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James Harden rejects OKC Offer / *Traded* to Rockets

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Chris said:
*remembers when people didn't want to go after Harden or give up Varejao in hypothetical, unrealistic trade scenarios*
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*remembers when Chris said this in the Waiters thread:chuckles:*:

Chris said:
This is fun, but watch what you say. It's one game.
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Seriously though, Harden looked like the real deal tonight. I didn't think he was that good, I wanna see what he can do against a good team though.
 
NtG said:
Seriously though, Harden looked like the real deal tonight. I didn't think he was that good, I wanna see what he can do against a good team though.
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He has been in the league for 4 years.
 
First game that Harden was the alpha dog and he played like an alpha dog. Impressive.
 
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You can't really go by his per-36 numbers, though, because he's going to be dominating the ball a lot more than he did in OKC. Even though he came off the bench, he still played with Durant or Westbrook or both most of the time, which limited his touches, his shots, his drives, etc. In Houston he doesn't really have to compete with anyone aside from Lin, and obviously Harden is the focal point of the offense.
 
Very impressive debut by Harden as the #1 player on his team, but the next step for him is to adjust once the league adjusts to him.
 
Harden might just be a star talent that was hidden behind two of the bet scorers in the league. I knew he was good in OKC, but I didn't think he would be able to be that "stud" player who is a #1 option. It's only one game, but 37 points and 12 assists is damn impressive! It will be interesting to see if he blossoms into a complete beast this year or if he can't handle the pressures of being "the guy."
 
the biggest thing is that Lin could do his thing with Harden being aggressive. take notes Westbrook and Carmelo.
 
Chris said:
*remembers when people didn't want to go after Harden or give up Varejao in hypothetical, unrealistic trade scenarios*
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??

The only Varejao trade that almost everyone on RCF was on board with was the completely unrealistic and never proposed Harden trade. It was a laughable scenario, but if it was ever on the table everyone would have been on board with it.

Now, I think Harden is going to fall back down a bit as the league adjusts to defending him as Houston's best player. I think he'll put up 22 PPG 7.5 APG which is very nice...but I can't help but remember how awful he was in the Finals and Olympics. When is that Harden going to rear his ugly head?
 
chrisrich91 said:
??

The only Varejao trade that almost everyone on RCF was on board with was the completely unrealistic and never proposed Harden trade. It was a laughable scenario, but if it was ever on the table everyone would have been on board with it.

Now, I think Harden is going to fall back down a bit as the league adjusts to defending him as Houston's best player. I think he'll put up 22 PPG 7.5 APG which is very nice...but I can't help but remember how awful he was in the Finals and Olympics. When is that Harden going to rear his ugly head?
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Fall back down? No way, he is going to average 37 pts and 12 dimes all season.
 
Layne Staley said:
Those numbers should tell anyone that Harden can obviously do it by himself. The Rockets, especially considering how much their owner takes stats into consideration, knew what they were doing.
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My main worry with evaluating 6th men types like Harden is not necessarily that they benefit from playing next to superstars, but that they benefit from playing a ton of minutes against bench players, inflating their stats.

What these numbers tell me is that Harden put up much better numbers against bench players, because when Durant/Westbrook are on the bench, so are other teams starters. Thus I don't see these numbers as conclusive evidence that Harden can be a solid #1 option in the NBA. I think he's talented and efficient enough that he has a chance, but I can't ignore the noise behind what those stats represent.
 
Lin will feast on defenses if they bring their guys outside to stop harden.

Houston will remain in pre season mode for the next ten games as they work Harden into the offense. the rockets have two guards who can combine for 15+ assist on a nightly basis.
 
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