Who said anything about Lin? (You.) If I quoted how many posts in this thread took shots at Harden, it would take about 18 pages. Go to the Pacers board to get your rocks off.
There's the loop hole. The charging rule is when a defender has to be planted and motionless. However, when a defender is still in motion, you can charge into them for the foul.
Give the choice between the two given how they're playing right now? I'd probably have to go with PG. PG is shaping up to be a legitimate MVP contender. Harden's one way game puts him at a disadvantage. Also, PG's size and range means that in the play offs, lack of calls won't cripple his game. The same can't be sad for Harden. Don't get me wrong, Harden is a great player but PG's size, range and defensive chops means you can plug him into virtually any team and he'll be amazing.
I'll repost for those that missed it... James Harden has better steals & blocks per game average than your golden 'Boy George'...that's while he has been playing injured this season, but last years 'defensive' stats also give the edge to the Chairman of the Beard...just saying. James Harden averaged 1.8 steals & 0.5 blocks last season, and is at 1.8 steals & 0.8 blocks per game this season. Paul George? 1.8 steals & 0.6 blocks last year & 1.8 steals & only 0.4 blocks this season. 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... So who's 'better'? 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.
No, the defender is not "impeding" the path. If you would just read the article I posted to start this discussion, we wouldn't need to fill up this thread with the same analysis of the problem.
Judging defense by only looking at steals and blocks is too simplistic. All you really you need to know: Paul George was all-defensive 2nd team last year, while Harden didn't make any all-defensive team (voted by the coaches, so they probably know a thing or two about defense..).
It's pretty crazy to see how many Rockets "fans" are trashing the team's best player in favor of an unproven guy who has had an easy schedule. George is a great young player, but c'mon guys, have a little patience. Harden was MUCH better than him last season, and a good stretch of games in the beginning of the year doesn't change anything. I'd be surprised if 1) George keeps this up all season (he is already regressing anyway) and 2) if Harden doesn't improve after getting healthy.
Well to be quite honest Harden or PG is a stupid question, both are young guys and are developing into beasts, it's like saying would you rather have Brandon Roy or Wade when both guys were in their prime. They have different skillsets, PG is the classic SG Kobe mold so he's really good at two-way bball and closing games out. Harden's ability is a bit harder to quantify because he's injured this year, but when healthy he's like a point-SG, able to make plays for everyone while still scoring at 0.6 TS%. If you compared them one-on-one then I think PG will definitely be better because he's more ahtletic, longer and better defensively, but as this is a team game not a one-on-one contest I think Harden's the better guy. If you look just last season, the Rox with Harden as the only star had a better regular season than Pacers did with PG, West and Hibbert. Playoffs were a different story, but then again Hibbert was the one who did the most damage there not PG.
I refuse to entertainment these garbage threads. We FINALLY get a superstar caliber player after years of futility, and what do a lot of you do? You unappreciate him at every turn. I respect and appreciate my Rockets, they'll be a fined tuned machine by the time the Playoffs roll around. GO ROCKETS!
they're built SOO opposite of each other yet we compare them. (paul george long and lanky, harden bruiser type) just goes to show there's a million ways to get the job done.
Harden for sure. I admit I'm not too fond of his sometimes nonexistent D and shot selection at times, but he is clearly a better player offensively.
It's mainly the LOFs that can't stand the fact that Harden and not Lin is considered the #1 option on the team.
What?! George is no more unproven than Harden. They both have 1 year under their belt, carrying their team as the alpha dog. After what he did in the playoffs last year, and how he's started this year, it's crazy to say he's still some unknown commodity.
