Max Kellerman would choose Luka Doncic over James Harden

He’s a millionaire? Life really isn’t fair, is it.

 

Yeah, and people (even the Rockets fans) tend to forget the rigged officiating of G7 2018 WCF and G1 2019 WCSF. Harden had subpar performances in those two games, but if we got fair whistle, we would have won the two crucial games, and the narrative will be flipped. Besides, Harden's bad 3P shooting was largely due to the outrageous non-calls on the clear 3P fouls committed by Thompson on him. It was so bad that even the reply center admitted it live on ESPN.

 

Against the Spurs, Harden's TS% was 56.8%. Against the Warriors in 2018, it was 53.8%. Do you think those are elite percentages?

It doesn't matter what else Harden brings to the table; without his scoring, we'll struggle to win.

You're also overlooking the degree of Curry's regression. When he regresses, he still shoots around/above the league average, right? When Harden regresses, he shoots well below the league average.

 

You’re still talking about 3s, Harden can score in a lot more ways than Curry.
Curry at league average from 3 is basically Eric Gordon without the defense.
Harden can still get points.

I understand Harden has to do better with shot selection when the 3 isn’t falling, and not fall into the trap of not driving because he’s not getting calls. But you’re comparing the wrong “superstar” in Curry. Curry is not good in the playoffs consistently.

 

League average TS% in 2018 was .556, this year is .560

Yes he should do better but to just make the assumption that he has several bad games and not throw in lack of calls, not much help is just biased.

 

In other words, not elite.

Of course I'm talking about 3's. Harden is one of the premier 3pt shooters of this era. It's the focal point of his game. If his 3pt shot isn't falling, he doesn't try to attack the basket. He keeps shooting 3s to find his rhythm.

And your Curry statement is ignorant. Even if his shot isn't falling, his presence on the court distorts defenses.

 

Ignorant? Lol, the only thing ignorant is your uninformed takes on Harden.
He has been better than Curry (who you started comparisons for) in the playoffs.

Hardens game is not dependent on 3s, not nearly as much as Curry’s game. Harden is always among the league leaders in drives to the basket. In fact everything you’ve said so far has just been wrong.

It’s ok to criticize Harden for some flubs and lack of energy. That’s fine, but to make it seem like it’s the majority or even close to that is a gross exaggeration. Then when Curry is your comp? That’s just disingenuous.[/QUOTE]

 

You said that if Curry shot league average from the 3pt line, he'd be worse than Eric Gordon. That's highly ignorant.

It's not wrong. You just don't understand basketball very well.

Harden's game is predicated on his 3 pointers. When he shoots them well enough, his defender is forced to play tighter which opens up driving lanes.

Again, I'm looking at elimination series (2017 and 2018), and I've already acknowledged that Harden played great last year against the Warriors. I've been consistent in this. Given that, I'm not sure how you can accuse me of making it seem like the majority.

And when I applied the same criteria to Curry, his stats were better. Not sure how you can argue that it's disingenuous.

 

No where did I say Curry would be worse than Gordon, I said if Curry was shooting 34% he’s Eric Gordon without the defense. A role player.

Hardens stepback is literally derived from his ability to drive. Not the other way around. The numbers back up this. He’s been among the league leaders in drives to the basket for years. The stepback is more recent addition.

Once again, even in those series he didn’t have multiple bad games. He did have some. Hence, the majority comment.

We can play this you don’t know basketball games all you want. Numbers and facts back my claims, narrative and opinions back yours.

 

That's literally saying that Curry would be worse than Gordon....

That's because he's the lion's share of our offense, not because it's the focal point of his game.

Harden has led the league in 3 pointers attempted for the past few seasons, and 2nd place hasn't been close. Using your flawed logic, doesn't that prove his game is predicated on 3's?

You realize that you just contradicted yourself, right?

 

Jesus kid, are you really this dense?
It’s obvious you have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not playing word games with you, so I’ll be done.
There’s no convincing you how wrong you are, even when the numbers are smacking you in the head.
Good talk, I am done.

 

Word games? It's not my fault you keep contradicting yourself.

The numbers agree with me since I based my argument off the numbers.

Calling someone "kid" is a bit cringey, especially since I'm at least 10 years older than you.

Kudos to you for hanging on as long as you did when you were so clearly outclassed.

 

What’s cringey is your complete lack of comprehension. You based nothing off of numbers, you cherry picked stats to fit your narrative. You can’t have an honest discussion, so therefore no need to keep it up.
It’s not as much keeping up, it’s more I’m getting tired of trying to teach the unteachable.

 

How did I cherry pick anything? I specified elimination series, acknowledged he was great last year, and looked at the two preceding years where he had meltdowns.

You said that Harden was held to an unfairly high standard so I applied the same thing to Curry, and Curry came out looking better. And then you accused me of cherry-picking.

You want reality to fit your narrative, but it doesn't. That's why you're incapable of having an honest discussion.

 

curry's TS% basically drops the same amount as harden's from regular season to playoffs.

 

His content is being discussed like teenage girls talking about the quarterback

 

DUDE curry still has or had the 2nd and 3rd best shooters in the league in klay and durant to take defensive attention off of him. Curry should be lighting the league up in the playoffs( his backcourt mate isnt ty lawson, beverely or lin). Curry gets soft traps, not the **** harden sees everynight. If Harden had klay and durant on his team he would average damn near 45 ppg on 65% true shooting

 

I was referencing 2016 and 2019. Durant didn't play in those finals.

Also, you forgot about a guy named Chris Paul. What's the point in intentionally omitting him? Everyone knows they played together. By ignoring him, all you're doing is lowering your credibility.

 

This team also beat a stacked All Star with deep bench Clips team.

Those Rockets also had a lot of cheap assists.

 

He should forget last year rockets vs warriors matchup. Harden beated big 5 match without cp3. He is easy to brainwash and forget easily. I think donic is still a newbie.