Harden, the under-the-radar bust

jzmagik · Post #1 » by **jzmagik** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:10 am

This guy has been terrible since he's been in the NBA. Will he ever get it together?

Clincher · Post #2 » by **Clincher** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:12 am

I think its a case of a young talent being put on a team with maybe too much young talent and as a result may be kind of be underutilized where Harden may not be as comfortable.

boogydown · Post #3 » by **boogydown** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:13 am

Imagine if OKC had drafted Evans. It would be the most lethal back court of all time.

umopapisdn · Post #4 » by **umopapisdn** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:15 am

It's his second friggin year. He wasn't even that bad last year.

RunMCR · Post #5 » by **RunMCR** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:20 am

boogydown wrote:Imagine if OKC had drafted Evans. It would be the most lethal back court of all time.

They would be worse..Now Curry or Jennings is a different story. Evans is too ball dominant to succeed on a team where 2 players are better than him by a wide margin. He's almost useless off-ball

Jase · Post #6 » by **Jase** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:21 am

I was quick to cut the guy from my fantasy team this year. He doesn't need to be really productive, so he isn't.

fallacy · Post #7 » by **fallacy** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:25 am

boogydown wrote:Imagine if OKC had drafted Evans. It would be the most lethal back court of all time.

If we drafted Curry, yes. Evans, **** no

Flash Falcon X · Post #8 » by **Flash Falcon X** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:26 am

RunMCR wrote:
boogydown wrote:Imagine if OKC had drafted Evans. It would be the most lethal back court of all time.

They would be worse..Now Curry or Jennings is a different story. Evans is too ball dominant to succeed on a team where 2 players are better than him by a wide margin. He's almost useless off-ball

Yeah, Stephen Curry had a good rookie year even though Monta Ellis didn't trust him enough to give him the ball for the first half of the season. The Thunder already has Westbrook as their starting point guard, though, so I'm not sure how it would work out if they had Curry or Evans.

Jase · Post #9 » by **Jase** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:35 am

Bay Based wrote:
RunMCR wrote:
boogydown wrote:Imagine if OKC had drafted Evans. It would be the most lethal back court of all time.

They would be worse..Now Curry or Jennings is a different story. Evans is too ball dominant to succeed on a team where 2 players are better than him by a wide margin. He's almost useless off-ball

Yeah, Stephen Curry had a good rookie year even though Monta Ellis didn't trust him enough to give him the ball for the first half of the season. The Thunder already has Westbrook as their starting point guard, though, so I'm not sure how it would work out if they had Curry or Evans.

I don't think he didn't trust him enough, I think he simply didn't want to share the ball. Especially with someone whose success made him expendable.

xRapHeadx · Post #10 » by **xRapHeadx** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:43 am

Jase wrote:
Bay Based wrote:
Yeah, Stephen Curry had a good rookie year even though Monta Ellis didn't trust him enough to give him the ball for the first half of the season. The Thunder already has Westbrook as their starting point guard, though, so I'm not sure how it would work out if they had Curry or Evans.

I don't think he didn't trust him enough, I think he simply didn't want to share the ball. Especially with someone whose success made him expendable.

If only Steph wasn't terrible, you might actually be correct. Monta was the only chance last year's team had at even keeping it close. Steph turned it on late, but the Monta was a black hole take is entirely incorrect.

umopapisdn · Post #11 » by **umopapisdn** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:44 am

xRapHeadx wrote:
Jase wrote:
Bay Based wrote:
Yeah, Stephen Curry had a good rookie year even though Monta Ellis didn't trust him enough to give him the ball for the first half of the season. The Thunder already has Westbrook as their starting point guard, though, so I'm not sure how it would work out if they had Curry or Evans.

I don't think he didn't trust him enough, I think he simply didn't want to share the ball. Especially with someone whose success made him expendable.

If only Steph wasn't terrible, you might actually be correct. Monta was the only chance last year's team had at even keeping it close. Steph turned it on late, but the Monta was a black hole take is entirely incorrect.

You're right, he's not a black hole, he's just terrible.

xRapHeadx · Post #12 » by **xRapHeadx** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:46 am

umopapisdn wrote:You're right, he's not a black hole, he's just terrible.

ok cool

Jase · Post #13 » by **Jase** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:51 am

So you're saying Monta wasn't a chucker? That he didn't play for stats or his own stardom?

xRapHeadx · Post #14 » by **xRapHeadx** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 12:54 am

Yes, I am.

Post #15 » by **Duffman100** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 1:10 am

Harden isn't that bad. He just isn't used that much.

King of Troy · Post #16 » by **King of Troy** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 1:24 am

A lot of what it takes to succeed is the right situation.

If Michael Jordan came into the league behind an all-star caliber SG, do you think he would have been as successful immediately? Hell no.

blackstar · Post #17 » by **blackstar** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 1:30 am

King of Troy wrote:A lot of what it takes to succeed is the right situation.

If Michael Jordan came into the league behind an all-star caliber SG, do you think he would have been as successful immediately? Hell no.

and who's the all-star caliber sg ahead of harden?

harden doesn't need to do that much? then why aren't the thunder in friggin 1st place?? they're a team vying for the playoffs, you can be damn sure they need as many people to step up as possible. SG was their gaping hole when they drafted Harden and he hasn't done anything to assure anyone it's been filled. Sure, the guy doesn't have terrible bball IQ and has a couple decent games here and there but is that what the expectations for a 3rd overall pick is nowadays? The 3rd pick of the NBA draft is supposed to be an allstar caliber player. All Harden is showing signs of is being a good role player in the NBA. And yes, he has gone under the radar since last year because it was almost a sin to hate on anything Thunder-related.

Post #18 » by **slick_watts** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 1:31 am

James Harden was terrific last year after the All Star break; 60%+ TS, good defense, got to the line a ton. He was great in preseason, exhibiting much of the same.

Through the first five games this year he's been jerked around a bit in the lineup and hasn't been hitting his open jumpers. He's been hesistant offensively.

The Thunder also aren't really looking for him (or anyone else, for that matter). They have been dead last in the league in assists per game, with everyone aside from maybe Russell Westbrook acting as ball stoppers. Jeff Green has taken on a larger role in his contract year, throwing up a shot almost every time he gets a touch in a half-way decent situation.

Harden will get it going. Considering how he ended last season, it's stupid to label him a bust after a few bad games.

Post #19 » by **slick_watts** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 1:36 am

blackstar wrote:
King of Troy wrote:A lot of what it takes to succeed is the right situation.

If Michael Jordan came into the league behind an all-star caliber SG, do you think he would have been as successful immediately? Hell no.

and who's the all-star caliber sg ahead of harden?

harden doesn't need to do that much? then why aren't the thunder in friggin 1st place?? they're a team vying for the playoffs, you can be damn sure they need as many people to step up as possible. SG was their gaping hole when they drafted Harden and he hasn't done anything to assure anyone it's been filled. Sure, the guy doesn't have terrible bball IQ and has a couple decent games here and there but is that what the expectations for a 3rd overall pick is nowadays? The 3rd pick of the NBA draft is supposed to be an allstar caliber player. All Harden is showing signs of is being a good role player in the NBA. And yes, he has gone under the radar since last year because it was almost a sin to hate on anything Thunder-related.

Number 3 overall picks: OJ Mayo, Al Horford, Adam Morrison, Deron Williams, Ben Gordon, Carmelo Anthony, Mike Dunleavy, Pau Gasol, Darius Miles, Baron Davis, Raef LaFrentz.

So by your definition half the number three picks in the last 12 years are busts? Mayo, Morrison, Gordon, Dunleavy, Miles, and LaFrentz are not All Star caliber players.

At worst, IMO, Harden will be a sixth man type long term who will score off the bench, defend, and do a bit of everything. Which isn't a bad thing to have.

King of Troy · Post #20 » by **King of Troy** » Sun Nov 7, 2010 1:36 am

blackstar wrote:
King of Troy wrote:A lot of what it takes to succeed is the right situation.

If Michael Jordan came into the league behind an all-star caliber SG, do you think he would have been as successful immediately? Hell no.

and who's the all-star caliber sg ahead of harden?

harden doesn't need to do that much? then why aren't the thunder in friggin 1st place?? they're a team vying for the playoffs, you can be damn sure they need as many people to step up as possible. SG was their gaping hole when they drafted Harden and he hasn't done anything to assure anyone it's been filled. Sure, the guy doesn't have terrible bball IQ and has a couple decent games here and there but is that what the expectations for a 3rd overall pick is nowadays? The 3rd pick of the NBA draft is supposed to be an allstar caliber player. All Harden is showing signs of is being a good role player in the NBA. And yes, he has gone under the radar since last year because it was almost a sin to hate on anything Thunder-related.

You don't get it.

Westbrook and Durant are the two key cogs. The offense runs through them.

Where does Harden fit in?

It would be a completely different story if he was on a team without 2 dominate players.