Harden is the best player in the NBA

[Splashin]

Harden has a bit of a strange and lackadaisical attitude in the post season. He acted so strangely against a wounded Spurs last season. He doesn't appear to have that second gear that players like LeBron or Curry can turn on and destroy you with. Its almost like Harden has so much natural ability and things come so easy for him during the season he's bewildered when the grind of the post season hits. However Paul is a fierce competitor and I'm agreement with a lot of the posters here that CP3 is something Harden needed and its clearly working. Still don't think they're beating a healthy warriors ever but still.

I love highly gifted passers but never could be a fan of the guy, the endless attempts at drawing stupid fouls, limited defense and unnerving general demeanor make him an enigma.

[AndriPerdhian93]

I has him as a 2 currently until we see a sharp decline from lebron harden take that crown

[LarsV8]

Lebron is still the best player in the world, but his decline is imminent. Too many physical advantages over Harden, but Harden definitely does more (or similar) with less tools.

Second best player is more than fair game. Harden, barring something unforeseen this year, will be 1st or 2nd in three of the last four MVP races. He is currently quarterbacking the best offense in the history of the NBA, with the tenth best offense last year. For how little star talent support he has had, compared to past top offenses, that is unreal.

This is not something Curry, Durant or Kawhi could do. They may be able to match Harden's volume scoring, but none of them can replicate the volume play-making in tandem with the scoring, not to even mention the durability.

Kawhi and Durant have defensive advantages, but the defensive acumen of wings, by nature of the game, simply aren't as valuable to overall player impact, as they would be with a big. Simple switching maneuvers can easily negate a stud defensive wing, whereas an offensive dynamo can dominate every single play offensively, as seen in Harden's dismantling of Portland, in the 4th quarter, just 3 nights ago.

Curry certainly peaked higher in his ridiculous 15-16 season, but outside of that year, he hasn't been as good in the 16/17 and 17/18.

Now obviously I am biased, and we aren't talking about huge differences between these players, but as of right now:

Lebron
Harden
Durant
Kawhi
Curry

Golden Age of wings IMHO.

[Gil]

Yeah, I said it come at me with all you got. Rockets have the best record in league. Now you can see what harden can do with a top 10 player on his team in his prime. Move over everyone else. Harden and the Rockets time is now. Fear the beard.

He is one of the worst defenders in the league how the f*ck could he be better than guys who do both?

People still peddle this myth?

He's nowhere near one of the worst in the League unless you're a troll..

[NBAfan3024]

Harden is an amazing talent who can put up crazy numbers but people will continue to not take him seriously until he plays great when it matters. Thats when he will finally get the credit for how great he is. I think most reasonable Rocket fans would agree.

[manou]

Why is it so hard for people to understand that defenses load up on harden in the playoffs and when that happens, it makes it tough for ANY LONE STAR to succeed.

That is NOT what happened in game 6 vs Spurs last PO.
He didn't ATTEMPT a shot in the whole first quarter, that is almost Kobe like in '06 vs Phoenix game 7.
I rewatched that game 6, trying to understand what happened, but to this day I still don't get it. He didn't even try...

[Sakkreth]

In the regular season with how the game is officiated... maybe.

[Stanq]

If we are defining it by only those 25ish games played this season, than this would be a good fight between Harden, LBJ and Oladipo. If we include more than this season than, well, hell no!

[RightToCensor]

Why is it so hard for people to understand that defenses load up on harden in the playoffs and when that happens, it makes it tough for ANY LONE STAR to succeed.

That is NOT what happened in game 6 vs Spurs last PO.
He didn't ATTEMPT a shot in the whole first quarter, that is almost Kobe like in '06 vs Phoenix game 7.
I rewatched that game 6, trying to understand what happened, but to this day I still don't get it. He didn't even try...

There's a belief Harden played through Game 6 with a concussion, which is a more reasonable answer than he quit or fell under the non-existent pressure. Harden had a 40 point game in that series so it's not like he wasn't capable of scoring at will. There's never been a recorded instance of a lead ball handler/scorer playing a full playoff game with a concussion, but you can envision it'd look like Harden's Game 6.

[Impuniti]

Lebron is still the best player in the world, but his decline is imminent. Too many physical advantages over Harden, but Harden definitely does more (or similar) with less tools.

Second best player is more than fair game. Harden, barring something unforeseen this year, will be 1st or 2nd in three of the last four MVP races. He is currently quarterbacking the best offense in the history of the NBA, with the tenth best offense last year. For how little star talent support he has had, compared to past top offenses, that is unreal.

This is not something Curry, Durant or Kawhi could do. They may be able to match Harden's volume scoring, but none of them can replicate the volume play-making in tandem with the scoring, not to even mention the durability.

Kawhi and Durant have defensive advantages, but the defensive acumen of wings, by nature of the game, simply aren't as valuable to overall player impact, as they would be with a big. Simple switching maneuvers can easily negate a stud defensive wing, whereas an offensive dynamo can dominate every single play offensively, as seen in Harden's dismantling of Portland, in the 4th quarter, just 3 nights ago.

Curry certainly peaked higher in his ridiculous 15-16 season, but outside of that year, he hasn't been as good in the 16/17 and 17/18.

Now obviously I am biased, and we aren't talking about huge differences between these players, but as of right now:

Lebron
Harden
Durant
Kawhi
Curry

Golden Age of wings IMHO.

Curry dominated in PS last year, the one team in particular was the team Harden couldn't beat after Kawhi went down. He's been in every PS and two RS before last year and this season. But yeah, Harden has shown to be better. Same with KD to a lesser extent.

[John Murdoch]

Post season matters but yes he is the reg season Juggernaut

[og15]

at least get your facts straight, buddy

Hardoen on teh rockets:

2013: Regular season PER - 23.0, Playoff PER - 20.8
2014: Regular season PER - 23.5, Playoff PER - 18.3
2015: Regular season PER - 26.7, Playoff PER - 24.8
2016: Regular season PER - 25.3, Playoff PER - 21.8
2016: Regular season PER - 27.4, Playoff PER - 23.0

A significant drop-off from regular season to playoffs every season. His best playoff season, he ended the playoffs with 14 points and 12 turnovers on 2-11 shooting.

Every player's PER drops in the playoffs though.

So is that why Harden wanted Paul as a teammate, since most seasons, his either goes up or stays the same.

Sent from my [device_name] using [url]RealGM mobile app[/url]

[K_chile22]

How are people still using FG% in the year 2017 smh

[WarriorGM]

Curry certainly peaked higher in his ridiculous 15-16 season, but outside of that year, he hasn't been as good in the 16/17 and 17/18.

Too bad for Harden Curry was still good enough to win their encounters the last two times they met last year without Durant. When Harden beats the Warriors in a series we can revisit this but until then any assertion that Harden is better than Curry is going to sound hollow.

[Heej]

Why is it so hard for people to understand that defenses load up on harden in the playoffs and when that happens, it makes it tough for ANY LONE STAR to succeed.

That is NOT what happened in game 6 vs Spurs last PO.
He didn't ATTEMPT a shot in the whole first quarter, that is almost Kobe like in '06 vs Phoenix game 7.
I rewatched that game 6, trying to understand what happened, but to this day I still don't get it. He didn't even try...

There's a belief Harden played through Game 6 with a concussion, which is a more reasonable answer than he quit or fell under the non-existent pressure. Harden had a 40 point game in that series so it's not like he wasn't capable of scoring at will. There's never been a recorded instance of a lead ball handler/scorer playing a full playoff game with a concussion, but you can envision it'd look like Harden's Game 6.

Curry definitely was in Game 2 or Game 3 (the one where people said he got shut down by Delly) of the 2015 Finals

[AdagioPace]

Lebron is still the best player in the world, but his decline is imminent. Too many physical advantages over Harden, but Harden definitely does more (or similar) with less tools.

Second best player is more than fair game. Harden, barring something unforeseen this year, will be 1st or 2nd in three of the last four MVP races. He is currently quarterbacking the best offense in the history of the NBA, with the tenth best offense last year. For how little star talent support he has had, compared to past top offenses, that is unreal.

This is not something Curry, Durant or Kawhi could do. They may be able to match Harden's volume scoring, but none of them can replicate the volume play-making in tandem with the scoring, not to even mention the durability.

Kawhi and Durant have defensive advantages, but the defensive acumen of wings, by nature of the game, simply aren't as valuable to overall player impact, as they would be with a big. Simple switching maneuvers can easily negate a stud defensive wing, whereas an offensive dynamo can dominate every single play offensively, as seen in Harden's dismantling of Portland, in the 4th quarter, just 3 nights ago.

Curry certainly peaked higher in his ridiculous 15-16 season, but outside of that year, he hasn't been as good in the 16/17 and 17/18.

Now obviously I am biased, and we aren't talking about huge differences between these players, but as of right now:

Lebron
Harden
Durant
Kawhi
Curry

Golden Age of wings IMHO.

If you put Harden above Kawhi and Durant (rightly so I would say) you should also put Curry above them.
I see no reason for that ranking given that Curry and HArden share the same strenghts: ability to provide goat level offensive lift.

[MaxRider]

LeBron James is still the best player in the NBA. He just doesn't give his 100% in regular season. He's saving his energy for playoff. He can do that because he is playing with two superstar/all-star most of his career. Compare to Harden which before this season had to give his 100% on offense for Rockets to win. This is why he slack off on defense and run out of energy in playoff. This is also same for CP3. There are many games he is great in the first 3rd quarter and then not much left in the 4th.

[AdagioPace]

Why is it so hard for people to understand that defenses load up on harden in the playoffs and when that happens, it makes it tough for ANY LONE STAR to succeed.

That is NOT what happened in game 6 vs Spurs last PO.
He didn't ATTEMPT a shot in the whole first quarter, that is almost Kobe like in '06 vs Phoenix game 7.
I rewatched that game 6, trying to understand what happened, but to this day I still don't get it. He didn't even try...

There's a belief Harden played through Game 6 with a concussion, which is a more reasonable answer than he quit or fell under the non-existent pressure. Harden had a 40 point game in that series so it's not like he wasn't capable of scoring at will. There's never been a recorded instance of a lead ball handler/scorer playing a full playoff game with a concussion, but you can envision it'd look like Harden's Game 6.

whoa! what?
are you saying that going against the best defensive team in the league featuring one of the GOAT coach that has tried for the entire series to limit harden with multiple strategies,perfectioning the best strategy throughout the series, equals to a NON_EXISTENT PRESSURE????
that's actually the WORST playoff environment you could find for a bivalent offensive player like HArden!

I don't know if this is a bad attempt of discrediting the opponent or a bad attempt to find an alibi for HArden. I'd say both

[RightToCensor]

That is NOT what happened in game 6 vs Spurs last PO.
He didn't ATTEMPT a shot in the whole first quarter, that is almost Kobe like in '06 vs Phoenix game 7.
I rewatched that game 6, trying to understand what happened, but to this day I still don't get it. He didn't even try...

There's a belief Harden played through Game 6 with a concussion, which is a more reasonable answer than he quit or fell under the non-existent pressure. Harden had a 40 point game in that series so it's not like he wasn't capable of scoring at will. There's never been a recorded instance of a lead ball handler/scorer playing a full playoff game with a concussion, but you can envision it'd look like Harden's Game 6.

whoa! what?
are you saying that going against the best defensive team in the league featuring one of the GOAT coach that has tried for the entire series to limit harden with multiple strategies,perfectioning the best strategy throughout the series, equals to a NON_EXISTENT PRESSURE????
that's actually the WORST playoff environment you could find for a bivalent offensive player like HArden!

I don't know if this is a bad attempt of discrediting the opponent or a bad attempt to find an alibi for HArden. I'd say both

Pressure is Game 7 of an NBA Finals.

Pressure is not playing in the second round at home against a Kawhi-less Spurs. Pressure is supposed to push you down and make you sweat. There would be a sigh of relief for any star player if you had to go up against a Kawhi-less Spurs on your home floor. That's not discrediting anybody, you just don't get pressured when you're the odds on favorite to win a game on your home floor against a team without their best player. San Antonio played great defense, but Harden was still able to drop an average of 30 on 50% shooting in Game 3, 4, and 5. He had more trouble with Roberson than San Antonio's switches.

[Rednation91]

Why is it so hard for people to understand that defenses load up on harden in the playoffs and when that happens, it makes it tough for ANY LONE STAR to succeed.

That is NOT what happened in game 6 vs Spurs last PO.
He didn't ATTEMPT a shot in the whole first quarter, that is almost Kobe like in '06 vs Phoenix game 7.
I rewatched that game 6, trying to understand what happened, but to this day I still don't get it. He didn't even try...

Yea for sure man. Cus every player goes back to 100% health after every game is done. Makes sense. 2 teams trying their best to shut ONE SPECIFIC player down for 2 series+carrying a team all season had no effect at all. Do players just plug themselves in and recharge after games until they are 100%?
The best teams seem to spread ball handling duties do they not? How can u expect someone to be lone playmaker for a top 10 all time offense and not get tired later? These guys aren't robots, they are humans