Built Ford Tough Posted October 13, 2009 Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 What are your expectations for James Harden this year? This was made at another forum and here is my response: He is not the type of player that is going to take over and dominate night after night but he is an ideal second option with his skill set. He is a very versatile player. He is capable of handling the ball and even running the offense, he is a good creator and he is good at playing off of the ball as well. That old saying "jack of all trades, master of none" (at least I think that is how it goes lol) applies to Harden as he is good at basically every area of basketball, but he is not great at any one particular area. I think that he will fit in very nicely with the Thunder giving them a very versatile team that won't rely on one partiuclar player to run the offense as Westbrook, Harden, Green and Durant are all capable of handling the rock and setting things up. I think that Harden will average around 14/4/3 for his rookie season and in his prime will be a 18/6/5 player and be the Pippen to Durant's Jordan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 14, 2009 Owner Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I don't know, because Westbrook and Green are already capable of giving you 15 points a night, and Durant will be producing his 25-30. Offensively, Harden may find it a bit tough to score the ball because, quite frankly, he may not get the opportunities to do so, or at least not as much as he deserves. Defensively, he can be good, but as Durant's defense improves, and Westbrook is also practicing his defensive skills, it may leave Harden the lesser-dominant offensive players, so he won't be showcased as much. If Harden does break out and become the best player out of the draft, it might be on a different team, or with different teammates. A trio of Durant, Green and Westbrook seem to be enough once they reach their primes, but adding Harden could work, so I won't rule that out yet. They could be following in the footsteps of the Blazers, who stacked young talent and are now planning on keeping them all together through their prime years, which is sort of scary. On another note, that would be nice, seeing the Thunder become a contender. Durant has the ability to be one of the best players in the NBA, and guys like Harden, Westbrook and Green certainly have the potential to be his sidekick during that journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren2ThaG Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Will he be a hybrid player in the NBA or what? Idk if he should ever start at SG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taber Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I think Harden can definitely be a good player at the next level. I still kind of wish the Thunder took Rubio just because having the potential of Rubio-Westbrook-Durant sounds awesome. I am a fan of Harden though and look forward to watching this OKC team. The fact he isn't dominant in anything I think works well for the Thunder, they already have their star, they don't need another. Harden can be a great guy on the team who can do a bit of everything and can easily step in and score if Durant is missing, in foul trouble, etc. Westbrook could be but I think he is focusing on being a great PG instead of looking for himself. Harden may not be the go to guy but he is going to get open looks created for him and if he starts making shots it will open up the whole game for everyone if he can hit from outside. I think this core they have built can be scary as they all develop and grow, very excited to see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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