Honestly when I made this thread he wasn’t even remotely close to playing like this. I truly believe we are witnessing our generations Wilt
Contemplated creating a new thread, but this ESPN article fits in nicely with the general theme of this thread, so I'll just leave it here: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28214630/james-harden-greatest-scorer-nba-era
Vanvleet dropping jewels about Harden It's only casual fans & nba media that discredit Harden I've only ever heard praises from his peers which to me matters more https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...-vanvleet-discredits-critics-of-james-harden/
I think comments about the current performance of the Rockets and the role Harden has played in creating that situation should belong here. I also think most of us agree, at this point, we are lucky to have one of the best scorers ever in the game, playing for the team we love/follow/engage with. Adding to that, it's happening in the middle of an era where we can not only follow but dissect every play countless times. So part of being the most criticized, comes from being one of the most interesting, mold breaking / limit pushing player of our times. To me, there are several personal reasons to define the Harden era as the most important one of my time following the Rockets, but relevant to you I would say I've seen 90% of the Rockets games since his trade. No matter what happens after, I'm forever grateful and while it's not the dream that we all share of seeing the Rockets as champs, I highly value that we were the only one to challenge what I consider the best basketball team of all time. And also came a few breaks/threes/blown whistles from defeating that team and giving Harden his deserved place in history. Having said all that, this is year where he has reached his highest peak as a player, and he deserves a second MVP so much. He really does, any of the last 3 years it could have been him. Now, can he get it this year? I don't know if he looks at these kind of things, but MIL and LAL are already 4 games clear of us, sporting longer winning streaks and marquee players. Does this kind of things motivate him? What do you think? Is the fact that Doncic is coming up put him on alert to be better? Is he worried about this? What about the roster construction? How can we discuss, within this same discussion, the role he played in having the actual roster construction? Because you know, nobody can read the league, but that was the downside of being built with one team in mind, now everybody is jumbo and we are small. And a worst version of of our small construction does not initially look to be on pace with the biggest contenders this season. I guess sometimes James can be polarizing even for those of us who consider ourselves fans. Sorry guys, not trying to be a hater, but my wife is tired of hearing this and I'm tired of her not having an opinion about this. What do you guys think? Am I overreacting to the current standings and none of this affect his legacy? I'm worried about his MVP chances as much as our performance, but maybe his focus on the first can help the second
Unbelievable efficiency since the all star break and love the willingness to let russ be his own man.