RealGM

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10432431

He makes a few interesting points.

1. Harden was a better playmaker/defender when he first entered the league
2. Harden could end up better Carmelo
3. Houston could/should be a much better team.

but harden drives to the rim too....melo prefers jumpers

Any chance someone post the article from the link there?

This is on McHale. It's easy to just ride Harden and get easy wins. It's not truly winning bball. So perhaps he was too tough on the vets and they all rebelled against him. Now he does the opposite and completely strokes their egos to the detriment of the team? Harden is still young, I think he'll get better at this soon.

Anyways, if these two post where the majority of Rockets fans go, they would be name-called in a acronym-filled fashion. ~lol~

1) Anybody could've told you that (or at least anybody who watched basketball prior to Feb 2012.. I kid I kid)
2) I don't think comparison is really fair, Harden mitigates his ball-stopping ways at least somewhat since his game relies much more on fast breaks than Melo does, plus even at Harden's worst he's not as bad as Melo.
3) You're telling me if Harden passed and defended better we would be a better team? What other insights does ESPN have?

No but in all seriousness I like David Thorpe and TrueHoop and is one of the few reasons I check out ESPN anymore. I think a lot of it in regards to Harden is that last year was his "coming out party" and he purposefully played like that to justify the contract, his place in the league, etc. etc. He's going to that transition all star players go through. Last year's team really relied on his offense too. This year he has more weapons and the younger players on the roster are stepping up. Kyrie Irving is sort of going through it himself even though he's not as good as Harden.

Maudlin17 wrote:http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10432431

He makes a few interesting points.

1. Harden was a better playmaker/defender when he first entered the league
2. Harden could end up better Carmelo
3. Houston could/should be a much better team.

I would argue that Harden is already better than Melo. Harden is a better shooter, is more efficient, has the ability to play D and might given a coach who takes him to task and a better playmaker. The only thing Anthony does better is rebounds, but even that's questionable considering their respective positions and size. Even Melo's higher scoring average means little, a good offensive player should score as much as he does if you're chucking up almost 20 shots per game. Melo is probably one of the most overrated "super" stars in the NBA. He's the quintessential high volume shooter who doesn't give a **** about D, and has average to low basketball IQ.

Related article:

http://newsok.com/james-harden-needs-to-grow-up-says-espns-david-thorpe/article/3932662
David Thorpe, a basketball analyst for ESPN's Insider content, took it there - He compared James Harden to Carmelo Anthony.

It's not a compliment.

"With the exception of a healthy Dwyane Wade, Harden is regarded as the league's best shooting guard. Harden also is one of the top pure scorers in the game today at any position. But there's a darker side to Harden's game, one that does little to engender a team concept and ultimately just makes him look selfish. Because of that, the Houston Rockets and their fans are fair to ask whether Harden is beginning to resemble a player maligned as a selfish, ball-hogging player -- the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony."

Thorpe calls the former Thunder guard "a rare talent on a distinct path," citing that Harden was destined to take on the role of "The Man" that he now owns in Houston. Thorpe also gives credit to Thunder general manager Sam Presti and Oklahoma City.

"Presti has been criticized for trading Harden and breaking up his trio of star perimeter players, but the truth is, Presti had to do it," Thorpe said. "Harden now is proving he could do exactly what he always thought he could; meanwhile, OKC has gone 100-34 without him."

To Thorpe, it was a win-win for Houston and Oklahoma City. He goes on to compliment Harden as the heir to Kobe Bryant's title as the best "bad shot" maker in the game (tough, contested shots on drives and jumpers).

He then counters with the Carmelo comparison, citing Harden as a "complete ball stopper" of the Anthony mold.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel for Harden if he can "merge the old Harden" of his OKC days "with the new one," says Thorpe.



Anyone has the following and can post it?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10431630/nba-james-harden-maturity-needs-catch-on-court-skills

Thx!