Can we say James Harden is ring chasing?

[iamgine]

I'm not sure what he's been doing qualifies as such or not.

[Full Court]

I'm not sure what he's been doing qualifies as such or not.

If he is, he's not as shameless about it as Damian Lillard.

[pandiani17]

Of course we can.

[sdot_thadon]

Good for him, no titles in 16 years? He should be.

[Real Men Wear Green]

His motivation idn't that simple. He wants to win a ring but money and individual glory are still very important. And he also has a grudge. His chances at winning a title did not improve with this trade. If anything they have gotten worse because Embiid health is more reliable than Leonard's. Thinking about it he may not even care about winning a ring that much, he was talking to the Rockets and there's no way that team is winning. I think he would like to win a championship but it's not his top priority.

[Wally450]

I'm not sure what he's been doing qualifies as such or not.

I think he'd choose a better team if he wanted to go ring chasing.

[Phoenix]

Even if by some miracle this Clippers team went all the way, he'd get the appropriate credit of a 3rd option assuming he plays well enough in that role for LA to have a shot. But wherever you rank him now is where he should still be ranked with a ring under those conditions.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Even if by some miracle this Clippers team went all the way, he'd get the appropriate credit of a 3rd option assuming he plays well enough in that role for LA to have a shot. But wherever you rank him now is where he should still be ranked with a ring under those conditions.

He's going to be at least second option. Healthy Leonard is a better scorer but George is not. People are generally overlooking that Harden had 2 great games in the Boston series. His inconsistency was really about the games he was defended by Jaylen Brown. While the fact th hat Brown can stop him is bad or shouldn't be overlooked that he was doing well against Marcus Smart and had some clutch baskets. How many big athletic guards like Brown will be out there to stop him? There is still a possibility for some great individual performance there.

[imdaman99]

I think he'd choose a better team if he wanted to go ring chasing.

Yeah, why didn't he make the Celtics or Bucks or Suns or Nuggets trade for him? I wonder.

[Jasper]

harden is a playoff loser , who is lucky if he even shows up in a uni.
He is the perfect location with old ape man , PG playoff choker, Westbrook 'I am the show'

And now playoff loser James.:lol

[John8204]

I think he's contract chasing not ring chasing...but he is the worst.

[Spurs m8]

Funniest part is any team that picks him up is going backwards in their chase for a ring.

Not only is he hogging way too much cap space with his pathetic loser output....but he's also making teams either send away a decent player or important depth.

This.guy.is.a.fvckng.loser...

OF COURSE it was the Clippers that took him :roll:

Which is great.. more cancer for nephew

[Phoenix]

He's going to be at least second option. Healthy Leonard is a better scorer but George is not. People are generally overlooking that Harden had 2 great games in the Boston series. His inconsistency was really about the games he was defended by Jaylen Brown. While the fact th hat Brown can stop him is bad or shouldn't be overlooked that he was doing well against Marcus Smart and had some clutch baskets. How many big athletic guards like Brown will be out there to stop him? There is still a possibility for some great individual performance there.

When healthy PG13 at this stage is a better player. Whatever offensive differences between the two are far less than defensively. Plus Harden can run a pure facilitator role better than Westbrook, so I imagine his scoring would be scaled back with PG13 being 2nd to Kawhi scoring the ball regardless.

Not sure it matters though, because neither one of them as a 2nd option are good enough at this point to get the Clips over the hump against teams like Denver, Boston, Bucks, Suns, etc. And health-wise, something is going to break down for at least 2 of the 4 at some crucial point in the season. These guys are 33-35 and not getting any healthier.

[Hoopexpert]

nika is just trying to land in the city with the best strip clubs.

only ring he chasing are the ones you see when you spread cheeks.

[Real Men Wear Green]

When healthy PG13 at this stage is a better player. Whatever offensive differences between the two are far less than defensively. Plus Harden can run a pure facilitator role better than Westbrook, so I imagine his scoring would be scaled back with PG13 being 2nd to Kawhi scoring the ball regardless.

Not sure it matters though, because neither one of them as a 2nd option are good enough at this point to get the Clips over the hump against teams like Denver, Boston, Bucks, Suns, etc. And health-wise, something is going to break down for at least 2 of the 4 at some crucial point in the season. These guys are 33-35 and not getting any healthier.Second option isn't the same as second-best player. "Healthy" (quotation marks most relevant) Paul George is better than Harden because of his massive edge defensively but just talking offense Harden can lead the league in assists while averaging over 20.

[Phoenix]

Second option isn't the same as second-best player. "Healthy" (quotation marks most relevant) Paul George is better than Harden because of his massive edge defensively but just talking offense Harden can lead the league in assists while averaging over 20.

However you delineate between second best player and option( yes I understand the difference), in this instance I don't see Harden being the 2nd option. He doesn't need to be on this team and can focus more on facilitating.

[Real Men Wear Green]

However you delineate between second best player and option( yes I understand the difference), in this instance I don't see Harden being the 2nd option. He doesn't need to be on this team and can focus more on facilitating.

"I'm not a system player. I am a system. "

[Phoenix]

"I'm not a system player. I am a system. "

I saw that earlier. That was seriously cringy. Even at his best in Houston, being the system didn't amount to anything but gaudy season stats, post-season flameouts and that one insufferable Harden stan on here that I haven't seen recently, come to think of it.

[ImKobe]

I saw that earlier. That was seriously cringy. Even at his best in Houston, being the system didn't amount to anything but gaudy season stats, post-season flameouts and that one insufferable Harden stan on here that I haven't seen recently, come to think of it.

It came off as cringy but it's the truth. You have to let Harden run the offense for it to work. They were a Chris Paul injury away from potentially beating an ATG Warriors squad in the WCF and winning the championship. 2x WCF appearances and a 65-win RS means his system was pretty damn good if we're being honest.

Harden is not very likeable but he's had terrible luck with injuries:

CP3 injury in 2018
Westbrook injury in the 2020 bubble
Kyrie + Harden both injured in 2021
Him & Embiid both been injured these last 2 years as well

Could have won a chip or at least made the Finals in all those seasons if him and/or his teammates were healthy. He's had plenty of chokes and I've trashed him myself but he's still a very good player.

I'm excited to see what he can do on the Clippers as he fits perfectly with Kawhi & PG, but I'm not sure what's gonna happen with Russ on the court as well. I don't see how they can have both Russ & Zubac on the court with Harden dominating the ball. I doubt that's gonna work in the POs.

[imdaman99]

I'm excited to see what he can do on the Clippers as he fits perfectly with Kawhi & PG, but I'm not sure what's gonna happen with Russ on the court as well. I don't see how they can have both Russ & Zubac on the court with Harden dominating the ball. I doubt that's gonna work in the POs.

He's gonna take away touches from Westbrook... which is likely a good thing at this point. Russ can work on his next career move of working on intangibles and becoming a role player :lol He still wins those 50-50 balls like we saw in the playoffs last year and if he focuses on defense, he can play it. Harden is more likely to go invisible come playoffs than Russ because Russ can affect games on the other end, as funny as that sounds :lol

[ImKobe]

He's gonna take away touches from Westbrook... which is likely a good thing at this point. Russ can work on his next career move of working on intangibles and becoming a role player :lol He still wins those 50-50 balls like we saw in the playoffs last year and if he focuses on defense, he can play it. Harden is more likely to go invisible come playoffs than Russ because Russ can affect games on the other end.

I liked him and Russ in 2020 once they got rid of Capela.. it actually worked really well once Russ had those open lanes and stopped chucking 3s. Played some of the best/most efficient basketball of his career in that Feb/March stretch before they shut the season down. They'll stagger the minutes but Russ has to sit on the bench in crunch time.

[Phoenix]

It came off as cringy but it's the truth. You have to let Harden run the offense for it to work. They were a Chris Paul injury away from potentially beating an ATG Warriors squad in the WCF and winning the championship. 2x WCF appearances and a 65-win RS means his system was pretty damn good if we're being honest.

Harden is not very likeable but he's had terrible luck with injuries:

CP3 injury in 2018
Westbrook injury in the 2020 bubble
Kyrie + Harden both injured in 2021
Him & Embiid both been injured these last 2 years as well

Could have won a chip or at least made the Finals in all those seasons if him and/or his teammates were healthy. He's had plenty of chokes and I've trashed him myself but he's still a very good player.

I'm excited to see what he can do on the Clippers as he fits perfectly with Kawhi & PG, but I'm not sure what's gonna happen with Russ on the court as well. I don't see how they can have both Russ & Zubac on the court with Harden dominating the ball. I doubt that's gonna work in the POs.

I've never been a huge fan of 'I'm the system' players. In most cases it caps the team ceiling with the overreliance of one player and everyone else being bystanders.

My suggestion is to keep your expectations in check. Something is going to happen for this team to underachieve again, and then you'll be back a year from now with another laundry list for why Harden hasn't won the big one in 16 seasons. Yeah there's some legit circumstances that MAY have denied him a title, but he's also choked too much in the playoffs relative to the standards he set in the regular season. He's still an elite facilitator but I don't think he's a 2nd option for any team with serious championship aspirations, not in 2023. Kawhi and PG13 also handle the ball a good bit, and well there's Russ.....so I don't know what that team is going to look like with only one ball.

[Xiao Yao You]

I've never been a huge fan of 'I'm the system' players. In most cases it caps the team ceiling with the overreliance of one player and everyone else being bystanders.

My suggestion is to keep your expectations in check. Something is going to happen for this team to underachieve again, and then you'll be back a year from now with another laundry list for why Harden hasn't won the big one in 16 seasons. Yeah there's some legit circumstances that MAY have denied him a title, but he's also choked too much in the playoffs relative to the standards he set in the regular season. He's still an elite facilitator but I don't think he's a 2nd option for any team with serious championship aspirations, not in 2023. Kawhi and PG13 also handle the ball a good bit, and well there's Russ.....so I don't know what that team is going to look like with only one ball.

how would they underachieve? Who expects anything of them? I expect a shit show. If it's not they overachieve

[ImKobe]

I've never been a huge fan of 'I'm the system' players. In most cases it caps the team ceiling with the overreliance of one player and everyone else being bystanders.

My suggestion is to keep your expectations in check. Something is going to happen for this team to underachieve again, and then you'll be back a year from now with another laundry list for why Harden hasn't won the big one in 16 seasons. Yeah there's some legit circumstances that MAY have denied him a title, but he's also choked too much in the playoffs relative to the standards he set in the regular season. He's still an elite facilitator but I don't think he's a 2nd option for any team with serious championship aspirations, not in 2023. Kawhi and PG13 also handle the ball a good bit, and well there's Russ.....so I don't know what that team is going to look like with only one ball.

You're right. Usually that style of play does not work, but Harden is one of the best playmakers in the league, and he's not the chucker that he used to be and he's not asked to be the #1 or even the #2 for that matter now. Last year he put up 21/6/11 with just 3.4 TOV on 60.7%TS. He still has it in spurts. I like the trio of him with Kawhi & PG as those guys don't need to handle the ball a lot. Him and Russ? You can stagger their minutes for most of the game, but they're going to have to bench WB in 4th quarters.

[Xiao Yao You]

only 3.4 TO? :lol

[ImKobe]

He used to be a turnover machine due to his high usage. 3.4 TO while leading the league in assists and while still putting up an efficient 20+ ppg is pretty damn good.