OKC: Who is their best player?

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

I wouldn't say Harden is superior in that regard, definitely has better ball handling skills though. That and "passing" he is superior to Durant, but in the grand scheme of things it's not like the gap is huge in those two categories. Those two things are to be expected out of Harden since he's more of a point/shooting guard and Durant is more of a guard/forward.

Durant can still get by most defenders off the dribble at least as well as Harden. He has improved greatly since coming into the league and gets to the line often.

[Phillmattic]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

I wouldn't say Harden is superior in that regard, definitely has better ball handling skills though. That and "passing" he is superior to Durant, but in the grand scheme of things it's not like the gap is huge in those two categories. Those two things are to be expected out of Harden since he's more of a point/shooting guard and Durant is more of a guard/forward.

Durant can still get by most defenders off the dribble at least as well as Harden. He has improved greatly since coming into the league and gets to the line often.

I think it's a pretty big gap. Harden is one of those guys who has the ability to get to the rack at will, Kevin Durant not so much.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

At will? Dang I need to watch more of him, I haven't seen him do that.

I feel like Durant can get to the rim almost whenever he wants, but doesn't necessarily have better break down off the dribble moves than Harden.

[PrettyT11]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

he was the scoring champ because Lebron sat out the last week which lowered his scoring avg just below Durant. If Lebron played he would have led the league in scoring but he didnt care about that.

I don't have any idea where you got this from. If he didn't play at all then his scoring average or any numbers for that matter wouldn't change because he didn't play at all. For his last 5 games though LeBron average 29 a night so that wouldn't drop his average at all. If you want to take it further back he was right at 29 for his last 10 games so again that wouldn't drop his average. So how exactly did his scoring average drop??

[JerseySuave4]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

I don't have any idea where you got this from. If he didn't play at all then his scoring average or any numbers for that matter wouldn't change because he didn't play at all. For his last 5 games though LeBron average 29 a night so that wouldn't drop his average at all. If you want to take it further back he was right at 29 for his last 10 games so again that wouldn't drop his average. So how exactly did his scoring average drop??

the 15 point game vs Detroit where he sat out the 4th quarter, the game vs Toronto where he only shot the ball 13 times for 19 points brought down his numbers. He even said himself near the end of the season (when he was still leading the league in scoring) that if he wanted to he could win the scoring title but they had everything wrapped up so it wasnt like he was going for it. He finished 1 point behind Durant.

[BlueNGold]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

This thread is terrible in so many ways....just.....just.....*sigh*

I don't know.

The funny thing is the original question of this thread isn't THAT terrible of one, because Russ is a great player, but Dewie you've taken this to another level, man. James Harden OKC's best player? Really? Really? I'm not even sure he's their third best player.

BTW about that "read some history" comment, has history not taught us that not everything goes according to history?

[Dewie12]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

BTW about that "read some history" comment, has history not taught us that not everything goes according to history?

People act like what is happening now is paramount to what will really happen.

I like Jame Harden more out of college than Durant or Westbrook. Clearly he is struggling in the NBA. I didn't realize how bad he is shooting. He looks out of shape and can't get by anyone.

But with that said dude could turn his career around and turn into Micheal Redd. Westbrook could turn into Steve Franchise. Durant could be the next Glenn Robinson.

History says that these players have many years to judge who the best players are. I think Harden has potential to be better than Durant or Westbrook in the right system. Sacrilegious to say but TMac looked like he would never have a jumper when he came up.

[PrettyT11]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

the 15 point game vs Detroit where he sat out the 4th quarter, the game vs Toronto where he only shot the ball 13 times for 19 points brought down his numbers. He even said himself near the end of the season (when he was still leading the league in scoring) that if he wanted to he could win the scoring title but they had everything wrapped up so it wasnt like he was going for it. He finished 1 point behind Durant.

Those two games did not drop his average anything worth even mentioning. In fact if you even take those two games away Durant still would have been the leading scorer.

I believe you misunderstood what he said. He said he could win the scoring title any season if he really wanted too but he is focused on other things besides scoring. Regardless though it doesn't matter at the end of the day because Durant is the guy who lead the league in scoring.

[Dewie12]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

James Harden with the start. 23 points 9 rebounds +8

Westbrook struggling with his shooting again. -7

[PrettyT11]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

People act like what is happening now is paramount to what will really happen.

I like Jame Harden more out of college than Durant or Westbrook. Clearly he is struggling in the NBA. I didn't realize how bad he is shooting. He looks out of shape and can't get by anyone.

But with that said dude could turn his career around and turn into Micheal Redd. Westbrook could turn into Steve Franchise. Durant could be the next Glenn Robinson.

History says that these players have many years to judge who the best players are. I think Harden has potential to be better than Durant or Westbrook in the right system. Sacrilegious to say but TMac looked like he would never have a jumper when he came up.

I really don't know what to say if you actually thought Harden was the better college player or would transition to the NBA better than Durant. That is just horrible. Durant dominated the NCAA and won damn near every award possible as a freshman. There isn't a GM alive who would or would have choosen Harden over Durant at any point in time.

Glen Robinson was never as good as the player Durant was his second year in the NBA let alone the player he is now. How can Durant become the next Glen Robinson when he has already done thing Robinson has never done?? And this is coming from a Glen Robinson fan dating all the way back to his college days at Purdue. Even if Harden becomes the next Michael Redd he still wouldn't be as good as the player Durant is now. Redd has never done the things that Durant has done. So that throws your entire argument out the window.

[BlueNGold]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

People act like what is happening now is paramount to what will really happen.

I like Jame Harden more out of college than Durant or Westbrook. Clearly he is struggling in the NBA. I didn't realize how bad he is shooting. He looks out of shape and can't get by anyone.

But with that said dude could turn his career around and turn into Micheal Redd. Westbrook could turn into Steve Franchise. Durant could be the next Glenn Robinson.

History says that these players have many years to judge who the best players are. I think Harden has potential to be better than Durant or Westbrook in the right system. Sacrilegious to say but TMac looked like he would never have a jumper when he came up.

Sure all of that is possible, but your original point was ridiculous when you said James Harden is the Thunder's best player. I mean it's already bad enough some people don't think Durant is their best player, but saying Harden is better than Durant AND Westbrook is just...no. KD has already established himself as a top 5 player in the league. I don't get why that just goes out the window now.

Also, my point in asking if history has taught us that not everything goes according to history.....you're throwing out the possibility that Durant could be the next Glenn Robinson. Isn't it all the more possible he could be the next Kevin Durant?

[Dewie12]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

Sure all of that is possible, but your original point was ridiculous when you said James Harden is the Thunder's best player. I mean it's already bad enough some people don't think Durant is their best player, but saying Harden is better than Durant AND Westbrook is just...no. KD has already established himself as a top 5 player in the league. I don't get why that just goes out the window now.

Also, my point in asking if history has taught us that not everything goes according to history.....you're throwing out the possibility that Durant could be the next Glenn Robinson. Isn't it all the more possible he could be the next Kevin Durant?

I think Kevin Durant is overrated. He is hyped like most scorers are hyped. Until he wins a playoff series by playing some defense, rebounding and creating for his teammates I just think of him as that.

The point of this thread is that Russell Westbrook may be better than Durant, correct. I disagree with that completely. Saying James Harden is better than Durant was stupid. But I like Harden much more than Westbrook. And putting the emphasis on overall team play I really like Harden more than I like Durant or Westbrook.

[BlueNGold]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

I think Kevin Durant is overrated. He is hyped like most scorers are hyped. Until he wins a playoff series by playing some defense, rebounding and creating for his teammates I just think of him as that.

The point of this thread is that Russell Westbrook may be better than Durant, correct. I disagree with that completely. Saying James Harden is better than Durant was stupid. But I like Harden much more than Westbrook. And putting the emphasis on overall team play I really like Harden more than I like Durant or Westbrook.

Wow.....

OS - Where Kevin Durant is now overrated happens

[Dewie12]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

Wow.....

OS - Where Kevin Durant is now overrated happens

Explain what he has done? Scoring leader doesn't mean much. FIBA? Really we are bringing up international play?

He averages more turnovers than assists. Below average defender.

He is the best scorer in the league. Which is great but this team will need for him to be a better all around player to make the next step. When they get another good player his PPG will drop 4 or 5 points. Then will he be lauded as a top 5 player?

[BlueNGold]

Re: OKC: Who is their best player?

Explain what he has done? Scoring leader doesn't mean much. FIBA? Really we are bringing up international play?

He averages more turnovers than assists. Below average defender.

He is the best scorer in the league. Which is great but this team will need for him to be a better all around player to make the next step. When they get another good player his PPG will drop 4 or 5 points. Then will he be lauded as a top 5 player?

Exactly. He's the best scorer in the league. It's not the easiest thing to do, even if he makes it look easy. He's put up near historic percentages and scored at a nearly historic rate (as far as I know). That's just part of what he's done.

The guy was also an MVP candidate, the best scorer in the league and helped take the Thunder from the bottom of the West to near the top of it in his 3rd year. The Thunder even gave the Lakers a decent push in their series. What more does he need to do at this point? I mean come on.

Sure he needs to improve in places, what player doesn't if your name isn't Kobe Bryant? I'm just tired of the quick out of saying "overrated". Overrated is overrated.