Can we say James Harden is ring chasing?

[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 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

[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 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?

[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.