Klay vs Harden

[Anti Chalmers]

Who is the best SG in the league?
Who would you rather start a team with?

[bondom34]

The Curry/Harden debate is easily Curry to me, this is easily Harden though. He's carrying more of a load offensively at the same basic efficiency, with better facilitation. The defensive differences aren't as big as they used to be, and Klay's biggest advantage is 3 point shooting. So for this I'd take Harden now. As for starting a team, still Harden just b/c its a one year age difference.

[The-Power]

To start a franchise? Harden. For the Warriors or to pair with a superstar who can run an offense? Klay.

Given the initial question I gotta go with Harden on this one.

[picc]

Harden is still a better all-around player than Klay. Defense goes to Klay obviously, Harden is a substantially better offensive player though. And not much worse as a shooter with everything considered, if at all.

Klay might be the most perfect personification of what a SG is theoretically supposed to be. Harden is a lead/combo guard that fulfills two positions at once. Very well. And a good enough shooter to excel off the ball put on a team that doesn't need him to dominate the ball.

[Laimbeer]

Not to over-react or anything.

[thizznation]

Klay, much more of a 2 way player and doesn't need to be iso heavy and ball dominant to be effective in the offense. Right now, Klay Thompson is basically Ray Allen on offense with really good defense.

[Winsome Gerbil]

No on threads like these. Being a scorer =/= being a franchise player.

Klay is a great scorer. But being Peja Stojakovic doesn't mean you can carry a franchise. It means you are a really deadly weapon for the guys who are carrying the franchise to pass to

[Doctor MJ]

Harden's easily the better player, but it also is silly to talk about him insisting he's a 2 guard.

Among off guards, Thompson probably is the best in the league now.

[East Bay Sports]

Harden is still a better all-around player than Klay. Defense goes to Klay obviously, Harden is a substantially better offensive player though. And not much worse as a shooter with everything considered, if at all.

Klay might be the most perfect personification of what a SG is theoretically supposed to be. Harden is a lead/combo guard that fulfills two positions at once. Very well. And a good enough shooter to excel off the ball put on a team that doesn't need him to dominate the ball.

If you mean TS% maybe, but as far as shooting a basketball goes Klay and harden aren't even in the same galaxy. Klay is lightyears ahead of him

[baki]

I voted Klay because I want a pure shooting guard who doesn't need plays set for him, can defend and doesn't need to pretend to be a playmaker because I'll already have a point guard for that (Curry).

It's that simple.

[RSCD3_]

I voted Klay because I want a pure shooting guard who doesn't need plays set for him, can defend and doesn't need to pretend to be a playmaker because I'll already have a point guard for that (Curry).

It's that simple.

What if Thompson replaced Harden in Houston.

[Doormatt]

harden is at least 2x the player klay is offensively, the difference between them defensively does not make up for that fairly large offensive gap.

[thizznation]

We went over this pretty recently.

Harden is the better 1st option, BUT this point is moot because Harden isn't taking you anywhere as the first option.

You arn't winning with Klay as your first option, but you sure as hell arn't winning with Harden as your first option as well.

You have a better chance of winning on a good team with Klay as your second option rather than Harden as your second option, for the reasons I posted above.

harden is at least 2x the player klay is offensively, the difference between them defensively does not make up for that fairly large offensive gap.

Seriously? Do you wanna cool it on the hyperbole?

[baki]

I voted Klay because I want a pure shooting guard who doesn't need plays set for him, can defend and doesn't need to pretend to be a playmaker because I'll already have a point guard for that (Curry).

It's that simple.

What if Thompson replaced Harden in Houston.

Then Houston can get a good quality point guard who remembers that they have 4 other team mates on the court instead of 2.

[Doormatt]

no one is going to give this a reasonable answer after klay exploded for 37 in a quarter, but i just want to remind everyone that the last person to come close to that record was Melo with 33 in a quarter. i think we can all agree that Harden is a much, much better offensive player than melo, no one would have problems with someone saying that. no one would have picked Klay before this explosion either.

its just silly to pick a player due to one extremely impressive quarter/game. its like saying kobe is the greatest offensive player ever because of his 81 point game or his 61 in 3 quarters. like have people just forgotten what harden has done this season? hes having a monster MVP type impact/year.

[East Bay Sports]

harden is at least 2x the player klay is offensively, the difference between them defensively does not make up for that fairly large offensive gap.

36 MPG 27.3 PPG 45%/38%/88% 61TS%
32 MPG 22.6 PPG 48%/46%/87% 61TS%

TWICE THE PLAYER OFFENSIVELY!

[HeartBreakKid]

James Harden went 33/6/10 and closed against a playoff caliber team the same night Klay broke the record and no one even batted an eye, like the things James Harden does on a regular basis is pretty damn impressive, hes starting to be taken for granted.

[biasedcurryfan]

Ultimately it comes down to the fact that thyre both very good fits on their teams although in a vaccum does anyone really believe klay can carry a franchise the way harden is right now?

[picc]

If you mean TS% maybe, but as far as shooting a basketball goes Klay and harden aren't even in the same galaxy. Klay is lightyears ahead of him

I do think Klay is the better shooter. But not by a lot. He's certainly a better spot up shooter, but thats only a part of the puzzle.

We went over this pretty recently.

Harden is the better 1st option, BUT this point is moot because Harden isn't taking you anywhere as the first option.

You arn't winning with Klay as your first option, but you sure as hell arn't winning with Harden as your first option as well.

You have a better chance of winning on a good team with Klay as your second option rather than Harden as your second option, for the reasons I posted above.

That doesn't make a lot of sense. And its based on assumptions that aren't even close to being proven. Not to mention the reasons you posted above were erroneous, because Harden doesn't need to do either of those to be effective as proven by his time in OKC and his 40% 3pt in an off-ball role.

Plus, the other skills he possesses as a dominant lead-guard are things that championship teams usually rely on more than they do their star shooting guard being a defensive stopper. Something Klay isn't to begin with. Better than James, yes. Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen type stopper? Not even close.

[biasedcurryfan]

If you mean TS% maybe, but as far as shooting a basketball goes Klay and harden aren't even in the same galaxy. Klay is lightyears ahead of him

I do think Klay is the better shooter. But not by a lot. He's certainly a better spot up shooter, but thats only a part of the puzzle.

We went over this pretty recently.

Harden is the better 1st option, BUT this point is moot because Harden isn't taking you anywhere as the first option.

You arn't winning with Klay as your first option, but you sure as hell arn't winning with Harden as your first option as well.

You have a better chance of winning on a good team with Klay as your second option rather than Harden as your second option, for the reasons I posted above.

That doesn't make a lot of sense. And its based on assumptions that aren't even close to being proven. Not to mention the reasons you posted above were erroneous, because Harden doesn't need to do either of those to be effective as proven by his time in OKC and his 40% 3pt in an off-ball role.

Plus, the other skills he possesses as a dominant lead-guard are things that championship teams usually rely on more than they do their star shooting guard being a defensive stopper. Something Klay isn't to begin with. Better than James, yes. Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen type stopper? Not even close.

I agree with the shooting part but you underestimate the power of klays defense.
Klay has shut down a lot of the top guards around the league including Harden. He brings length and shot blocking abilities that shouldnt be there for a guy with average athleticism (for the nba of course). So while he does not guard forwards generally hes definitely up there as a backcourt defender,