Rockets vs. Lakers: Breaking down Harden vs. LeBron by the numbers

With the Houston Rockets facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, let’s compare James Harden and LeBron James to draw a conclusion of who the better player is.

Alas, it’s finally here! The Houston Rockets are set to face off against the Los Angeles Lakers, which may possibly be a Western Conference Finals preview.

Regardless of whether the two teams face off in the Western Conference Finals, it’s clear that the Rockets will have to get past the Lakers in order to make it out of the Western Conference. With the two teams going head-to-head on Saturday, it’s worth drawing a comparison of LeBron James and Houston Rockets superstar James Harden, who are two of the best players in NBA history.

Not only are both players legendary, they’ve also been two of the most disliked players the league has ever seen, as LeBron detractors feel he would never have a ring if he hadn’t joined other All-Stars such as Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving, and Harden haters feel he’s boring to watch and is “ruining the game”. Unfortunately for Harden, the slander doesn’t stop there, as there are basketball pundits who believe he disappears when the stakes are the highest, even though that’s incredibly erroneous.

Regardless of the narratives, it’s clear that each player will have to be at the top of their game for either team to win a championship, even though both the Rockets and Lakers each have a second superstar in Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.

With the highly anticipated Rockets/Lakers matchup finally upon us, let’s compare LeBron James and James Harden and see who gets the nod as the better player. Let’s get started.

Next: Scoring