James Harden is still an MVP (Hi Haters!)

[HardenGoat]

I had to recheck our record and make sure we weren't actually 6/14 from the gloom and doom we have going on here. When you run marathons you don't blow everything at the start especially coming off an injury. It wouldn't matter anyways if Harden was cooking at an MVP level right now cause as soon as he goes down people immediately forget what he was actually doing. Dude has been playing in the post season every year except one since he came in the league, he knows what lies ahead and what the goal is.

[MrDollarBills]

My main concern for Harden right now is his inefficiency from the field and some of his decision making. He's way too careless at times and I think he needs to get downhill more than he is now.

He isn't as decisive with the ball as he was last year. A lot of times we see him dribbling way too much and guys are just standing around. The lack of a lob threat is definitely limiting the type of looks he can generate.

[Prokorov]

My main concern for Harden right now is his inefficiency from the field and some of his decision making. He's way too careless at times and I think he needs to get downhill more than he is now.

inefficiency?

60 TS% on the year, (63TS% his last 10 games). that is not inefficient. maybe its not peak harden GOAT efficiency, but its still like top 20 among non-bigs. His numbers across the board are basically the same with the exception of 2-pt FG%, which is mostly down because refs are eating whistles on some pretty eggregious calls. if you remove 1 FGM per game and turn that into a FT, his percentages are identical to last year in FG/3PT-FG/FT.

I think people are overeacting to losses and not really looking at what harden has done and how he has progressed over the course of the year. he has pretty clearly been trending towards last years version of harden.

He isn't as decisive with the ball as he was last year. A lot of times we see him dribbling way too much and guys are just standing around. The lack of a lob threat is definitely limiting the type of looks he can generate.

I think that is a coaching issue. teams adjust and we just ask our stars to just beat defenses playing 1 on 1 with no plays or creativity. Other players not nearly as good as "current" harden get by with way less to work with then KD/Mills/LMA

[MrDollarBills]

My main concern for Harden right now is his inefficiency from the field and some of his decision making. He's way too careless at times and I think he needs to get downhill more than he is now.

inefficiency?

60 TS% on the year, (63TS% his last 10 games). that is not inefficient. maybe its not peak harden GOAT efficiency, but its still like top 20 among non-bigs. His numbers across the board are basically the same with the exception of 2-pt FG%, which is mostly down because refs are eating whistles on some pretty eggregious calls. if you remove 1 FGM per game and turn that into a FT, his percentages are identical to last year in FG/3PT-FG/FT.

I think people are overeacting to losses and not really looking at what harden has done and how he has progressed over the course of the year. he has pretty clearly been trending towards last years version of harden.

He isn't as decisive with the ball as he was last year. A lot of times we see him dribbling way too much and guys are just standing around. The lack of a lob threat is definitely limiting the type of looks he can generate.

I think that is a coaching issue. teams adjust and we just ask our stars to just beat defenses playing 1 on 1 with no plays or creativity. Other players not nearly as good as "current" harden get by with way less to work with then KD/Mills/LMA

I was talking his lack of efficiency from 2pt FGs, correct. Harden's raw FG number is well below his average and a lot of it is due to the non calls at the rim. His FG% at the rim is the lowest it has been since his rookie year.

The turnovers are absolutely brutal and I blame Nash as well but Harden (and KD) have to clean this up. Those turnovers lead to us getting out shot by the opponent

[HardenGoat]

My main concern for Harden right now is his inefficiency from the field and some of his decision making. He's way too careless at times and I think he needs to get downhill more than he is now.

inefficiency?

60 TS% on the year, (63TS% his last 10 games). that is not inefficient. maybe its not peak harden GOAT efficiency, but its still like top 20 among non-bigs. His numbers across the board are basically the same with the exception of 2-pt FG%, which is mostly down because refs are eating whistles on some pretty eggregious calls. if you remove 1 FGM per game and turn that into a FT, his percentages are identical to last year in FG/3PT-FG/FT.

I think people are overeacting to losses and not really looking at what harden has done and how he has progressed over the course of the year. he has pretty clearly been trending towards last years version of harden.

He isn't as decisive with the ball as he was last year. A lot of times we see him dribbling way too much and guys are just standing around. The lack of a lob threat is definitely limiting the type of looks he can generate.

I think that is a coaching issue. teams adjust and we just ask our stars to just beat defenses playing 1 on 1 with no plays or creativity. Other players not nearly as good as "current" harden get by with way less to work with then KD/Mills/LMA

I was talking his lack of efficiency from 2pt FGs, correct. Harden's raw FG number is well below his average and a lot of it is due to the non calls at the rim. His FG% at the rim is the lowest it has been since his rookie year.

The turnovers are absolutely brutal and I blame Nash as well but Harden (and KD) have to clean this up. Those turnovers lead to us getting out shot by the opponent

He definitely had a bad game, he has had a few this year no doubt. I agree with you though with the lack of a rim threat, he has lost that dimension and it is affecting his drives as he is more tentative to commit without one. He has tried using LMA a few times while we wait on Claxton, that tip in with LMA was one of them. A rim runner helps him as a bailout option when defenses over commit to his layups. They are simply blocking his lane right now and we have no interior scorer to feed off his lobs. When is Claxton returning, it feels like he's been gone months.

[MrDollarBills]

inefficiency?

60 TS% on the year, (63TS% his last 10 games). that is not inefficient. maybe its not peak harden GOAT efficiency, but its still like top 20 among non-bigs. His numbers across the board are basically the same with the exception of 2-pt FG%, which is mostly down because refs are eating whistles on some pretty eggregious calls. if you remove 1 FGM per game and turn that into a FT, his percentages are identical to last year in FG/3PT-FG/FT.

I think people are overeacting to losses and not really looking at what harden has done and how he has progressed over the course of the year. he has pretty clearly been trending towards last years version of harden.



I think that is a coaching issue. teams adjust and we just ask our stars to just beat defenses playing 1 on 1 with no plays or creativity. Other players not nearly as good as "current" harden get by with way less to work with then KD/Mills/LMA

I was talking his lack of efficiency from 2pt FGs, correct. Harden's raw FG number is well below his average and a lot of it is due to the non calls at the rim. His FG% at the rim is the lowest it has been since his rookie year.

The turnovers are absolutely brutal and I blame Nash as well but Harden (and KD) have to clean this up. Those turnovers lead to us getting out shot by the opponent

He definitely had a bad game, he has had a few this year no doubt. I agree with you though with the lack of a rim threat, he has lost that dimension and it is affecting his drives as he is more tentative to commit without one. He has tried using LMA a few times while we wait on Claxton, that tip in with LMA was one of them. A rim runner helps him as a bailout option when defenses over commit to his layups. They are simply blocking his lane right now and we have no interior scorer to feed off his lobs. When is Claxton returning, it feels like he's been gone months.

Claxton was recalled from the G League today so hopefully we see him in action tonight versus NYK

On an semi off topic note, Harden looks like a guy that has no interest in leaving this community any time soon:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

^^stuff like this is what builds fanbases for years to come. Some of those kids will be tuning in to the game tonight to watch him play simply because he came to chill with them.

[Prokorov]

34/10/8 with 3 steals and a parade to the FT line. vs a solid knicks D with thibs game planning to stop harden from scoring as we heard in the broadcast.

and till not all the way back

[Prokorov]

Harden FT Attempts last year - 7.3 per game
Harden FT Attempts this year - 7.1 per game

Rules cant hold harden.

[ecuhus1981]

May I rant on the Harden media narrative for just a minute? I'm a patient man, but I feel like National writers have decided before the season that James harden is a washed up fake superstar propped up by trickery who isn't injured but can't stay in playing shape, and is ruining our chances at a title. Nothing. Could. Be. Further. From. The. Truth.

As others have said, James is on the road to recovering from the first major recurring injury he's ever experienced. It shook his confidence for a while, however when you watch our latest games, you can see his swagger slowly returning. All the while, he has commandeered us to the top of the East, while missing enough teammates to make a whole 'nother playoff team! He's playing at a top-20 level, and he's on the rise.

When Mikal Bridges, the best defender in the league, holds our captain to 4-15 shooting for 12 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists, 7 turnovers, 1 steal and 2 blocks, they say he's cooked. They broke out the shovels, throwing dirt on the Bearded One's grave. I watched that game, it was ugly, but Harden still managed to make a big positive impact on that game. We lost by 6.

3 days later, when Bridges locks up media darling Steph Curry even worse (4-21 shooting for 12/3/2/2/1/1), they don't say or print a single negative word. Oh, and the Warriors lost by 8.

Doubtless, Steph has had a better season than James. If they're gonna cherry pick single games, though, at least be even handed about the criticism.

[bubonicphoniks]

May I rant on the Harden media narrative for just a minute? I'm a patient man, but I feel like National writers have decided before the season that James harden is a washed up fake superstar propped up by trickery who isn't injured but can't stay in playing shape, and is ruining our chances at a title. Nothing. Could. Be. Further. From. The. Truth.

As others have said, James is on the road to recovering from the first major recurring injury he's ever experienced. It shook his confidence for a while, however when you watch our latest games, you can see his swagger slowly returning. All the while, he has commandeered us to the top of the East, while missing enough teammates to make a whole 'nother playoff team! He's playing at a top-20 level, and he's on the rise.

When Mikal Bridges, the best defender in the league, holds our captain to 4-15 shooting for 12 points, 13 rebounds, 14 assists, 7 turnovers, 1 steal and 2 blocks, they say he's cooked. They broke out the shovels, throwing dirt on the Bearded One's grave. I watched that game, it was ugly, but Harden still managed to make a big positive impact on that game. We lost by 6.

3 days later, when Bridges locks up media darling Steph Curry even worse (4-21 shooting for 12/3/2/2/1/1), they don't say or print a single negative word. Oh, and the Warriors lost by 8.

Doubtless, Steph has had a better season than James. If they're gonna cherry pick single games, though, at least be even handed about the criticism.

James Harden was my favorite player in the league for a long time. I have his Arizona State jersey. I was beyond amazed when he got traded to my favorite team.

He is no where near top 20 right now and he is fat, out of shape, and looks unmotivated.

[ArksNetsSince99]

Way too much overreaction. if the season ended today harden is probably 3rd-team All-NBA. 22/9/8 on 61 TS% and his team is 1st in the east. he has as many "king of the games" this year as KD, meaning about half the games this year he has been our best player.

Harden not being MVP/1st team all-nba level yet, or having 4 bad games out of 20 is not some enormous cause for concern.

If season ended today we would’ve be second round exit , king of what ? Of turnovers? Watch the game instead of studying statistics, Nets been a better team without Harden on the floor most of the time

Harden got flashbacks of a great player , it’s not enough , being objective is not hate , i got impression you drinking some Harden cool aid with king of Brooklyn

Two games ago my king of Brooklyn was BEMBRY , that’s how great Harden was LoL

[bubonicphoniks]

Havent seen Harden run the ball up the court even once. Walking it up gets more camera time I guess.

[MrDollarBills]

Harden literally carried this team the other night while KD couldn't buy a bucket, but sure. Go off, I guess.

[Sharcm1]

Harden needs to be consistent. I’m glad he had a great game but the nets barely held on for the win. A few times during the game the tnt commentators pointed out the matador defense harden played. Too often this year he has just stood there and watched the man he is guarding go right by him. With no effort to recover or close out to another player because other nets had to close on his player. The nets give up a lot of open threes due to the lack of effort. And a major reason is harden. His lack of effort has always been apparent on the defensive end. Even lack year. But has gotten significantly worse and spread to his offensive game as well so it stands out move and is impacting the team more. I cut him some slack the several games as he worked himself back from injury. But now it’s put up or sit down kinda time and not just one game here and there. Nets play the wolves tonight we will see how he plays.

[Fallout_3]

Read on Twitter

Welcome to hell.

[Claud]

Meh.

Of course I would like for him to stay, but it's not the end of the world.

He's yet to prove his style of play can lead to a chip.

Great for putting amazing stats, but as we've seen with Westbrook stats alone don't tell the whole story when it comes to WINNING.

Ultimately I think he'll resign because of KD though.

[Fallout_3]

The good thing is that he also hates Nash.

[MGrand15]

Winning cures everything. If not, who knows.

I think the noise is real. Outside of his own struggles, he has a clueless coach playing him 40+ minutes a game, he has very little spacing to work with, Kyrie has barely played this year. He's been the most openly frustrated player in post games. Especially when talking about Nash decisions. If things don't change and we don't make the Finals, I don't see why he'd stay.

[MrDollarBills]

Harden has been vocal to Nets figures and close contacts alike about his frustrations regarding Kyrie Irving's part-time playing status. A recent injury to Kevin Durant has exacerbated the issue, leaving Harden to shoulder the majority of the offensive burden during Brooklyn home games.

Nets coach Steve Nash's fluid rotations have also disappointed Harden, sources told B/R. Nash has favored hot-hand closing lineups, rather than a fixed crunch-time unit.

This is a disaster.

We gave up a ton of draft capital and two good young players.

I give up. Even when it appears something good happens for this team, 10 bad things happen afterwards. Nash being hired. Kyrie being a selfish prick. KD getting hurt.

[MrDollarBills]

Winning cures everything. If not, who knows.

I think the noise is real. Outside of his own struggles, he has a clueless coach playing him 40+ minutes a game, he has very little spacing to work with, Kyrie has barely played this year. He's been the most openly frustrated player in post games. Especially when talking about Nash decisions. If things don't change and we don't make the Finals, I don't see why he'd stay.

He's as good as gone. Kyrie destroyed this team. If he wasn't a selfish ass, we'd probably not only have a better record, but Harden would be all in. Instead, it's been a miserable experience.

I don't blame him one bit for wanting to leave. Between Nash and Kyrie, this is a dead end situation.