do the rest. But there is one thing that is hard to find - and that is someone that can create offense and make shots when it counts. And Harden is way better than George at this. When other teams aggressively prepare against George he will strugge. George is a player every team would want - but he ideally plays with an elite offensive player. He is best when he gets a great pass. He can knock down that outside shot, he can drive by his man and he will find the open man if someone comes to help out. So, overall, if you are talking 2 way player, George is the better player right now. From a value perspective, I still take Harden.
You're still not getting the rules. It is not a ref problem. It is not about Harden driving with his arms in front of him. It is about Harden driving into defenders or swinging his arms into defenders, who are otherwise not making contract. It is in the rules (or not specifically defined) that offensive players who initiate contact get their shooting foul. It is a loophole, because when written they didn't think people would intentionally draw contact. Once you understand what the problem is, you can disagree with it. But I'm speculating that the rules will change to eliminate this loophole. That's why I listed sources that show there are hostility to this loophole. Your opinion is your opinion, but if you intend to argue that it won't happen, please provide a source that dictates why. Clyde is paid to be a color commentator and a homer for the Rockets. "Its always been that way" is not even an argument for our against the rule change, but an acknowledgement of the problem.
The only reason this thread is 23 pages long is because people want to criticize Harden. They don't want him on the team? Evidently. They want to tear down every "threat" to another unnamed player on the team? Yes.
