James Harden or Demarcus Cousins?

[GIF REACTION]

Now we know Demarcus is above Blake, we can ask this question without it being laughed off as a joke.

Who do you take?

I'm going with the Big man.

[AnaheimLakers24]

Blake griffin.

between thes losers i choose the big guy

[GIF REACTION]

They are completely different players, so it is an odd comparison. Who impacts a game more? It is definitely close. I like Demarcus over Harden because he is a better defender, and a stronger inside scorer.

[RidonKs]

kobe or shaq?
same question

[AnaheimLakers24]

kobe or shaq?
same question
Lakers chose kobe baby :rockon:

[GIF REACTION]

What we do know about Mr. Harden, is that his style of basketball crumbles under playoffs style basketball. We have yet to see Mr. Cousins in some post season action (Due to poor teammates/coaches/owners) but that is going to change this season. His style of basketball is much more suited to playing under the big lights.

[iznogood]

The thing that bothers me about Cousins is that he still lets the game affect him negatively too much from time to time and I think when that happens he's not really trying to win anymore and quits on his team. He obviously improved a lot in his acting on court overall and acts more mature in general, but these is something I still think he needs to work on if he wants to have success and be recognised as a leader in playoffs.

This is also the reason I'm taking Blake over Cousins. I think Cousins is more skilled and a better player in vacuum, but all things considered, I'm not taking him to start a franchise over Blake Griffin.

[Jameerthefear]

harden and blake are both better than cousins

[bdreason]

Harden was arguably the best player in the NBA last season, carrying his team to the #2 seed in what may be the most stacked Conference in the history of the post-merger NBA.


Cousins couldn't get his team 30 wins.

[RidonKs]

What we do know about Mr. Harden, is that his style of basketball crumbles under playoffs style basketball. We have yet to see Mr. Cousins in some post season action (Due to poor teammates/coaches/owners) but that is going to change this season. His style of basketball is much more suited to playing under the big lights.
not only that, it might well begin to crumble one of these next few regular seasons, if the league decides to crack down on flopping. i think it's just a matter of time before excessive fines start to crack down on that bs. harden will still be a premier off dribble shooter and fast break finisher, good pick and roll decision maker too obviously. mvp will never be in the cards again however. dude just peaked last year.

mr harden's problem is that he lives off amazing timing and fooling defenders with tricky maneuvers... but in the playoffs when a guy like tony allen or jimmy butler is in your jersey, and you don't have the weight to back them down or the first step to get past them or the mental acumen to get the ball in better position.... it all goes downhill.

[LoneyROY7]

harden and blake are both better than cousins

TOPKEK.

[Legends66NBA7]

Harden was arguably the best player in the NBA last season, carrying his team to the #2 seed in what may be the most stacked Conference in the history of the post-merger NBA.


Cousins couldn't get his team 30 wins.

Not to mention, the strongest division in NBA history. Every team qualified for the playoffs.

[RidonKs]

Harden was arguably the best player in the NBA last season, carrying his team to the #2 seed in what may be the most stacked Conference in the history of the post-merger NBA.
i was on this bandwagon during the year, truly. big harden fan because he reminded me of manu. so i started watching a shitload of rockets games and quickly i realized what was going on. he dominates the ball almost as much as chris paul, except with a lot more bad shots.

more importantly, his teammates didn't get anywhere near the credit they deserved last season, nor did mchale which really pains me to say because he's gotta be one of the worst x's and o's coaches in the league. in truth, morey deserves more credit than anybody on the roster, which might seem blasphemous in light of crumbs vs mj but nevertheless carries water.

dmo
bev
ariza
jones

each of those guys are starter quality players on contenders imo. bev being the weakest link but he's such a competitor.

brewer
terry
smith

each of those guys are reserve quality players on a contender. terry is old but still money, smith and brewer are maniacs.

prigioni
canaan
dorsey

these guys are serviceable backups for a mid-level playoff team. prig is mad underrated in these parts.. some punk called him the worst pg in the league yesterday in the street ball thread, gimme a fking break

and to top it off, they all fit very seamlessly together. incredible roster for what was available.

forgot about dwight howard....

[RidonKs]

harden and blake are both better than cousins
blake will be next season or in two years
harden will regress to more of a derozen

[GIF REACTION]

Blake and Harden are both style, while Demarcus is substance.

Style looks nice in the reg season, but the shine wears off in playoffs.

[Fallen Angel]

Blake and Harden are both style, while Demarcus is substance.

Style looks nice in the reg season, but the shine wears off in playoffs.
And yet substance hasn't made it to 40 wins in a season.

[RidonKs]

if u traded cousins/gay/stauskas for harden/howard/xyz, the rockets would improve.

provided morey found a way to move gay for a half decent shooting guard

[Jameerthefear]

if u traded cousins/gay/stauskas for harden/howard/xyz, the rockets would improve.

provided morey found a way to move gay for a half decent shooting guard
no they wouldn't

[LoneyROY7]

And yet substance hasn't made it to 40 wins in a season.

:oldlol:

40 wins? That "substance" hasn't even gotten them 30 wins.

[Jameerthefear]

blake will be next season or in two years
harden will regress to more of a derozen
are you trolling?

[Jameerthefear]

this man just called prigioni, canaan, and dorsey serviceable players on a contending team
and he wasn't joking or trolling

[RidonKs]

no they wouldn't
beverley/terry
afflalo/stauskus
ariza/gay
jones/dmo
cousins/dorsey

that team beats the mavericks no question, move onto 2nd round. maybe they lose to the clippers who lost to the rockets, but thats a matchup thing since the clippers are so weak on the wing. lac would also lose to heat more often than they would to the grizzlies for the same reason.

[LoneyROY7]

Blake and Harden are both style, while Demarcus is substance.

Style looks nice in the reg season, but the shine wears off in playoffs.

Blake in the 2015 playoffs: 26/13/6 on 51 percent shooting.

Harden in the 2015 playoffs: 27/8/6 on 44 percent shooting.

Cousins in the 2015 playoffs: 0/0/0 on 0 percent shooting.

[Jameerthefear]

beverley/terry
afflalo/stauskus
ariza/gay
jones/dmo
cousins/dorsey

that team beats the mavericks no question, move onto 2nd round. maybe they lose to the clippers who lost to the rockets, but thats a matchup thing since the clippers are so weak on the wing. lac would also lose to heat more often than they would to the grizzlies for the same reason.
the mavs were a ****ing mess last year. it's not an accomplishment to beat them. that team would beat them but it'd be closer than it was. that team is not better than a harden lead team. i rlly hope ur trolling right now because you sound really ****ing stupid

[Jameerthefear]

this man just unironically said harden will regress to derozan level
and is not joking

[RidonKs]

yea but ur just a derozen h8er

james harden's body will betray him. he's soft pudgy lazy lard.

besides which u only like him becuz of dwight, u'd probably be h8ing along with me if morey failed to snag dwight, got mad and left the rockets for the kings, and harden was left putting up iverson numbers on a 25 win team

his w/s is hideously inflated

[Jameerthefear]

yea but ur just a derozen h8er

james harden's body will betray him. he's soft pudgy lazy lard.

besides which u only like him becuz of dwight, u'd probably be h8ing along with me if morey failed to snag dwight, got mad and left the rockets for the kings, and harden was left putting up iverson numbers on a 25 win team

his w/s is hideously inflated
r u retarded? do u realize i'm not a rockets fan?

[Rocketswin2013]

yea but ur just a derozen h8er

james harden's body will betray him. he's soft pudgy lazy lard.

besides which u only like him becuz of dwight, u'd probably be h8ing along with me if morey failed to snag dwight, got mad and left the rockets for the kings, and harden was left putting up iverson numbers on a 25 win team

his w/s is hideously inflated
Harden was winning games in the West without Howard... His offense is legitimately great and he us a Nowitzki/Bryant/Paul type of offensive anchor...Especially now.


Edit: And WS favors efficient offense, which his offense is, extremely. A la Nowitzki and Chris Paul. I don't see how his WS is inflated and/or doesn't coincide with reality.

[GIF REACTION]

Blake lacks the "X-factor".

Call me when he puts up a 24/21/10/6 game

Neither Blake nor Mr. Harden boast the all-round game of The Big Purple.

[warriorfan]

DMc puts up half decent stats because teams don't even try vs the kings. They resemble exhibition games and Cousins is just padding empty stats.

[RidonKs]

Harden was winning games in the West without Howard... His offense is legitimately great and he us a Nowitzki/Bryant/Paul type of offensive anchor...Especially now.


Edit: And WS favors efficient offense, which his offense is, extremely. A la Nowitzki and Chris Paul. I don't see how his WS is inflated and/or doesn't coincide with reality.
imo their winning had more to do with constant effort and good chemistry on defense than it did with harden's offensive production... tho that isn't to say they could have won without harden giving em 25/5/5.

i like the talent around harden and howard more than any supporting cast not named the spurs or cavs or warriors. switch out beverley for lin or ariza for like kyle singler? that team drops at least 5 wins in either case... which means they lose in the 1st round

it is a very talented team thanks to darryl morey, who plays the rest of the league like a violin. mchale made it mesh and deserves props.

one thing i will say for harden is he seems open minded and doesn't appear to mind being in the backseat at times. i'm not sure morey's talent dump strategy would have worked so well with westbrook. dwight is the same way though his reason for modesty is his embarrassing post game...

[warriorfan]

How does the MVP sit the entire 4th quarter from an elimination game when they are down by 20 points and then watch his team win? :confusedshrug:

[qrich]

Blake lacks the "X-factor".

Call me when he puts up a 24/21/10/6 game

Neither Blake nor Mr. Harden boast the all-round game of The Big Purple.

Call me when Cousins reaches 32 wins.

[Fallen Angel]

this man just called prigioni, canaan, and dorsey serviceable players on a contending team
and he wasn't joking or trolling
:lol

[RidonKs]

:lol
i did no such thing, reread the post nitwits

they're role players on an average playoff team

[Fallen Angel]

beverley/terry
afflalo/stauskus
ariza/gay
jones/dmo
cousins/dorsey

that team beats the mavericks no question, move onto 2nd round. maybe they lose to the clippers who lost to the rockets, but thats a matchup thing since the clippers are so weak on the wing. lac would also lose to heat more often than they would to the grizzlies for the same reason.
If you're gonna do that then take away Beverley and Motiejunas since they were out the entire playoffs.

[RidonKs]

If you're gonna do that then take away Beverley and Motiejunas since they were out the entire playoffs.
fair point

bottom line is that lineup i posted goes to the 2nd round and at least gives those choking clippers a good run, if not outright beats them. they didn't have to face the grizzlies (who would beat them), the spurs (who would beat them), the warriors (who would beat them), hell the blazers beat them year before when aldridge went lights out and harden shot sub 40% against who? wes matthews and batum? ha!

plug in terry for bev and give lionshare of pf min to jones, with gay occasionally sliding over

[GIF REACTION]

Call me when Cousins reaches 32 wins.
PM me your phone number.

[Fallen Angel]

What debate is their between Harden and Cousins?

One has led his team to the playoffs 3 straight seasons and made the postseason 2 seasons before that as a spark off the bench.

The other has yet to crack the 40 win mark despite being teamed with players who've won Rookie of the Year, players who've scored 20 PPG in a season, and being coached by an All-Time great coach.

[Fallen Angel]

Replace James Harden and Clint Capela with Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, and Demarcus Cousins on the Kings and they make the playoffs.

[LoneyROY7]

Replace James Harden and Clint Capela with Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, and Demarcus Cousins on the Kings and they make the playoffs.

Easily.

[RidonKs]

What debate is their between Harden and Cousins?

One has led his team to the playoffs 3 straight seasons and made the postseason 2 seasons before that as a spark off the bench.

The other has yet to crack the 40 win mark despite being teamed with players who've won Rookie of the Year, players who've scored 20 PPG in a season, and being coached by an All-Time great coach.
one is on a team that's been relevant for going on a decade
the other is on a team that's been irrelevant for a decade

[GIF REACTION]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2013.html

Insanely deep team

That's his weakest team in Houston and it is EASILY stronger than Cousin's best supporting cast.