you guys are so funny. steve nash was a great player with the mavs, but it wasn't until he went to the suns that he was considered MVP stuff. he was a product of the system, able to handle the ball more. if james harden played with dwight, he would not have those numbers. Without a perfect team to compliment him he can't do what he does. Without a stretch 4, a perfect compliment in beverly make up for his defense and shoot the three, another good defender in ariza who can shoot the three, and then a perfect compliment in capela and Nene who can run the pick and roll, he won't have the room to do what he does. he's not a good defender, can only post up on certain players, can't catch and shoot without space on a good defender, still takes bad shots. waaay overrated. without the perfect team to surround him, he can't do what he does. not to mention has two great bench players in lou williams and eric gordan. you could put a prime clyde drexler, one of the best players in the nba, as a 2 or 3 on any team on any system. james harden has never even been to the finals yet. and they could hand check back then
First off, yes he has. Secondly, this is not just a matter of being a "product of the system". Harden is special....a transcedent talent. He's pioneering a new way of playing (within the rules) and changing the paradigm of the NBA. For the record, I already thought this of Harden before last night's game and even before the Round 1 win. He's amazing....simply put.
oh yeah, forgot about when he played with westbrook, durant, and ibaka. he's never done it, when's been "the man". brother i'm not trying to offend you, or anything. i like harden. he's much better now than he was in OKC. he's still not a transcedent player. the NBA these days is kinda watered down.
Clyde wouldn't be the playmaker though. And you wouldn't have this slower version of the offense, you'd have the high octane Phoenix version on display with nonstop fastbreaking. Clyde could get to the basket so easily back in the 80s-90s when you were actually allowed to play defense and clog the lane. Imagine what he could do with 3pt spacing. It'd be interesting. To build a team I'd take Harden first though. He can make plays for others and himself at a high level, it would make filling out a roster much easier.
Clyde.... Harden is better offensively... but Clyde made fewer mistakes, was more of a complete package and din't have any friction or off court distractions...
Harden may finish his career ahead of Drex, but I dont think hes there yet. Clyde was f'ing incredible, a 2 way player in his prime that was also a great rebounder and passer. Good instincts and size, but Harden has some time to pass him so I wont say never!
Right now the biggest thing that separates Wade and Harden's legacies is the 2006 postseason. He was just an absolute monster in that postseason, and he had one of the single greatest Finals performances in the history of the league. Harden doesn't have that pivotal postseason moment of dominance to hang his hat on. Harden's peak is on par and arguably better in terms of efficiency and production than Wade. Obviously peak Wade was a superior defender, but Harden's superior shooting and playmaking make up for it. Really, the thing that separates Harden from being a top 50 caliber player and a top 20-25 caliber player like Wade is one of two things: either sustained excellence combined with solid longevity or some big playoff moments of note. If Harden wins a title as an alpha dog or plays for 15+ years with roughly a decade of time as a top 5 player in the league, I think he'll belong in that same conversation as Wade and Drexler.
Clyde was bigger, stronger, faster. Harden is a better passer, but then again no one asked Clyde to play point guard.
Bigger and stronger than Harden? Are you on some kinda crack? Lol....Clyde is taller but weight less and have alot less body mass.
We would have to see Harden play more games to see his consistency, but I think last night was his best game possibly of the season. The way he ran that offense was insanely good.
Clyde so far and Harden won't surpass him unless he really starts to defend more, if that..Drex was on another level.
Clyde averaged eight assists one season so he was capable but not capable of running an offense like we have seen Harden do this season Clyde was a much better athlete but Harden is the more complete guard All that being said Clyde and Adelman got as much out of those Blazer teams as possible Comparing Clyde to contemporary guards makes you realize he is one of the more underrated stars in NBA history
So Harden's production is a product of this system? Yet when he played under McHale's non-system he was the first ever players MVP and the runner up for MVP. He did not have the snipers, Dwight was mostly injured, and he still carried them to the second best record in the league while putting up great numbers. Let's not act like MDA/Morey made James what he is.
Here are some decent highlights of Clyde's all-around game. Hard to claim with a straight face that Harden is definitively better. Clyde is an all-time great. Harden has years to go before his career can stack up.
how old are you? have you watched clyde in his prime? anyone who is able to initate the offense as much as james harden is with the pick and roll, and have the green light to shoot bad iso shots, is going to put up stats. he is gotten much better, but when he first got here. the league is watered down now. it didn't matter one bit that dwight was injured because we got josh smith on the cheap who played nuts and got dwight back just in time to do his thing.
I choose Drexler, but I am influenced by Phi Slama Jama. I can only hope & pray that Harden will surpass Clyde because that means more Championships for this Glorious RedNation of ours.
