Kevin Durant is right. We don’t appreciate James Harden’s skills enough

James Harden is a man with a reputation. Any discussion regarding the Houston Rockets’ superstar guard comes with caveats. He’s an elite scorer ... BUT his defense is a train wreck. He’s one of the game’s best ... BUT he doesn’t have the right mindset to be a leader instead of just a great scorer. It’s rare to have a conversation about Harden that doesn’t involve a “but ...”

Kevin Durant is not feeling this. Before Team USA’s exhibition against Nigeria at the Toyota Center in Houston on Monday, Durant took media and fans to task for failing to appreciate Harden’s greatness. The former teammates haven’t played together in years, but Durant decided that in Harden’s city, it was a good time to speak up.

“Nobody really appreciates what he does except for the players in our league,” Durant said. “Everybody on the outside doesn’t really appreciate what he brings. Anybody that can put up 29 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and not make the All-NBA team, that’s like a sin to even think about not putting a guy like that on the All-NBA team.

“As a player and someone that played with him and a fan of the game I was (angry) because somebody is right here in front of you and you can’t appreciate him. If he were to retire tomorrow, we would have so many stories and videos about how great he is, but he’s here right now doing it. Appreciate what he brings.”

Harden is one of the most productive players in the NBA, yet discussion surrounding his game almost always diverts to his defensive miscues. Despite leading the NBA in minutes played, field goal attempts, free throws made, free throw attempts and points scored during the 2015-16 season, he didn’t even make any of the All-NBA teams. The caveats can overshadow everything else he brings to the table.

That’s mainly because he does stuff like this sometimes:

That is a straight up embarrassing effort by Harden, but it’s interesting to see how these lowlights have shaped his defensive reputation. He’s like a shot blocker who earns a stellar reputation because his best plays are on SportsCenter even though his overall impact isn’t as significant.

Harden is closer to being “below average” than “complete and shameful disaster” on defense, so it’s telling that he’s usually described as the latter because his ugliest plays fit so nicely into Vines. When Harden was on the floor last year, the Rockets allowed 106 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. Without him, the number drops to 104.4, which is better, but hardly paints the picture of a defender who single-handedly torpedoes his team night in, night out.

This probably helps explain why players like Durant get frustrated seeing Harden piled on. The reality of his defensive ability is largely shaped by a few brutal, inexcusable plays that don’t reflect the thousands of minutes where Harden isn’t falling asleep or getting caught out of position as obviously. He’s gives inconsistent effort, sure, but he’s also unfairly painted as one of the worst defensive players the league has ever seen. Harping on his few zone-outs feels like nitpicking at a player whose greatest attributes still make him an overwhelming positive for his team every time he suits up for his team.

Of course, Harden is appreciated in a limited sense. He’s a four-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA team member and the face of the Rockets. He got his contract renegotiated back up to the maximum by Houston this summer -- they clearly appreciate him. And when his team was playing better in 2014-15 rather than flailing to a underwhelming 41-41 season last year, he got the All-NBA accolades that eluded him during a disappointing year.

Still, Durant has a point given the way we talk about Harden. Maybe it’s the defense. Maybe it’s because his style is predicated on attacking the basket and drawing free throws, which isn’t exactly glamorous.

But at times, it’s felt easy to focus on what Harden does poorly and what he’s failed to accomplish rather than appreciate how amazing it is that the former Arizona State star has evolved into one of the best scorers in the league. Since joining the Rockets, Harden has averaged 27 points per game on 44 percent shooting. Nobody in the league has scored more points over the past two seasons.

Harden might be flawed, but the criticism has gone too far. The larger narrative, at least to some degree, has began to revolve around his limitations and his lowlights instead of his supernatural scoring ability. That’s seemingly what set Durant off.

While Harden deserves some of the blame for last season’s disappointment, he also should get a lot of credit for his production. The problems in Houston went far beyond Harden, and that’s a big part of why the team shuffled so many pieces around him this offseason. They know he’s not the real issue. They know he’s their best shot at returning to relevance soon.

Harden’s reputation as an NBA superstar is at a crossroads right now despite all of that. He’s the star who can’t play defense and let his team finish .500 after opening the season with title aspirations. He’s the poster boy for the laziness on defense. And yet, he’s still the guy who just efficiently scored 29 points per game while playing every game of the regular season with a revolving door of supporting players. He’s still one of the most durable, productive NBA players in recent memory.

As KD said, it might be time to appreciate that a bit more.