James Harden Overrated? Rockets Guard Did NOT Deserve All-NBA Selection! Defensive Weakness And Inconsistency Haunt The Beard's Game!
James Harden was placed in the All-NBA team, solidifying his claim that he is the best shooting guard in the league. But does he deserve it?
ESPN's Ethan Strauss doesn't think so. He has an entire column dissecting The Beard, and how he should not have gotten the nod.
Mincing no words, Strauss shoots straight: "James Harden's selection to the All-NBA first team is a wrong choice that an intelligent person could easily make. On the (bearded) face of things, he's a perfect selection.
He puts up 25 and 6, raw totals befitting a superstar. And unlike some other ball-dominant stat-stuffers, Harden's points come efficiently at a 61.8 percent true shooting clip. Sure, he takes a bunch of terrible, Nick Young-esque step-back jumpers, but all those free throws erase the debt of his bad decisions. He is not the enemy of Advanced Stat America in the way that, say, Monta Ellis was."
Monta Ellis is also another shooting guard trying to challenge Dwyane Wade (and before him, Kobe Bryant) as the best in the "2" position. He is maligned for his poor shot selection, but he has improved immensely since he moved to Dallas.
The big knack on Harden's game that even his ability to get to the line cannot mask is his defense: "Let's start with what happens on the other side of the court. The man with the Rip Van Winkle beard perpetually plays defense like he just woke up. It's difficult for a perimeter player to become an Internet sensation because of bad defense, but in this instance the fame is well earned. Harden isn't just mediocre or even flawed as a defender, he's corrosive to his team's efforts on that end, a saboteur to Daryl Morey's continuous goal of building a top-10 defense."
The Lakers had atrocious defense in the 2012-2013 season even when they had Dwight Howard. Houston might end up with the same fate if the weak link does not improve.
But that's one person's opinion. How about the fans?
From a Yahoo user, on the question of whether Harden is overrated: "Completely agree. Can't stand that ugly bearded mfer. Everyone likes talking about Melo's defense, quit hating and look at Harden's it's atrocious. You can't breath on him without getting called for a foul. He'll never win a championship as the go to guy. We all saw what happened in 2012 where he played against a team that knows how to play defense right? I don't know why teams don't force him to go left, doesn't make any sense. When the NBA stops making Harden untouchable, he's done. I would love to see nothing more than him fail over and over again. I don't hate many NBA players, I respect Kobe, LeBron, etc. but I can't look at his b**ch ass!"
How long will Houston hold on to the notion that Harden is top tier player? He was totally weak in the series against Portland and it was one factor that caused their early exit.