You ask what separates Harden from Arenas? Well, one thing is Harden hasn't brought handguns into the locker room as far as I know. Oh, and that other thing about being an MVP candidate. Harden has flaws in his game. No doubt. But he has improved his game each year he has been here, is currently playing on a MVP level, is the principal offensive threat on a top-4 quality team, and we are in serious playoff contention. And you want to do what?
OP makes a good point. Harden is a top 5 player in this league and is playing at an mvp rates in the regular season. But in the playoffs refs will not be in a buying mood. The physicality nature of the playoffs will work against Harden's flopping and flailing. Until Harden can prove he can score efficiently without going to the stripes his mvp numbers is just a vanity awards.
Beyond this not being a very good idea, people already think that the team/Morey have a PR problem. What would it do to public perception of the Rockets if they traded the odds on MVP right now?
If he starting to decline then yes...but he is getting better every year. Howard yes Harden FOR THE LOVE OF GOD -- NO!
LOL if you dont think opponents are actually fouling harden because that's the only way they can stop him from scoring
Exactly. There's a difference from flat out flopping and embellishing contact. He's is fouled most times. This is where refs have to call a foul a foul regardless of how many times defenders put a particular player (i.e James Harden) at the line.
We have ONE superstar on this team. ONE. When I saw this on the front page I thought it was a bump from an old thread from last year. There isn't a team in the league who would trade Harden if they had him right now. Come on.
Howard yes? I swear we don't deserve the hard effort morey have put to get us the best center and the MVP of the league. Bunch of whiners acting like GMs
Howard is frustrating for sure, but the list of guys better than him in the league is really short. You hold onto that as he balances out or overmatches 95% of the centers in the league. Also note that Howard draws a ton of fouls. He doesn't shoot them well, but he gets teams in the penalty where a guy like Harden can take advantage later in quarters with his high shooting percentage. Harden probably gets an extra 4-5 FT attempts a game as a result of opponents being in the penalty earlier and that is one of the less obvious benefits of Howard.
