I've had league pass since it 1st came out. I've watched pretty every thunder game since durant has been there. I'm missing your point. My point is mayo and harden are pretty much equal in terms of talent. Both guys might be at different stages had they went to teams where they were the primary guy. This yr, both guy have that chance and both are playing pretty well. I've watched the mavs about 12 times this yr and despite the injuries around him, oj is playing like the top 5 pick he was drafted at. He's under control and his mshooting picked up from last yr. Harden is playing well too, but the to's have to stop. He also needs to attempt to defend.
I am not saying Mayo is superstar material. He can get better in other areas mainly playmaking, better defense. Harden right now is Second Tier material, he is a smart player but will he be dominant like LBJ, Durant who can dominate in rebounds, assists, other categories than scoring? Not sure. He has 9 assists and 6 Turn Overs. Still shaky decision making
Harden is always going to have more TOs than Mayo though because he's a combo guard and will have to make more plays than Mayo has. Mayo is playing great, but I still think Harden is better and has a lot of room to grow. I think it's obvious how bad this team is without him, remember the Jazz game? The flu game? Yeah. Even when he goes out it's like the team instantly struggles to score at times.
Of course Harden is better because he is more versatile... but you can't assume that he is going to get better by a lot going forward. There is always the chance that he just stopped maturing...it happened before. I don't wish it for him though.
he clearly has room to improve with his midrange game, especially coming off picks. and defensively for sure..
Definitely. That's always the case. Even for Mayo, I mean Nash just came out of nowhere later and so did Billups... So this could be the farthest Harden ever goes. I just see more room for growth with him. If he gets a mid range game (which he can, he can shoot it...) then he's going to be one of the best scorers in the NBA. He already is and that is with no mid range game. His decision making will likely improve with more experience. Mayo is the more experienced player here.
Agreed but if he wants to be on LBJ's pedestal I think he has to score, rebound and assist in the forth more often. He has to be relied on to close games out, making buckets in traffic in the final minutes. I would say if he can carry a team like the old Cavs to 45-50+ wins by himself then he is a superstar
tonight the problem in the 4th was that carlisle effectively trapped him with a doubleteam at the halfcourt line repeatedly. and unfortunately parsons' shot went south and patterson was useless in the last 8 minutes. because mayo was in the zone anyways, i think letting lin play would have been good for us. he's really the only other player we have who can penetrate and break down the defense, and it would have been much harder for dallas to double up on harden in that case. one of the problems for him in the 4th overall though, is that he doesn't get any elevation before the release on his shots. so when the defense tightens up it's hard for him to get separation. maybe he can learn to arch his back like cassell used to...
He needs help. Not sure if one more allstar is enough. Personally I think we need at least 2 more Parsons types to free him. Lin, Patterson are too inconsistent.
He needs way more than that. This team needs a superstar. And another all star caliber player to be anywhere in the west.
Harden is at least a all-star player. Whether he is a perennial all-star guy, well we have to ask that question next season. Morey has a lot of work to do. They are the youngest team but they are still not ver good. Asik and Parsons to me are the only guys we know for sure that are starting players at their spot. Patterson is not very good and the PG has to play much better than he is currently playing.
Harden is worth the max. Not in a superstar Lebron/KD way, but in a all-star way. Mayo may be worth the max if he keeps this up for a full season, but who knows if Dallas will be able to sign him. Rather have bird in hand.
Completely slipped my mind how young Harden. I was actually thinking Mayo's the younger man there. I wasn't able to watch the game nor have I been following Mayo. Can he drive to the basket as well as Harden? Only thing I saw from the highlights were jump shots. I'd take the guy who can drive any day. Shooters get cold.
I'm sorry are people here actually debating this? Maybe "tonight" OJ looked like a superstar but look at how OJ got his points vs how Harden gets his & gets his teammates involved + how he puts fouls up on the board against the opposing team. If we are debating who is the better streak shooter that's one thing. When Mayo is hot he can shoot with the best of them. If its about being a consistent threat to be a triple threat night in and night out then its an easy decision to choose between the two.
I would relish the opportunity to see Rockets defenders ketchup to Mayo on the perimeter instead of leaving him wide open. Leave it to Houston's defense to make a middling two guard on a hot streak look like MJ. I don't think Mayo's scoring effort against the Rockets yesterday was probative of anything but one of the worst defenses in the NBA doing its thing again. Mayo - Left inexplicably wide open on many of his jumpers - Layups, floaters in the paint left completely uncontested too - Whatever you do, don't double team the player who is on pace to light you up for 40. That would have made too much sense strategically. - While you're at it, don't foul him and make him earn his points either. That would be too much like competing, too. (Mayo went to the line just twice yesterday.) Meanwhile... Harden - Hassled on nearly every possession. Trapped, bumped, double-teamed, you name it. He wasn't having an easy time at all. - We even saw another deliberate trip from one of the league's most incredible toolbags in Dahntay Jones (Google "Dahntay Jones deadspin" to see what I mean.) So it wasn't enough for Dallas to gameplan to try to completely shut Harden down, at least one Mav was actively trying to injure him as well. - And yet, Harden still had the better game. Mayo was shooting in a gym by himself versus the travesty that is the Rockets' defense, while Harden was getting manhandled by the Mavs' defense, with nothing coming easy. All things considered, I'd take Harden over Mayo all day every day.
