Honestly the biggest obstacles to Harden becoming the best player in the NBA, aside from LeBron and Durant, are not any other established stars, but rather the guys we DON'T know about. Anthony Davis, Ender Wiggins, etc...
I hope by "best player" he doesn't mean scoring leader a la Melo. Team success >>>> personal achievement
Wait would you trade right now them straight up deal? Harden bout to let ya know if the stats didn't show you last yr., he'll show ya this yr too. He's the 4th most efficient player in the L, albeit, statistical, but to watch him play, and he's 23. If they were both coming off something like Rose is dealing with I still wouldn't make that trade. Harden was the biggest gift given since Pau Gasol, and "Jerry West's favor" to the Lakers, maybe even more so because Morey actually changed the way trades, and stats, and foresight will be looked at forever through the advanced statistical data Morey made known forever!
Rose says I am the best. Harden says I want to become the best. One guy thinks he's the ****, the other guy wants to work hard to become the ****. Big diff.
If Rose is healthy, I would for sure trade Harden for Rose. You forget the guy was the MVP couple seasons ago.
I gotta disagree. First off it could easily be argued that Rose didn't deserve that MVP. He had a great season on the team with the best record, but I don't think he was the best player in the league. There are plenty of stats to look at that don't make him out to be the best player in the league. Second the fact that the PG position is so deep and the SG position is so thin gives Harden a huge advantage. Add in the fact that while it is not a big difference Harden is the younger player who is also on a much more team friendly contract. I also believe Rose has a team tailor fit for him to succeed. The mostly defensive team with limited offensive players make his somewhat mediocre efficient offensive game look better and his high usage rate and minutes gave him plenty more opportunities then most to fill the box score. Not saying he isn't an extremely skilled player and a top 10ish guy when fully healthy, I just don't think Rose is part of the top elite guys in the NBA and i just dont believe a Rose for Harden trade would be a no brainier move.
I think Rose and Harden are pretty equivalent players, but Harden is younger and is not coming off a major injury, so I'd take Harden over Rose. Also, Harden is a much better outside shooter.
Some players goal is to be great and/or a good role player. Not everybody put in the work to be great and some just don't have the skills. That said JH13 has the skills and drive to be great.
Also, some players already know that they're the best. Players like Terrence Williams, Monta Ellis, DeMarcus Cousins.
Rose can get away with saying that because he plays in Chicago. In reality, Rose has never been the best player in the league. I don't care what MVP he has, either.
I would argue that since the best percentage midrange guards in the league scored 1.00 points per possession on midrange shots last year (Chris Paul/Steve Nash, 50%) and the league average is some 1.06 points per possession, that using that facet of his game more for its own sake is counterproductive even if he suddenly becomes elite at it. Harden was 30th out of 41 guards playing 30 MPG in midrange percentage, but he took a low amount of shots from there (per minute, 38th out of 41) so he still ended up efficient. His shot volume shouldn't increase from that range until his percentage is way beyond the 36% he was at last year. The shot distribution he currently has (6.5 threes per 40 minutes, 1.096 points per shot; 5.9 layups per 40 minutes, 1.26 points per shot; 4.5 two point jumpers per 40 minutes; 0.71 points per shot) is already very streamlined for efficiency - utilizing the weakest aspect of his game more doesn't help that efficiency even if he suddenly becomes Chris Paul-like from that range. Of course, I'm well aware that midrange shooting is a necessary tool for a strong offense - Nash and Paul would get far fewer assists if defenses didn't have to respect their midrange game. But Harden has already proven to be a top notch scorer - I'd much prefer he work on defense, turnovers, and even improve the shots he's already good at before he spends time making the least efficient shot in the game more efficient.
That is amazing to read, since a lot of guys nowadays are criticized for getting their money and getting fat and happy...Royce White.
I value his dedication to work hard to reach a higher goal. His comment is probably not worth analyzing in a lot of detail. Having said that, Harden is still a kid and these are the ramifications of that statement: 1. If you are DH12, how would you feel if your team mate says i am and will be better than you, especially if you consider yourself to be the best player in the world? 2. His objective is self centered. Winning a championship is a much greater objective than being the best player in the world. Focusing on self interest can cause locker room problems in the long term.
You can make a thread about Harden adopting abandoned dogs and people on here will find a way to call him fat and selfish.
Why does he only adopt dogs, what about the abandoned strays of the cat community? WHAT A RACIST FAT SELFISH *******.
