The interwebs taught me James Harden was a shitty player in the playoffs

[imdaman99]

He is a good player but he does not play his best in the playoffs. It is understandable, few players do.

[ImKobe]

oh wow, he can put up decent fantasy numbers...


are we gonna forget how he's choked two years in a row when it mattered the most?

him freezing up against Portland, screwing up on defense and allowing Lillard to hit the 3 to win the series

or him having 12 turnovers in an elimination game on 2/11 shooting?

he's not "shitty", but he certainly isn't GREAT. You look at his numbers and you might think he's on par with 2001 Kobe, but truth is that his game is not that complete and mentally he's not on an ATG level.

[Wade's Rings]

Don't forget 4.5 TO's per game and suspect defense.

Harden is obviously a very good player and a stat machine, but he's had a lot of forgettable playoff performances for a so-called superstar. In his 3 years with the Rockets he's only shooting 40% in the playoffs and his assist to turnover ratio is a horrendous 1.4/1. His defense, though slightly improved, has fallen off in the playoffs as well. He'd be the first to say that he needs to play better.

Part of his problem is he doesn't have an in-between game to go to when his 3 point shots aren't falling and the whistles tighten up. He's also yet to develop a post game. If he works on adding those dimensions to his arsenal it would greatly benefit him come playoff time. That and taking better care of the ball.

I just have a hard time calling a guy an elite playoff performer who shoots .439 from the field, commits nearly 5 TO's per game, and is a borderline liability on defense. I also don't know of any other elite playoff performers who would be on the bench in critical moments of an elimination game.

The fact is, he needs to play much better overall in the playoffs, and it's not just about the raw numbers. He's always going to have pretty numbers at a glance, but when you dig deeper, the flaws in his game become more evident. There's aspects of his game he definitely needs to tighten up if he has any aspirations of leading a team to a title.

oh wow, he can put up decent fantasy numbers...


are we gonna forget how he's choked two years in a row when it mattered the most?

him freezing up against Portland, screwing up on defense and allowing Lillard to hit the 3 to win the series

or him having 12 turnovers in an elimination game on 2/11 shooting?

he's not "shitty", but he certainly isn't GREAT. You look at his numbers and you might think he's on par with 2001 Kobe, but truth is that his game is not that complete and mentally he's not on an ATG level.

He also played a Dallas team that collapsed in the Post-Season with the Rondo issues and Parsons getting hurt.

[eeeeeebro]

he is good till the last series of play-offs then he drops off

[HOoopCityJones]

He also played a Dallas team that collapsed in the Post-Season with the Rondo issues and Parsons getting hurt.

this.

[Fallen Angel]

So many excuses

[warriorfan]

So many excuses

I agree, Harden does have a lot of excuses on why he can't play on the same level in the playoffs and the regular season.

[Genaro]

13 turnovers

[juju151111]

Harden has been Garbage in the playoffs. It all started in 12 finals. He was missing wiiiiiide open shots and layups.