Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle compares Michael Jordan, James Harden

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Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle compared the play of Michael Jordan and James Harden.

Featured as he was in “The Last Dance” documentary for a few moments trying to defend Michael Jordan, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle used his unusual position to offer a comparison of James Harden’s scoring with Jordan’s.

The greatest difference, he said, is with the style of play of the times. But he said Harden is among the all-time greats.

“Pound for pound, Harden is one of the best scorers in the history of basketball, up there with all the greats,” Carlisle said. “You look at the number of points he’s averaging, it’s breathtaking what he’s done over the past couple of years.”

Harden went into Friday’s game averaging 34.4 points per game after averaging 36.1 last season. He is on pace to be the first player to average 34 or more points in consecutive seasons since Jordan in 1986-87 and 1987-88.

“In terms of the number of points and the efficiency, there are many comparisons,” Carlisle said. “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.”