Paul Pierce: Harden is the best player in the world today

So lebron losing to Dirkin the finals that year u would of said Dirk was the best player in the world lol.....my point is best player is a overall multi year title...I think u confusing that with mvp.....mvp is a yearly title. Best player alive is not.u k ow how they used to say lbj could win mvp every year. That because he was the best player in the world. Michael Jordan didnt win it every year but without a doubt he was the best in the world..that's what I'm talking bout. Harden is not the best in the world he the mvp

 

Harden is arguably the best regular season player of the last 5 years (I’d say it is between him and Curry), but the playoffs are a different story (LeBron has been king in the postseason last 5 years; Harden’s effectiveness has consistently dipped).

 

I'm not more confused than you. I'm not more biased than you. I'm not more interested in giving unearned dues than you. I'm not blind to how great a player Kevin Durant is. I'm aware of James Harden's faults. I know that Dirk was the best player at that moment and not in perpetuity.

Harden is the best in the world. He has been a top 3 MVP candidate for half a decade now, won it once, was robbed once and is about to win it again. That's called "he can win it every year". The only difference between Harden and Lebron/Durant is that he has not left his team for better teammates in order to win a title. Perhaps aside from Lebron's triumph over the Warriors a couple years ago, there is no title any of those two won that Harden couldn't have. There are several things Harden has done that those two couldn't do.

They can not win a title with the teams Harden has been on. No one thought Harden could take the Warriors down. An injury to key rotation player Moute on a squad desperate for talent did not affect him. Finally, Chris Paul went down and absolutely no one on the planet would have won those last 2 games against the Warriors.

What you're saying was true years ago. I think you need to update your data.

 

That is maybe the worst way of determining.

Well, maybe a step above drawing names out of a hat.

 

Jalen Rose is an idiot

 

Agreed, Harden is a great player. No denying that. It's just a lot of times he struggles to make it happen in moments when it matters most. It might be a mental thing. Like he panics. When there is no pressure, he lights up the other team.

 

KD's definitely not the better play at this moment in time, because he's injured.

Twisted an ankle against Phoenix. Same ankle he twisted earlier this year against Philly.

 

"James Harden right now is the best player in the league." - Paul Pierce

Tracy: James Harden is Steve Nash. Who created Linsanity? Mike D'Antoni. He's these guys on steroids. This offense is made to get buckets. (Paul: You gotta be able to ball.) Jeremy Lin can hoop right? This system creates a beast in a player that dominates the ball with shooters spread around.

 

smh, Yao, come get your boy Tracy...he’s saying some dumb sh*t again...

 

So how did T-Mac only average 9.4 points per game in NY with D'Antoni? Was he not the same coach he is today? Or was T-Mac way worse than Harden as a player? I guess that's actually possible, after all in 2008/09 we were a Yao injury away from winning the chip after we swapped this quitter with Artest.

And why was Harden averaging the same numbers under McFail btw? I guess McFail was as good as D'Antoni

 

Not to mention....WE DONT RUN THE MDA OFFENSE THAT NASH RAN!!!!!

I am so tired of hearing the MDA offense excuse to discredit Harden. We play slow it down isolation ball a good chunk of the time. The exact opposite of what MDA and Nash did.

 

Good grief Tracy is a moron.

 

T-Mac probably thinks he could really do what Harden is doing...jealous ass

you’d swear Harden is surrounded by 40% 3 point shooters and the Rockets are running some magical, mystical system

 

System system system... I guess Giannis, Steph, and KD are out of contention for BPAOT (best player as of today).

 

Yeah I watched this. It’s so hard for Mac to give Harden credit. Really believe there is some jealousy working there.

 

I know you’re joking but that really just makes him an idiot

 

Tracy has turned into a clown.

 

@BasketMAD Confirmed

 

So during the 30+ point streak from 12/13-2/21, the team's offensive rating was 116.5 (#1 all-time). Golden State's offensive rating was actually 118.2, but I don't think all-star teams should count. Harden's TS% was 62.5% with a usage rating of 41.1%. I'm sure T-Mac could have replicated that in MDA's "system."