How much better can James Harden get? will he ever reach top 5?

every player in the top 10 should be able make a play on the last possession of the game.

22-second hero ball iso doesn't count.

 

Harden will be around 6 to 8 for the next few years. I can see him dipping into top 5 in about 2 to 3 years.

 

Odds are good IF he can get good coaching and have good teammates to work on his team play, decision-making, and defense.

 

Kobe
Lebron
Durant
Melo
CP3
George
Rose
Wade

 

George Gervin?

 

He's better than Wade who is declining and we haven't seen Rose post injury. Is he better than Paul George or say Westbrook? That's debatable....

 

This game sealed it for me. He carried this team against the World Champs

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fCz0VSeqWso" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

So you mean no Dwight or Carmelo in the top ten? Because Carmelo's crunch time play looks a hell of a lot like 22 second hero ball iso to me.

Harden is already a top 5 contract in the league (see Simmons' top 50 contracts article), and he is decent defense away from being #4 in the league behind Lebron and Durant and Paul. Who is gonna challenge Harden? Carmelo was better this year but had worse playoff results with a better supporting cast. Dwighr has a chance to overtake him again, but he was def worse last year. Lets see how Tony Parker does when Duncan isn't around anymore (and seriously, anyone that plays for Popovich becomes like 150% better).

The only guys that can challenge Harden in the next five years are Irving and Curry, and both of them play even WORSE defense than Harden does right now. Because they're younger though they have the upside to project higher. Same thing for wiggins.

 

Harden's main problem is his defense is god awful. If we get Dwight then that should be able to cover up some of his defensive deficiencies, but I don't ever see him being anything other than an average (at best) defender.

His other problem is the lack of diversity in his offensive game. He is still young and he has a ton of talent for offense. He needs a mid range game like Lebron and Parker have. Lebron worked his ass off to develop it and it paid huge dividends. I think Harden has the ability to have that same sort of mid range game. He can't depend on free throws and fouls in the playoffs so he has to add on something else.

I think he could possibly be a "top 5" player, but he has to continue to add more and more on to his offensive game and just not be a complete drag on defense.

 

Bron
Durant
CP3
Dwight
Harden

 

Wow, what a game he had!

By the way, I have to admit it, the Heat announcers are REALLY good.

 

Harden does have a mid range game. Our system just doesn't preach it. Threes and points in the paint Rockets basketball.

 

No! No, no, no, no, no!

There is no rational reason to rate Kobe ahead of Harden. They basically do the same thing, except Harden is more efficient per possession.

Harden is already top 10 and knocking on the door of top 5. On most idiots' lists of top players, Harden deserves Kobe's spot. He's already there, it's just going to take a couple of years for people to face facts about Kobe's decline.

 

Do it by tiers.

Lebron - his own tier

Durant -his own tier

Cp3, Dwight, Duncan - all three dramatically impact both ends of the floor. Timmy is old, but we are talking this past year and next. Anyone who watched the finals knows he is still elite.

That's your top five in the league right now.

Harden, Westbrook, George, rose - this is the group that has tantalizing potential to move into the top5. Among the these, I like Westbrook the least because I think we know who he is, and he is least likely to take the next step, which is the hardest step. Harden and George have different games, but same potential. George might deserve a slight nod based on how he flashed this post season, but its a pickem. Rose belongs here if healthy.

Melo - he is what he is, no chance to be better. This guy is very good but won't win any titles. The league has always had elite snorers that dont have the complete game to be winners.

Parker, Kobe, wade - at their best, Kobe and wade are better than Parker, but age and injuries level things out.

That's your top 12 players in the league.

Steph curry could push into this group, but needs consistency and health. But he has flashed some

 

Harden showed at OKC he could selectively play very good D sometimes, but he tossed that out the window last year with the Rockets. If he averages 26 ppg, he'll probably continue to rest on the other end. If Parsons grows like we all hope, Dwight comes here and contributes 18-19 ppg and Jeremy Lin becomes consistent on offense (particularly his jumper), we might see Harden put out more effort on defense.

I doubt he will ever be a consensus top-5 player. Maybe one year he'll be in the top 5 for MVP.

Since someone brought up Steph Curry: Harden's upside is higher. The Spurs showed Curry is too easy to guard and doesn't have enough speed or physicality to force his was open. All he can do is move further from the basket to get his shot off. Curry's inability to be a factor attacking the rim limits him.

 

He will surpass Kobe next year and will be the next great SG. If Dwight comes, Rockets will have the next dynasty, Lakers Shaq days 2.0, with Spurs getting old, Denver and Memphis blew up franchise. Heat aging..

 

If Rockets get a Rasheed Wallace type of PF with Dwight on C, Rockets will be like Detroit Pistons Billups years on Acid.

BRING IN KG, MCHALE.

 

Curry would push into this group if healthy and consistent? Then why does Rose get a 'waiver' and a 'here if healthy' exception?

And Tony Parker is so undervalued on these boards...he is such an amazing player w/ skill and consistency.

You'll have to explain to me how Dwight is in that tier w/ CP3 though, after this atrocious yr. What, are we now assuming he will play like he did 2 yrs ago??? Read Simmon's article, Dwight has probably peaked already and it is all downhill from here. Sure, he is still one of the most dominant big men in the league and I would sign him for $20.5M in a heartbeat, but if we're talking best players right now...I am appalled that Dwight is essentially "Top 5". I have a hard time taking those who put him Top 5 seriously lol.

Duncan is amazing; a HoFer and a transcendental talent. I am 50/50 whether to include him in the tier right below Lebron and Durant...or if he should be one lower, but that is a matter of preference.

 

By the way, there isn't 'first team SG', it's just guards. If there are two PGs better than him (which i think there are, and more than two), they should make the 1st team.

 

Melo is arguable. He scores more, and his basic stat %'s are close to Harden's, but slightly better. Yet upon closer inspection, his TS% is lower than Harden's...his ORating and DRating and overall RAPM are much worse than Harden's...and even in clutch stats, Melo is 38% vs. Harden's 40% FG%. He screams 'less efficient' than Harden.

And HOWARD? Are we talking about now or two years ago? The hell...