James Harden is a superstar

[UGA Hayes]

^ Bleh, he is a superstar. I just don't understand the arguments that he was going to get worse by going to a situation where he would have more control over how much time of possession he would have. People overrate defensive attention. Also I too like the way Houston is starting to use their fours to strtch the floor. Everyonw talks about Lin Harden not fitting but I think the bigger issue is that guys like Asik clog the lane and they need to do as much to dunclog the lane, i.e. replace Asik with Ajax

[GSP]

It's insane that he's still the least efficent of the top 5 scorers at 59TS and having a .55 FTR. But he's not a superstar (unless Blake Griffin and Westbrook are superstars).

After last night.

Durant .654TS
Lebron .606TS
Harden .600TS
Carmelo .590TS
Kobe .589TS

Only 3 players in the league have a usage% over 28 with a TS% of at least .600. Kevin Durant, Lebron James, and James Harden. His PER is on the rise at 22.9 which at the moment, is slightly higher than Westbrook and Wade to name a few and he is 8th in NBA in Win Shares. Not a bad start. Superstar? Maybe not yet, maybe not ever, but I think people trying to discredit him need to accept the fact that he is at the very least a true All Star caliber player at the age of 23. He is VERY good and he is proving that his success in OKC was not simply because Durant and Westbrook allowed him to thrive while being ignored or that he was humiliating poor defenseless bench players.

Wow holy crap at Durants being +5 TS over the 2nd guy Lebron no less. That efficiency is ridiculous.

[Krodis]

James Harden is on pace to have the 10th season of 25 points, 5 assists, and .600 TS% in NBA history. Only Michael Jordan(4 times), LeBron James (3 times), and Larry Bird (twice) have done it before.

[TheChosen618]

For those of you who consider James Harden a superstar right now, did you guys also consider Paul Pierce to be one too during his prime?

As I had stated in my last post, Harden reminds me a lot of Pierce. I would say Pierce was better though and this is mainly because he was a better defender, mid-range shooter, and probably passer too. Both attack the basket and get to the line at will despite looking unathletic and slow.

I actually think those two being slow or not as fast as say a Russell Westbrook gives them the benefit from officials because they can see more of the contact. Someone like Westbrook takes a lot of contact, but since he is so quick and fast, officials sometimes miss it.

I'm not sure if Harden has superstar impact, but he certainly has superstar brand. I think he is more known than Kevin Love, Lamarcus Aldridge, etc. but I'm not necessarily sure if he is better than them though. I would say he is better than Aldridge, but not Love.

[rockmanslim]

^ Bleh, he is a superstar. I just don't understand the arguments that he was going to get worse by going to a situation where he would have more control over how much time of possession he would have. People overrate defensive attention. Also I too like the way Houston is starting to use their fours to strtch the floor. Everyonw talks about Lin Harden not fitting but I think the bigger issue is that guys like Asik clog the lane and they need to do as much to dunclog the lane, i.e. replace Asik with Ajax

Who is Ajax? Or was that just a play on "unclog"?

You got me on a wild google chase looking for center prospects with last name jackson.

[JordansBulls]

Houston has played better since McHale came back, which as a Kelvin Sampson hater doesn't surprise me at all. I mean Sampson first act as the temp head coach was to undercut his starting PG by playing Tony Douglas.

I just hope they make the playoffs. It has been awhile since they have. In fact would love to see a LAC vs Hou or OKC vs Hou series in round 1.

[CKRT]

Houston has played better since McHale came back, which as a Kelvin Sampson hater doesn't surprise me at all. I mean Sampson first act as the temp head coach was to undercut his starting PG by playing Tony Douglas.

I just hope they make the playoffs. It has been awhile since they have. In fact would love to see a LAC vs Hou or OKC vs Hou series in round 1.

the storylines of OKC vs HOU would be great.

I don't think it's in Houston's best interest to pursue the playoffs this season. I think they're guaranteed to get wrecked in 4 games especially if it's OKC unless someone of the roster makes a big leap, be that Parsons, Morris, or Lin.

[Wooderson]

Super-star-like half so far. And the rest of the team seems to have weaken up after spending the previous game and the first quarter asleep.

Against the 18th defensive ranked Mavericks without Shawn Marion, congratulations.

Hopefully the "he can't do it against a good defense" line is finally dead.

[Krodis]

The Rockets have just been putting up huge numbers ever since Lin woke up, and it has made Harden's job easier.

[OptimusOne6]

Super-star-like half so far. And the rest of the team seems to have weaken up after spending the previous game and the first quarter asleep.

Against the 18th defensive ranked Mavericks without Shawn Marion, congratulations.

Hopefully the "he can't do it against a good defense" line is finally dead.

It still applies.

I think one poster nailed it. He seems to have more of a trouble against defenses that are set or when the game is played slow. The Rockets have been really pushing the tempo recently and not only has Harden had better success, but the rest of the Rockets have been having success as well. It is why Harden tends to struggle in the 4th and in the clutch because the game slows down then.

[tsherkin]

In some ways, Harden reminds me a lot of Paul Pierce. Two players that get to the line and can get to the rack at will despite not being that athletic or not looking that athletic. Both Harden and Pierce look pretty slow to me, so it is incredible how those two can get to the line as much as they do despite of that.

Eh. Pierce is 6'6, built like a tank and used to be more athletic than he was given credit for. Now, he's just aggressive, a decent actor and persistent about getting shots in the paint and initiating contact. Pierce has also always posted more than does Harden.

Harden actually has good ups, long arms and more foot speed than you're crediting him as having. Plus he drives and is in the paint initiating contact so much that the fouls kind of have to come. Remember, through 23 games, he was 7th in the league in FGA/g at the rim with 6.5/g, just 0.1 less than Dwight Howard, 0.2 less than Melo (who takes more FGA/g overall) and 0.4 fewer than Lebron James. The man gets to the rim. A lot.

And it's not just screens, it's that, ball-handling, persistence and some fluid athleticism.

[jman3134]

Stylistically, he is much more similar to Manu than he is to Pierce.

[tsherkin]

Stylistically, he is much more similar to Manu than he is to Pierce.

Yes, with less of a mid-range shot and more balance, body control and wingspan. But similar in their footwork and ability to slither around defenders and use screens, hit 3s, make the right pass, etc.

[bastillon]

love how the haters shut up recently. Harden has been putting up about 30 ppg at 70% TS. is that superstar enough ?

[Krodis]

He's also kept his turnovers under control ever since Lin started playing well.

[tsherkin]

Harden is having a magnificent start to the season. It's nice to see Lin playing better now as well, because it means that Houston actually has a backcourt, not just one guy.

[MisterWestside]

love how the haters shut up recently. Harden has been putting up about 30 ppg at 70% TS. is that superstar enough ?

He's also been ridiculously hot in his past 5 games. His pts/poss for the season jumped by 6; he went from an overall all-star season to an overall Bryant/Melo season because of this stretch.

He's been spectacular and I think he's easily an all-star, but let see if he can keep up this "superstar" play.

[Vinsanity420]

His strength is working more off ball, and the Rockets have finally figured out that they should distribute on ball responsibilities between Lin and Harden, instead of making Lin work like Derek Fisher off Kobe. Should be interesting to see how this works out (they've already won 4 in a row using this new style).

[Krodis]

His strength is working more off ball, and the Rockets have finally figured out that they should distribute on ball responsibilities between Lin and Harden, instead of making Lin work like Derek Fisher off Kobe. Should be interesting to see how this works out (they've already won 4 in a row using this new style).

I think it has less to do with what the Rockets' have done strategy-wise (although staggering Harden and Lin's minutes is good), and more to do with Lin being healthy and aggressive. Plus Morris starting instead of Patterson, Asik actually dunking the ball, and more minutes for Greg Smith have relieved a LOT of pressure off of Harden.

[Wall34]

We'll see if he keeps it up...if he can maintain this type of play as the number 1 option and some how leads Rockets in a playoff appearance i think i will be ready to call him a superstar then.