Who were the people saying Harden is Joe 2.0?

[AHawks89]

Harden will be a superstar before you know it. I remember hearing people saying they wouldn't want him on our team. Are you kidding me? Yeah, it's one game, but look at those stats with those minutes. Harden will keep doing this day in and night out.He will become the best SG in the league very soon, if not this year.

Edited November 1, 2012 by AHawks89

[GameTime]

Never understood the Joe 2.0 comparison. Harden will attack relentlessly even if he is making shots and plays passing lanes and the pick-n-roll better than Joe ever could.

[ATLscrubLove]

Bro in a sense it makes sense. Joe was a 4th option on that Suns team he was on. The Hawks went out and gave him a max not knowing what he really brings to the table. Harden is similar, he wasn't even a starter in OKC. The Rockets gave him a max without knowing what he can do as a #1 option. So he had a great first game vs the Pistons. We will see what he can do within a whole season as a starter.

[Colin]

Harden i Joe #2. A signing that people will criticize, but when he gets his stats, people will take notice. That being said, James Harden is not going to lead Houston to a championship unless he is beside another #1 option.

[AHF]

Harden is entirely a creation of the easy shots he got from Kevin Durant. He is not going to average 20 ppg in Houston. /sarcasm

Edited November 1, 2012 by AHF

[JTB]

yall are crazy!...if there is anything harden can do that is put that ball in the hole! Im sure he's going to avg 20ppg night in night out. now the assist part i dont know i would say 4 assist per game is more realistic

[AHF]

yall are crazy!...if there is anything harden can do that is put that ball in the hole! Im sure he's going to avg 20ppg night in night out. now the assist part i dont know i would say 4 assist per game is more realistic

He will put up better offensive numbers this season than Joe ever has.

[WraithSentinel]

Never understood the JJ 2.0 talk either. I thought he would have been a great fit here as our SG of the future. That is no longer an option now.

[Sothron]

Man I remember that one time SAR scored 50 points against the Pistons in their heyday and we ALL KNEW that he would get 50 EVERY GAME because he got it in ONE game. It ABSOLUTELY makes sense to believe one game equates to 82 game performance.

[hawkrule152]

Needless to say, I am not looking to forward with the matchup we have with him on Friday.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

And the thing is . . . he got those 37 points EASY.The number of points really isn't that significant. It's the fact that he showcased just about every facet of his game, that was significant.- he drove- he defended- he shot from deep- he shot in the midrange- off screens- spot ups- ISOs- and passed the ball extremely wellThis wasn't just a 37 point game. This was him playing at an all around superstar type level.If he goes for 23 points against us, and is efficient, it still proves that this guy is a big time talent. He will have bad games, just like every player. But if he's consistently good to great, it will validate what Houston thought of him.

[Plainview1981]

He does have more skills than Joe, but I firmly believe that he is not the guy that will get you to the big dance.That said, it does not look like a truly impact player is coming this way anytime soon. The team is stuck with spare parts like Devin Harris, (and his one notable season) Anthony Morrow, Korver. etc...

[MrMeltdown]

I told anyone that would listen that he is a better creator and all around player than Joe. All you had to do was watch him at Arizona State and you could see that

[jhay610]

Not to take anything from Harden, who is a great player, but that was some turrrrible defense from the Pistons.

[AHF]

Man I remember that one time SAR scored 50 points against the Pistons in their heyday and we ALL KNEW that he would get 50 EVERY GAME because he got it in ONE game. It ABSOLUTELY makes sense to believe one game equates to 82 game performance.

No it doesn't. Good thing that his performance without Westbrook on the floor and his performance without Durant on the floor were the basis for my opinion rather than a one game performance being extrapolated. Will he get 37 and 12 every game? Of course not. Will he perform like he did last year when one of those studs wasn't on the floor and he was not deferring his offense? That is the question. I think the answer is "yes." (More precisely, I think his performance in those situations was so much better than anything Joe has ever done offensively that there is plenty of room for him to be somewhere short of those numbers and still be better than Joe's best. Joe was a stud but he has only broken 22 ppg once in his career and has never broken a 20 PER). Edited November 1, 2012 by AHF

[Wretch]

Joe 2.0 from my perspective...First, you need to understand that the argument. I'm not saying Harden is Joe Johnson 2.0 anymore than saying Jeff Teague is going to be Doc Rivers 2.0. The two are not similar players - not in play style and not in potential. Harden is a long range shooter and a penetrator. He has two comfort zones: behind the arc, and near the basket. Joe Johnson is a bigger player that uses his body in the paint. Joe is not quick, but he does shoot from all over the court.These two players are not similar.The argument is the impact that having just ONE of them (like Joe Johnson, 2005) will have for your franchise without another primary scoring option. I don't believe the Harden was SIMPLY the beneficiary of a lot of open looks. I don't believe that Harden is a 12-15ppg player. I don't believe that James Harden is a bad player.I simply do not believe that he is the "end of the road" kind of ELITE player that you build AROUND. Like we did when we brought Joe here. Put into the same situation that Joe was put into in 2005, I do not see this team any better off. What's more, the SITUATION surrounding both players is eerily similar - great talent, playing 3rd fiddle, on a great team, looking for a big payday. It's not that i wouldn't want to add him or a player like him. I just wouldn't put all of my eggs in his basket.Max contract? In my opinion it's a gamble, much in the way Joe was a gamble. With cap space, young talent around him, I would consider it. As a max contract that brings us at or near the cap or grossly over the cap (like Joe Johnson)? And we DON'T already have a superstar to compliment him? No. I wouldn't gamble with putting the team on his shoulders (like we did with Joe Johnson). I'm not sure if that's what some of you guys are suggesting, but it sure sounds that way.

[AHF]

I think there is more truth to what you are saying, Wretch, than by comparing them as players. You can make that argument just as much to say, "Dwayne Wade 2.0." Wade couldn't get his team beyond an early playoff exit on his own but he was a much better player at his peak than Joe.This is why I might have deferred the trade until after the season if I was both Houston and OKC. Get the better draft pick with Hou and get the shot at a title with OKC. But that is a lot of uncertainty for both teams and perhaps too many moving parts to just have an agreement in principle.Is Harden JJ? No. Is he Wade? No. Are any of them players who can carry someone to a contender by themselves? No. That said, JJ was good value on his first contract and I think Harden is a better offensive player.

Edited November 1, 2012 by AHF

[Wretch]

I would have had no reservations about adding Wade at the end of his rookie deal though. Chris Paul or Deron Williams at the end of their rookie contracts? No reservations...none at all. Same with a guy like Blake Griffin. You don't know if he can put your squad on his back, but it's a talent you take a chance on and if need be, clear out everything around him to make cap space. Bet the farm on it....whatever it takes. Every player needs support - even the G.O.A.T.s. One player does not make a team. We all know that. BUT, there are SPECIAL players that make a franchise. And maybe that's the word (franchise talent), but this is something that i have a hard time quantifying. Wade is a franchise talent to me. Though, I don't like James Harden as a player like that. I will admit that I don't particularly care for his game, but I'm not dumping on him. He is an efficient scorer, but is he THAT special? Just like Joe Johnson, you sign him and SEE. He's a guy you take a risk on like we did with Joe. From my perspective though, he's not the guy you put your future hopes on. (I also think that some folks need a time machine...to talk to themselves back when we added Joe Johnson and watched him the first few seasons.)

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

It was one game vs. a very porous Detroit D-fense. I watched the Rockets/Pistons game last night. They had NO interior defense. You would think that having Monroe and Drummond the paint would be locked down, but a handful of Harden's points came off of fastbreaks and wide-open dunks. A lot of three-pointer's too. I believe him and Lin will be a great backcourt, but Harden won't be scoring 30+ night in and night out. I think he ends up averaging right around 21 ppg which is still good. Have a feeling this topic will be reopened after the Hawks opener...

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