Well I think this states your position quite clearly and we'll never see eye-to-eye regarding Harden. Let me just throw these last points out there and I'm outa' here: 1) He doesn't have to beat out KD and WB. KD plays the SF and WB plays PG. Harden is an SG. He only needed to beat out Thabo which is why I don't see the difference between coming off the bench for the Kings or the Warriors and him coming of the bench for this team. 2) Just because the Thunder needed a 6th man doesn't mean that they needed to spend a 3rd lotto pick for a 6th man. That's like saying the Wizards picking a career backup C with the first pick isn't a waste because they need a backup C. 3rd overall lotto picks don't come very often, and for a team on the rise like the Thunder they probably won't get a 3rd overall for the next 10 years or so. It was their chance to make their team extremely stacked, having top 6 lotto picks with two of those on their way to becoming superstars. Instead they wasted it on a roleplayer. If they wanted a 6th man they could have traded their 3rd for Jamal Crawford and picks instead of wasting it on Harden.
Hate to bump such an old thread, but does anybody still think that Evans is a better overall player than Harden? I'd be very interested in hearing the reasoning. Harden can pretty much do everything you need from that position and Evans is extremely limited.
Nobody still thinks that and I'll repeat that at no point in his career was James Harden a bust. That was silly talk.
yeah, your right. i used to think he was a bust after his first year, but he just didn't get as many touches, and now that he has found his role as 6th man, hes doing a lot better
Not in the least. It doesn't seem as if you've ever really watched that team play. Thabo is offensively unskilled for his position. Harden is always instant offense. Harden could score more if he was on other teams. I'm not saying that he could handle the ball as well as Evans could, as that doesn't appear to be the case, but Harden is one of those players that will make the right pass and be consistent. This guy could average 20 on some other teams, and I like his size much more than Evans for a shooting guard as well. Watch the games more. Points, rebounds, and assists aren't everything when they come at the expense of your team's success. Personally, Harden would understand that a guy like Cousins should be shooting more, and he would defer to him more, whereas Evans doesn't get that. The guy's a cancer.
Wanted to smash the OP like the guy above me, but then saw the post date. How things can change in one season.
Yeah I was surprised by the OP as well because I think he has a really solid take on the league and players. But then I, too, saw the date.
There shouldn't be any doubt left, Harden is better for the Thunder. He is as talented as any third option in the league. He is one of the most resourceful all-around players and he has been slowly coming into his on, right now he has almost 10 points advantage in PER over Westbrook and Evans, in fact go ahead and compare his numbers to Tyreke's, he wins by a knock out. Also, if you watched our last game you saw him being the catalyst of that OKC come-back at the end of the 3rd, he just plays winning basketball.
I've been saying it for over a year Durant Westbrook and harden will all be in the hall of fame one day. They are all that good
[Year later]. Yeah saying Harden and Thabo bring the same stuff on the court is like saying Battier and Budinger's game were "alike". Or that Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams are just the same. (I know he was trying to say BOTTOM LINE output isnt #3 worthy and a #3 should be closer to All-Star than Keith Bogans. But like a lot of posters who start ad-libbing as they go to fill "storylines" and plots instead of looking at the straight scoop, I've noticed that particular poster does that MORE than most ) Also on ROOKIE year projections without considering team roles: #5 Pick: 7.9 Pts, 3.8 Rbs, 2.1 Asts #6 Pick: 13.8 Pts 2.3 Rbs 7.1 Asts Dang that #6 guy is PRODUCING out the gate!. Lets wonder how that KENNY SMITH guy would do on the team over this BUST-potentional SCOTTIE PIPPEN!
I realized Evans was going to be cancer the first time he played Rockets and was shut down by Battier and still took a trillion dumb shots
You know what, I actually remember that and it was painful to watch. I admit, I haven't watched him much, but the few times I have seen him I wasn't very impressed at all. I think he puts up hollow stats meaning they come with high usage and at the expense of his teammates.
Harden is great and seems to have no problems being the 6th man when you know a lot of other guys would be complaining if they had Harden's talent
