YugoRocketsFan Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 Rockets are now 19-14 and the youngest team in the NBA Is averaging 26.3 ppg , 4.3 rpg, and 5.3 apg (Most said he would average around 20 ppg), including 29.4,3.9, 5.4 at 50.5% fg, 44% 3pt, and 85% from free throw line in the last 10. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 He's making a very compelling case this season...26/5/4 with a TS% over 60% is pretty amazing. LeBron, Durant and CP3 are ahead of him no question. All much better defenders and proven #1 options who have led their teams to deep post-season runs. Kobe this season has been slightly more productive, and this has been his most efficient season yet, so I'd put him over Harden without hesitation as well. Then comes Dwight, Wade, Duncan, and Melo. Harden has had a better season than Dwight and Wade, althgough when those two guys are healthy I'd say they make a bigger impact than Harden due to being far better on the defensive end. Duncan has probably had a better season than Harden...per36min is averaging 21/12/3 with 3 blocks, only 2 turnovers, 51% shooting, and anchoring one of the top 5 defenses in the league. As for Melo, he's probably been the more dependable, explosive scorer, and better rebounder and defender, though Harden has a huge advantage in the playmaking department. I'd call them even this season so far. So, I'd say he's been just outside the top 5, and assuming good health he gets moved down from his current 6th/7th ranking to 8th/9th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 I am honestly shocked how well he has played. He is the player now that I expected him to be a year or two from now. The adjustment to franchise player has been almost seamless for him. Its pretty insane honestly. Top 5 still belongs to the 4 guys Nitro mentioned and Dwight. Dwight still gets the pass for health, and while I have no doubt Wade could still produce at a super high level as a first option, I can't help but doubt it would be at the level Harden is doing it now. Sometimes it seems like Wade is 36 honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JYD Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 top 5? no. but he's just outside of that. i laughed at the people who said he wasn't worth a max deal. if joe [expletive]ing johnson got one this [expletive]a definitely deserves one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 Lebron, Durant, Melo, CP3, and Kobe are the clear top 5 imo. After the top 5 I believe a case can be made that Harden is the next best player. Yes like Nitro mentioned Duncan, Wade and Dwight are up there after the top 5 but they all also have at least 2 other allstar players helping them on a nightly basis. Harden has no one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 Lebron, Durant, Melo, CP3, and Kobe are the clear top 5 imo. After the top 5 I believe a case can be made that Harden is the next best player. Yes like Nitro mentioned Duncan, Wade and Dwight are up there after the top 5 but they all also have at least 2 other allstar players helping them on a nightly basis. Harden has no one. Harden had a superstar and all-star last year...didn't make him any less of a player than he is now, just his usage wasn't as high. He needed this year to prove without a doubt he could be that #1 guy, but those other 3 guys have proven they could lead teams to the Finals as the #1 guy (and 2 of them came out with rings). So, even though Wade and Dwight aren't producing as much as in the past because of their situations, they get a certain benefit of the doubt that we couldn't give Harden last season. But as I said, I'd say Harden has had a better season than Wade and Dwight due to their health not being up to par, but I'd say Duncan has been even, if not better than Harden so far because he's producing like it's 2004, and anchoring a top 5 defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 You can make the argument for Harden anywhere between 6th-9th depending on how you want to factor in Wade and Dwight's health (as of right now, neither are having better seasons than Harden) and where you stand on Duncan vs Harden with Duncan making more impact when he's on the floor but playing 8.2 minutes less than Harden. Clearly not top 5 yet but he's getting there and given up how quickly he's adjusted from 6th man to superstar, I don't think its far fetched to say that he'll be a top 5 player by the end of next season especially if he improves on his defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JYD Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 Lebron, Durant, Melo, CP3, and Kobe are the clear top 5 imo. After the top 5 I believe a case can be made that Harden is the next best player. Yes like Nitro mentioned Duncan, Wade and Dwight are up there after the top 5 but they all also have at least 2 other allstar players helping them on a nightly basis. Harden has no one.Yeah I'd go with this ... although, Harden does have Lin (Yes, not Kobe, not Tyson Chandler, not Blake Griffin, and not Wade/Bosh), and Parsons is a damn underrated player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sportsguy9695 Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 I wouldnt go as far to say he is a top 5 player. to be top five in my eyes you need to be as good as Lebron, Kobe, Paul, Durant, Griffin. and I see him trailing those guys a little bit. but he is very close to being a top 5 player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 6, 2013 Owner Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 LeBronKobeDurantCP3DuncanDwightMeloWade Basically, he's right where Nitro puts him. It's hard for me to stick any other player over him at this point. Top ten is a definite yes...but top five, at least for me, is most certainly no. Howard may not be 100%, but he's still putting up his career averages (near it, the last time I looked), and Duncan is playing like he's five years younger than he was last season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YugoRocketsFan Posted January 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 (edited) So definitely top 10, maybe top 8, definitely not top 5, makes sense and still pretty good for a guy that is 23. Will surpass Kobe/Duncan/Wade in 2 or so years for sure, so should be top 5 one day Edited January 6, 2013 by YugoRocketsFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 So definitely top 10, maybe top 8, definitely not top 5, makes sense and still pretty good for a guy that is 23. Will surpass Kobe/Duncan/Wade in 2 or so years for sure, so should be top 5 one day Also pretty good considering the Rockets gave up pretty much nothing (in terms of assets) for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JYD Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I wouldnt go as far to say he is a top 5 player. to be top five in my eyes you need to be as good as Lebron, Kobe, Paul, Durant, Griffin. and I see him trailing those guys a little bit. but he is very close to being a top 5 playerGriffin? Lmfao. What about Carmelo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha 4 Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 He's definitely "Top 10" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sħãlïq™ Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Top 10, yes. Top 5... Naw, not yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJFromTheDMV Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 The fact that he's in the discussion shows how far he'a come and how good he is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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