It’s honestly insane. It’s like he somehow got some burst back at his advanced age. First step looking better than it has since pre-hamstring BK days.

It’s kind of crazy how both Harden and Kawhi have their best offensive numbers in years and have both been healthy (or at least relatively so by Kawhi’s standards) but it’s all translated to a 9-21 record lol

Shows how much the Clippers’ depth has deteriorated over the past 2-3 years they used to be able to play at like a 45 win pace without any of their stars playing at all

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I think after tearing the hamstring people wrote him off and thought he’d fall off a cliff because of how he initially looked.

The fact he recovered and seemed to get some athleticism back is something I wasn’t expecting. We talk about LeBron, KD and Steph’s longevity, but Harden isn’t as much

I would have assumed he was at the point of his career where he leans more on his passing and being a true point guard. It’s honestly pretty crazy that the Clippers are bad enough that he has to be scoring like this for them to have a chance, but he’s a machine and still doing it.

Yeah it’s honestly incredible. For some unknown reason I tune into watch the Clipper games a lot this season, and most of the time I just end the game being impressed to death by the man.

Part of me even secretly wishes the Clippers getting better guys around him so this performance doesn’t go to waste.

I fight a lot with that part of me.

Feels like it took him a few years to get over that hammy issue

Honestly super impressive, I found last season impressive, but particularly the latter third of the season, he was a beast when Kawhi came back, averaging very similar numbers to this season.

Difference is, this season he’s been an elite scorer regardless of who’s in the court, genuinely looks the best physically he has since the hamstring injury, all at age 36 lol.

As a huge fan, makes me so happy he will probably be playing at a high level for quite a few seasons still to come.

Harden’s age was always going to age well, not saying this was easily predictable but never really needed full athleticism like that

Really feels like he’s gradually getting his burst back

How old do y’all think James Harden is?? He’s a top 5 scorer of the 21st century. He’s the same age as KD and a year younger than Steph. I don’t find it hard to fathom at all that those 3 are all still playing at a high level.

Do you guys think Harden has been overlooked / undervalued by fans? Or properly rated? Both by casual fans and serious fans

Yes, most us rockets fans knew his game would age well unlike someone like Westbrook

somehow? his game translates and he doesn’t rely on elite athleticism. he’s also putting up the most FG attempts since 2020.

James can do this for another ³⁄₄ years if he wants to.

Maybe not those exact numbers but I’m not really surprised no. He clearly was never washed people just hate somehow they see him go from being one of the best scorers of all time to then facilitating and leading the league in assists while feeding a guy competing for mvp while also dropping 40 point solo carry jobs on the eventual champs when said mvp is hurt but some people think he sucks lol

I feel like man’s has been playing through injuries a lot which took a huge toll, maybe some actual rest and a good med staff is putting in the big work here

It’s taken him years to recover from his hamstring injury

The hamstring injury took away his burst and never really recovered. Playing heavy minutes doesn’t help either.

Yes

No, I was a massive hater. I have no room to speak.

Yea, hi game isn’t built on speed or athleticism (in a way). James works hard, constantly improves, can shoot, has amazing vision, and balls.

Yes. I did

To be honest I thought James would soften.

Personally, not surprised. Contrary to his public image, every teammate and coach seems to report that james is one of the harder and diligent workers in the gym.

IF Harden finishes the season at his current TS% (.627) it would be the 2nd highest ever in his career. Only surpassed by his 3rd season in OKC when he had a 66% TS as a 6th man.

This shows how much easier it is to score efficiently in the current NBA as 36th year old Harden is scoring more efficiently than HOU Harden.

Mf came in to be a 3rd option now he gotta carry them smh

I’m actually surprised he’s not averaging 30 considering how bad the defense is this season.

Most of it is him. Plus it helps that big bodies are rare nowadays both at the 5 and guard position

Lots of older players are having resurgent seasons, guys like Norm Powell, Steph is averaging 4ppg more than he did last season, hell even Westbrook looks like a better scorer. If ya’ll think this is because ‘players are getting better’ then you have rocks in your heads. The league is just making it so damn easy for players to score, giving them every possible advantage. If you took prime 35ppg MJ or Kobe and dumped them into this NBA, they would be setting scoring records every other night.

Slowed down on NBA consumption a bit the last few years but never understood why people ever thought he was washed. He’s not in his 30+ ppg prime but still averaging like ²¹⁄₂₂ and 10 in a reduced capacity. Clearly could still score and playmake at a high level.

He’s been really good this year. He’s even not awful defensively for most of the game, he’s still not going to stay in front of someone but he’s picking his spots better.

Watched the game on Amazon the other night. He is amazing to watch. In a time when demos every opponent is more athletic (younger), he is is mentally on another level and knows when to pick his spots with success. A joy to watch

I remember there was some sports science article about Harden’s unconventional elite athleticism like deceleration ability and body control. Maybe these don’t diminish as quickly with age. Also helps that a lot of his game is predicated on his shiftiness as opposed to explosive athleticism.

Yes because I’ve yet to see this guy fall off from being the regular season demigod that he’s always been. A poor series clinching game late into a playoff series doesn’t change what he has always provided in the regular season, no matter the talent he has on the team.

Credit to him

He’s had to do more though, which isn’t really what he wanted. His numbers were down with Embiid because Embiid was dominant, and Maxey was coming up.

But ever since joining the Clippers, his numbers have been up because Kawhi and PG were always in and out of the lineup.

If you asked me this in 2018 I would have said “I’m surprised he fell off that much”

Yeah but have you seen his toes?!

Still a scoring machine. Prolific

Absolutely nothing to indicate that he wouldn’t.

the smaller the sample size the greater the variance. its not surprising that a high volume shooter can go on outlier hot streaks in 30 game stretches is it

No, but if you told me he’d be on a team with the 5th worst record I probably would have been like “ok yea, I could see it”

Yes but I’ve always been a Harden fan. Still hurt that the Sixers let him go. Barring a career ending injury he will likely retire ahead of Kobe in all-time points. Probably only being behind LeBron, Kareem, Malone, and probably KD.

He is already tenth with no real signs of slowing down much.

his hamstring injury caused a huge set back ngl. hed prob avg 30ppg after he left the rockets but he wasnt resting enough tbh. i think now he doesnt rlly have the same drive he did in his prime so he’s just playing for the fun of it. i think harden could def score way more but hes an aging star and not much to prove anymore

Harden’s offense has never been his issue

They have a losing record.

Actually not surprised, he has such a smooth play style, he can still get what he wants.

Yeah. He doesn’t play defense and it’s easy to score in this era

no, it’s absurd

How’s his team doing?

Sure. Bc his game is skill-based.

i never stopped believing in him

Harden is a generationally elite offensive player despite the narrative around him being that he’s a chucker, flopper, etc.

The man is a top 10 (at least) offensive player ever.

im still on Harden island and not surprised at all. I should look at HOW hes scoring this, is he still getting people to buy on fakes and doing stepback 3s? how much of these pts are drives? if hes driving thats a great sign. just wait until hes a corner 3 and uhhh D? guy and plays till 45

Yeah because he’s been a great player every year so far. He has never once looked washed

If you told me the clippers were 11 games under .500 it would make sense

Not Daryl Morey.

I didn’t think he’d be this good that’s for sure, that’s honestly bluffing.

He’s like KD. The buckets will always be attainable. Unlike KD he is a horrible defender and costs his team on the other end.

Just give him time to get into his playoff mode for him to come crashing down.

Call me when it’s game seven in the playoffs and he puts up these numbers. Seriously, the league is so soft… congrats on your regular season numbers.

I mean, it’s significantly easier to score nowadays

Because stats are inflated what aren’t you guys understanding

This is just one example of this

Talent in this era isn’t far superior than other eras, its on par or slightly above

Its just that Adam silver has inflated scoring by having referees be very strict against defenders, while bending over to the offenses

Kobe and MJ would legit average 40 in this league, no joke

Harden putting up big numbers but losing?

No one could have predicted that lol.