It happened. It happened with 4 players out- Howard, Beverley, Jones, and Canaan. It happened on the road. It happened against a Bucks team with an excellent defense and a 3-game winning streak. It happened with Garcia and Dorsey and Johnson getting major minutes. What happened was James Harden just entered into the pantheon of great Rockets players. The ones you say, "I am witnessing one of the best players in the game at his best." Hakeem. Moses. Yao. Clyde. T-Mac. The take-over-the-game, you-can't-stop-them-even-if-you-try, seeing-the-game-in-slow-motion, bringing-it-to-another-level type of player. No more talk about ballhogging. No more talk about ISO. No more talk about deficiencies. What we are witnessing is a player representing the Rockets at the peak. It's done. McHale can't stop it. Opposing defenses can't stop it. Garcia-Dorsey-Johnson can't stop it. He makes D-Mo better. He makes Canaan better. He makes Black better. We are not witnesses.... we are evangelists to the force who is no longer defined by a first and last name.
Harden's young but not doing it with athleticism either, making you think he could perform at this level for another decade. We never saw such court vision in OKC; at least, I didn't. He's like a bad-back T-Mac if T-Mac could shoot. And had heart.
Excellent point. That's the last bastion he has to face. Playoffs. Where the greats stake their claim to fame in the game and rule the world. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NW55FRXlPEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He's grown up right before our eyes. Only time will tell where he'll rank among All-Time Rockets greats. Mt. Rushmore (as of now): Dream Moses Sampson Calvin Next tier: Harden Drexler Yao Rudy T WE ARE WITNESSING GREATNESS.
Ya, his playoff performances have been a bit of a mixed bag. He has killed some teams in the playoffs, and a few of those times it was his own team he killed.
I think you're right, but the real proof will be the playoffs. Right now, Beard has yet to be the Man when it counts the most.
Would have liked to see him do it against the Clips. Any star can dominate weak teams. He has to prove it against the best teams and in the playoffs before he joins a pantheon. For that reason I still consider McGrady a better player, despite no series wins he still brought it when it mattered.
This is a terrible first tier. Ralph Sampson had 4.5 seasons, and Murphy was pretty much what we'd be quick to call a chucker today on mostly awful teams.
So who, in your estimation, had a stronger 4.5 year span as a Rocket? Murphy a chucker? Haha, OK. Have some respect for our Hall of Famer.
That's too much to ask, really. Even Hakeem with, say Horry and 3-non starters isn't beating the Jazz, Suns, etc. There's no way this team should have the record they do right now.
I would be more impressed if they were 10-8 but had beaten GS, Lac and Memphis. Lots of fools gold to be had in getting excited over meaningless reg season games. Always been a fan of harden since day 1 , but waiting for the results in the big games before calling him a rockets GOAT.
