James Harden has been on another level this season

[GimmeThat]

like, the seats he got for the playoffs?

[Hakeem Olajuwon]

i want to see him reach a new level in his defensive game.
we always knew about his offense and passing.

[CarlosBoozer]

Everyone knew he was going to have godly stats with his new coach and team. His stats are really special but let's see if it makes any impact in the playoffs.

[r0drig0lac]

Some dude in the 60s averaged that his first 7 seasons.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Some dude in the 60s averaged that his first 7 seasons.

Some dude in the 60s

60s

[COLOR="White"]...[/COLOR]

[antonAC]

OKC should have traded Chuckbrook.

[kurple]

Harden is the most underrated player of this generation IMO. Mostly because of his bullshit ability to draw FT's. He had some playoff flops in the generation of win or bust. Tons of great players fell apart in the post season but the 24/7 media and obsession with rings hitting a new high really hit Harden hard. His defense isn't great but it's not uncommon for great offensive players to be average or below average in that area. His SPG/blocks would have been enough to get people to back off 10 years ago IMO.

Harden isn't LeBron/Durant/last year Curry/Kobe/peak Wade atleast not yet but he's in that next tier and comfortably ahead of consistent All-Stars like Melo/Pierce/Allen/Carter/Iverson/George/Butler etc. It's been 6 games and I obviously don't expect that to keep up but if he even remains similar to what he's doing now he'll be closer to the first group than the second.

His game just annoy's people. Even the playoffs when he flops he's still decently efficient because all he does is shoot FT's and chuck's 3. His court vision and scoring has always been elite. He averages 25/7/5 on 18 shots a game with Houston. Similar if not better numbers in the playoffs.

^^ agreed

[TrueBlue89]

Best player in the League behind Bron Bron.

[JebronLames]

Harden is the most underrated player of this generation IMO. Mostly because of his bullshit ability to draw FT's. He had some playoff flops in the generation of win or bust. Tons of great players fell apart in the post season but the 24/7 media and obsession with rings hitting a new high really hit Harden hard. His defense isn't great but it's not uncommon for great offensive players to be average or below average in that area. His SPG/blocks would have been enough to get people to back off 10 years ago IMO.

Harden isn't LeBron/Durant/last year Curry/Kobe/peak Wade atleast not yet but he's in that next tier and comfortably ahead of consistent All-Stars like Melo/Pierce/Allen/Carter/Iverson/George/Butler etc. It's been 6 games and I obviously don't expect that to keep up but if he even remains similar to what he's doing now he'll be closer to the first group than the second.

His game just annoy's people. Even the playoffs when he flops he's still decently efficient because all he does is shoot FT's and chuck's 3. His court vision and scoring has always been elite. He averages 25/7/5 on 18 shots a game with Houston. Similar if not better numbers in the playoffs.

Harden is better than peak Kobe, and he has been for a couple years now.

[L.Kizzle]

His assist will probably top off around 9ish. Maybe right under. I'm still worried if we'll finish over .500 though. We have a home-home vs Spurs coming up.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Harden is better than peak Kobe, and he has been for a couple years now.

**** this site.

[Smook A.]

Harden is the most underrated player of this generation IMO. Mostly because of his bullshit ability to draw FT's. He had some playoff flops in the generation of win or bust. Tons of great players fell apart in the post season but the 24/7 media and obsession with rings hitting a new high really hit Harden hard. His defense isn't great but it's not uncommon for great offensive players to be average or below average in that area. His SPG/blocks would have been enough to get people to back off 10 years ago IMO.

Harden isn't LeBron/Durant/last year Curry/Kobe/peak Wade atleast not yet but he's in that next tier and comfortably ahead of consistent All-Stars like Melo/Pierce/Allen/Carter/Iverson/George/Butler etc. It's been 6 games and I obviously don't expect that to keep up but if he even remains similar to what he's doing now he'll be closer to the first group than the second.

His game just annoy's people. Even the playoffs when he flops he's still decently efficient because all he does is shoot FT's and chuck's 3. His court vision and scoring has always been elite. He averages 25/7/5 on 18 shots a game with Houston. Similar if not better numbers in the playoffs.

Harden gets a lot of hate, and I understand why he does but it gets to the point where people start overlooking his impact on the court. The haters only focus on his negatives and it pisses me off. Say Harden puts up 30/10/5 in a game. If Rockets won the game, you'd hear little praise from non-Rockets fans or see people saying he shot too many free throws. If Rockets lose that game, all you'd see is "he played shitty defense" or "he turned the ball over too much".

Replace Harden with a decent PG on the Rockets and they'd be right there with Pelicans through these 7 games. He's been carrying a lot of weight so far on his shoulders. He's also playing heavy minutes while doing most of the scoring and making guys around him better. Eric Gordon has looked fantastic with Harden as his PG. The entire offense looks great when Harden's on the court, and it's amazing to see. It's even better than last year.

[bdreason]

We know Harden is a beast. We know he can post huge numbers.


The real question is, how does he perform come playoff time, when the defense is elevated and the FTA's are harder to come by.

[CuhGetsBucks]

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...0&postcount=20

[Smook A.]

We know Harden is a beast. We know he can post huge numbers.


The real question is, how does he perform come playoff time, when the defense is elevated and the FTA's are harder to come by.

He's stepped up in the last 2 playoff appearances, especially in 2015. He just can't do all the work. The current Rockets need another key player or two if they want playoff success. Harden's going to get way too fatigued if he has to carry this workload all the season and into the playoffs, if Rockets make it.