Photo Credit: AP Photo/Craig Lassig
Rick Carlisle Puts James Harden In The Same Sentence As Michael Jordan In Terms Of Scoring
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle knows a thing or two about being a top-tier scorer in NBA history, and he believes James Harden already belongs on that level.
Carlisle, who had a first-hand experience of taking buckets from arguably the best scorer of all-time in Michael Jordan, paid some huge compliments to the Houston Rockets superstar by putting him in the same sentence as the 10-time scoring champion.
Per Texas Sports Nation:
“Pound for pound, Harden is one of the best scorers in the history of basketball, up there with all the greats,” Carlisle said, via Jonathan Feigen of Texas Sports Nation. “You look at the number of points he’s averaging, it’s breathtaking what he’s done over the past couple of years.
“In terms of the number of points and the efficiency, there are many comparisons. The dynamics of the game when Jordan played were different. There wasn’t as much emphasis on the 3. Michael Jordan operated in a lot of different areas on the court. So, the game looked different back in those days.
“I have no doubt that if Jordan was playing today, his game could look any way he wanted it to look to score the ball and do what was necessary to win games.”
Carlisle didn’t further detail the Harden-Jordan comparison, but the implication was clear that Harden’s scoring ability definitely warrants a bit of comparison to Jordan despite the difference in style of play between both players and eras.
Despite Harden’s production in the past few years however, fans couldn’t help but criticize some parts of Harden’s game, particularly his evident foul-hunting and flopping tendencies. As a result, Harden somehow doesn’t get the credit he truly deserves.
Harden has taken his game to new levels over the past couple of years. Last year, Harden hit the 36.1 points per game mark which is the highest-single scoring average since Michael Jordan since 1987 season. Currently averaging 34.6 points per game this year, Harden is on the verge of winning his third straight scoring title.
