One big difference. Doncic complains about calls all the time. Harden doesn't do that as often, maybe because he had Eric Gordon doing that for him.
I wasn't really taking a hit at analytics. It's more that Harden eliminated elements of his game that weren't great based on analytics but are key in the playoffs, like mid range or simply playing off the ball some. Warriors take mid range shots when it makes sense and the defense gives them open ones. I would also say Harden worked on his game just as much as Steph. Particularly, earlier in his career you could argue he was adding more elements than Steph was every summer (the fadeaway from mid range, the runner/lob, the stepback 3, etc). Harden's problem was being fat and poorly conditioned. It's basically been his problem his whole career. While, one of Steph's strengths his whole career has been conditioning, ability to move without the ball. In fact, Steph really hasn't changed much throughout his career. The big change for him was getting healthy and getting put in the right positions. He'll be remembered for his incredible consistency and efficiency. I really don't think Harden's problem was going out, tons of all time greats and superstars partied just as hard as Harden. He just can't put the fork down.
We don't really know how Harden works in the off season. He clearly worked on his skills, at least in those peak years on the Rockets. Did he work on conditioning? Is body weight is just part of his body type? I don't know. Conditioning is definitely a weakness. If he ran around without the ball like Curry does, he probably would not be able to play more than 32 minutes a game. He stopped moving without the ball after he became an elite ISO player. He stopped taking the mid range after he mastered the step back 3. People kept using analytics to defend such abandonment. I've use the commonsense argument that having 2 weapons is ALWAYS better than having only 1 weapon, no matter how inefficient the second weapon is. When your opponent knows that you absolutely won't do something, that's one fewer thing for them to worry about. This is especially true in the playoffs when game planning is crucial. Teams knew that once you force the ball out of Harden's hands, he would be useless. The also knew that once he dribbled past the 3pt line, you could sag off of him because he would either go all the way to the hoop or pass it out, and would never stop to pop a mid range.
MDA is as responsible for this as harden imo harden luka is a good comparison. Luka is bigger which comes with some pluses and minuses . His size should make it easier to get a shot off / attack the paint in playoffs ... but it could mean he’s more defensively limited too .
Nothing in analytics said you shouldnt move off the ball lol. Klay and Steph are two of the highest analytics scoring players ever and they move off the ball all the time. Harden also takes mid range shots when he wants to all those floaters he took are classified as mid range shots. The no mid range shot only applies to guys like Ariza, Ryan Anderson, PJ Tucker and all the other players who suck at mid range. Rox have always let players who are good at mid range shoot from mid rsnge like Marcus Morris, Cp3, Patrick Patterson, Harden and of course Jalen Green last year. Its all about efficiency, if you sre good at mid rsnge then Rox will let you shoot it. Sure Harden worked hard on his game esrly in his career, but clearly he stopped after he won his MVP. You can see thats when his mentality changed from winning games to stat padding, from chasing rings to chasing clout. Thats the year he started waiving Cp3 off so he can do more stepback 3s. Nah I dont think other greats partied as much as Harden. I think other greats do party but not to the excess Harden has done. He cant even keep in shape,thats not just the fork thats all the alcohol he drinks. He suffered a hamstring injury 2 yrs ago, still hasnt recovered cuz he too busy partying in Paris with DaBaby to do rehad properly. He was even out partying after his team got blown out in the middle of a playoff series who does that lol.
Luka simple has more ways to score consistently than Harden. Luka plays like a big pf sometimes and would just drive into the low post and bully guards and force double teams. I have never really seen Harden do that. Harden is a lot faster on drives and can blow by people compared to Luka who likes to take it slow and steady. I also find Luka to be a more of a read and react passer vs Harden who is more of a on the move passer. I personally find Luka to be more reliable if you really need a bucket in crunch time. For whatever reason even younger Harden had a bit of hard time generating consistent offense in big moments in the playoffs.
Luka and Harden are completely different players. If I were coaching the Mavericks, I'd be showing Luka clips of Magic Johnson grabbing defensive rebounds and pushing the pace at every opportunity. It's fine if Luka wants to play with deliberate pace in the half-court, but he needs to get into top cardiovascular shape and be using his talents to turn Dallas into a transition nightmare. Ben Simmons is a transition nightmare and Luka is more offensively talented. But bigger guys who can dribble and pass are hard to deal with if they push the ball up the floor--even Draymond Green in his younger days took advantage of that.
That’s a big ask for Luka. Not just the getting in really good shape to have the cardio to run up and down like that but same thing as Harden…. you can’t expect to win big when your PG has a 2:1 Assist to TO ratio. I think the Mavs were successful this year because of Jalen Brunson. Not only was he an excellent scorer/playmaker the biggest thing the Mavs are going to miss is his ball handling/ball security. He was very good in that regard and relieved a lot of pressure from Luka.
Well if you watch him play he has mimicked a lot of Harden’s moves including the step back 3 (sometimes double step back) and using the body and lowering the arms a lot to draw contact to the rim.
Boston and Golden State both take more long 2s than Rockets did in those prime Harden contending years. Harden did abandon the FT line jumper he was so good at and post game for some reason. Not sure if its coaching/executive decision or his own.
Didn't CP3 look like trash the year after his hamstring? Was he handing with DaBabby? The biggest Problem we had was. . . If Harden gave the ball up . . .. it was hell giving it back to them No one wanted to see PJ Tucker Dribbling the ball or making pin point passes Rocket River
here yall go again with the dumb takes. can Luka get better? sure. is that why they lost ? hell no they lost to a more talented team. i can't stand when people act like play style matters more than talent. yes like James Harden who also didn't have enough around him.
You think Luka is gonna turn the mavs into the Showtime Lakers ?? I'm pretty sure he's seen footage of Magic...that's not what's stopping him from running the court.
How is it not basketball? Its not fun to watch but its just constant isolation and the occasional PnR. Thats absolutely basketball.
Well, there's a reason that style of basketball/not-basketball has never won anything. The concept of team disintegrates in that style. You have one player who controls everyone else and makes all the critical decisions. The other players have to be at certain spots and even read that player's mind if a play breaks down. A player, especially a professional player, can't help but feel demeaned in that system.
