I'd actually venture on the side of too flashy. ISO fancy dribbling and step backs and all. They're somewhat necessary for him though because he doesn't have Lebron or KDs physical gifts, or Steph's shooting gifts, etc. And again, to be clear, this isn't about hating on a dude or complaining, its just about presenting the facts. This is a sport where only a VERY select few go on to have Hakeem-esque legacies. I WANT that for Harden. Am I the only one that notices the obvious which is Harden's performance goes way down on the whole in the playoffs relative to his regular seasons?? Am I the only one that wants that to be not true?? Guess so...
TLDR Version - Harden is not the perfect player playing perfectly at the perfect time and took his team single handedly to a championship .. . so I don't think he can do anything and I feel this is a good time to take a dump on him in a backhanded compliment kind of way I think I got about the jist of it Rocket River
Lol... well I'm certainly not comparing Harden to Lebron and don't think anyone else is either. That said... you brought him up... you're not implying that Harden played as well in the playoffs as Lebron?? Or even close?? Are you?? Not sure why this thread was bumped, since my position is clear and obvious and basically fact and stat based at this point... but since it has... Do you think Harden played up to his regular season MVP caliber play in the playoffs? Do you think Harden was the most important Rocket against the Warriors? Is your goal to win a championship or be happy that we had a regular season MVP player? Do you think if someone criticizes a player its rude or mean or something?? I'm just observing what actually happened on the court. There's absolutely no question the Rockets sucked balls outside of Harden and CP3, so when Paul went down they were pretty much screwed. There were also 16 other playoff games, lol. There's also absolutely no question that Harden was really really good in the playoffs, but also took a much more than hoped for step backwards relative to his regular season... AGAIN. He shot over 10 threes a game at under 30% for the second year a row in the playoffs. I've pointed to all the other stats, and the eye test stuff (dribble, dribble)... but think this volume/% ratio is so important for Harden because like many great guards these days, the three point stuff opens up the rest of his game offensively.
As someone who has been a serious doubter, I'm no longer a doubter. But, I still don't think he has played well enough in tight, late-game, playoff situations. I give him all the credit in the world though, for becoming a much better leader and decision maker last year. Those were the biggest areas of weakness for me.
this is the last hurrah of Harden's prime. Sad we might not end up with a championship at the end of it all. Under any other circumstance, with that team, we would be hoisting the trophy, but GS is just unfair.
People only focus on one end I think Harden's defense was superior . .. a PLUS this year I think that aided his shooting woes I think we were Two injuries away from the championship . . .even with bias officiating CP3 does not go down . . .we are not having this conversation Rocket River
