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Originally Posted by okcchief
Offensively, he was the second best player in the series. Defensively he was the worst. I tend to pay attention to both sides of the ball. The 20 points you score don't mean quite as much when Ginobli rapes you in the face for 35.
Again, you said he was the reason they won the series which is an incredibly stupid statement. Kevin Durant is pretty much always the main reason, but for whatever reason he's not on the KC Connection I'm smarter than the room list.
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Kevin Durant doesn't do what he did against the Spurs in that series without the major aid of James Harden. That was the point. His great play helped free up Durant and helped elevate that team.
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I said I had doubts about Harden being a number 1 because of his defense, and having the attention on him. He's done a nice job, and I'm happy for him. As far as a top 10 ALL AROUND player. I don't think he's there yet.
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Harden's defense isn't particularly good (at least if you're comparing him to the best players in the league like LeBron and Durant or defensive stoppers like Thabo), but it's not that bad either. When he wants to play hard defensively, he's quite capable. We're not talking about DeMar DeRozan or something here.
Harden's defensive win shares are pretty comparable to other top guards like Paul, Parker, and Kobe this year:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/...3_leaders.html