It depends on what the teams needs, but yes, Blake is highly overrated. He's an explosive dunker, not much else.
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prime manu at one point was no.2 sg behind kobe.....
is harden going to reach that? where one day he be top3 sg for a season?
Manu and its not close. Harden is a very good doppelganger when it comes to 1 on 1 play, but its Manu's courtvision and feel that elevate him to top 3 status when he's on. 2005 Manu was that guy and 07 Manu was close.
fear the beard
Harden is great... he has the tools physically but Manu is on another level mentally, thus giving him a one of the bigger offensive arsenals i the league and great defensive anticipation. Harden could never be a first option like Manu could in his prime. We can go on about the olympics and accolades, but I'll save my breath for something that seems redundant. The only thing Harden will get as a similarity would be stats to Manu and it wouldn't be an stretch to play the injury card when 2005 was the standard.
I'm sorry that's not even debatable. Manu in his prime.....remember that game against the suns when he scored 54 I think was? Harden could never do that. Gino just has this crazy competitive edge that few have ever had. It's on par with Jordan, Kobe and Bird. He has this fire within that few have ever had. Fuck in his prime I'd take him over Harden now and whatever Harden ever becomes. Hands down.
I believe he scored 47 or 48 points against the Suns, he never got past 50.
That also happened in a 2 over time game against one of the highest scoring teams of this era. You can't claim that just because he scored those points he is better, he was at his prime around that time though.
It's about how he carried the team and came up with points when we needed them. They knew who we were going to and he killed them. The killer instinct. The way he did it. When he had to when we needed it. Jordanesque. Kobesque. Harden cannot do that. He's a young Jason terry.
Don't get me wrong guys. I like Harden and I think he's a great player. I just don't think he has what Manu has inside. That's just MHO.
Question better asked in a few years once Harden has hit his prime. This is only his third year in the league and he's only 22. For all we know he could go on to win x5 6th man of the year awards and multiple NBA Finals MVPs.
Manu and harden are comparable as middle usage, Super Efficiency guys. Offensively, it's a wash, their teams are amazing with them on the court, even if they aren't always the ones scoring.
Defensively there is a difference, which is why Super Manu is ahead. Harden could get there though.
Can Harden handle the pressure of the ball in a game 7 of the finals in the final minutes? today i can't really think he'd even had the opportunity
I remember I was kinda rooting for that trade which would send Manu to Wizards to get their high lottery pick. I wanted to draft Harden at the time, but they got 5th in lottery, which meant no Harden.
Most of the people in this thread haven't watched Harden play very often, tbh..
Right now, Harden is better than Ginobili..Manu is old, and while he's still a very good player, he's not physically reliable, at this point..also, we have yet to see Manu play at his usual level on a consistent basis, since returning from injury..
They're very comparable players, as jester pointed out.. they're both extremely efficient, they've both accepted the role of 6th man, they're both great passers that you can run a versatile offense through..
Ignoring clutch play and intangibles, since Harden hasn't reached that point of his career, the primary difference between the two players is that prime Ginobili was a very good and underrated defensive player, while Harden is a notably poor defensive player..
Amazing how many of you forgot what a healthy Manu was like. I thought this question was a joke.
Manu.
Not even a close comparison. Manu all the way!
My 2nd favourite Spur of all time.
No contest.
First time seeing him play was a bit like Neo seeing the Matrix.
I'm also a lefty, and he made me see what can be done inside the court as a daredevil slashing, passing guard.
He has natural flair in his game. It's not hotdogging or trying to being cute.
It's just naturally amazing to watch.