The Bulls collecting all of Lebron's highly valued white sidekicks
iamsosmrt84
joined 11 months ago
I chalk the Sixers improvement to coaching and development, though i don't think Harden would help their current starting 5 unit. Hypothetically, he'd still be a huge asset as a secondary ball handler for the 2nd unit, but he'd also probably refuse that role. Meanwhile, lack of a 2nd reliable ball handler is the team's biggest need.
As for the Clippers, while the results haven't been great, it's still a small sample size for Harden, and he may still very well be working himself into game shape. Those shooting splits will hurt any offense, but if he could improve them to acceptable levels, something like 45/38/80, who knows how much of an effect it could have on the team as a whole?
Hard to say he can do it, but that'll depend on how cooked he really is. Basically, I don't think it's fair to call it a "James Harden effect" if he's just washed as opposed to it being him playing up to his standard and the system doesn't work.
He's not been up to his Sixers level yet and AFAIK, he hasn't suffered any major injuries since last year so we may have yet to see the true Harden effect, assuming he can continue to get into better condition.
It reminds me of when I was a kid watching MJ, I undervalued the hell out of all the other top stars of his era who had "pedestrian" scoring averages of like 25 ppg. It wasn't until I looked back that I gained a strong appreciation of his contemporaries.
I think it's harder today because news is constant and information is bombarding us all the time, we fans take for granted some of the legit special performances happening in the game. Plus, amazing stops feeling amazing if it happens too often.
They'll pay him enough to hire an interpreter, lol
The real question is do they have enough of a strip club scene, the man has priorities
FWIW, I always thought the 2020 Sixers should've given him a chance as they were rolling out Raul Neto and Trey Burke, basically having 0 NBA quality PGs who could run a half court offense. Who knows how Ben's career could've turned out if he had ever played with one, albeit a washed Lin.
I hope he at least charges kids $6 or free admission.
If he keeps this pace 1st team All NBA and maybe MVP would be on the table. It'd be an actual travesty if he didn't make the All-Star team.
I thought the Bucks would regret trading for Holiday, particularly because I didn't think he was 4 draft picks better than Bledsoe. Winning a championship pretty much nullified all of that.
Damn, imagining the Sixers with Harden coming in mostly when Maxey sits to play primarily with Embiid to enact their deadly PnR would be an amazing option to have. Tired out from chasing those pesky DHOs? Here's a dose of the most efficient play of 2022.
I totally believe he still has the skillset and ability to play the role, but pride and ego are a helluva thing. Plus, he's probably gone too far with Morey to go back now. Even CM Punk took a decade (and feuding with another promotion) to come back to WWE.