Not if they had traded for Lin obviously. Doh! Man, limping into the playoffs right now at under .500. If they manage to get into the playoffs, I don't feel good about any matchup...period
I wanted them to tank and get the pick. Now that the morons decided to make a weak push for a higher seed, I want them to fall into 8th because whether we sweep or get swept, it will be a great painful learning experience for Harden.
He doesn't strike me as a person who is shouldering the blame for this season's disappointments thus far.
what learning experience. there's nothing left to learn in the playoffs for him. It's either you win or not at this point
You would have thought committing 13 turnovers in game 5 against GSW last year would have been a painful learning experience.
We want that 14th pick! Spoiler So many still drinking the kool-aid. There is no magical run coming(for the 6th seed or a "deep" playoff run) There is no magical on/off switch that they haven't flipped to on yet.
If they want that, they are asking for an embarrassment. Also, I know they may be saying, "Any thing can HAPPENING."
That dude ain't learning nothin and can't be told nothin! He's this generation's Allen Iverson... great stats and ability, but won't ever get a ring... "Those that mind don't matter and that matter don't mind..." pretty much wraps up this dude's mentality... and when you're pullin in millions, there's no motivation to change... smh...
Ah sure I guess.... If we lose it will be quick and painless..... If we win it will be glorious.... I'm fine with either....
I'm hoping that's the strategy. Odds are so low to win a title, maybe best to risk falling to 9th while striving for 8th. Would rather lose to Warriors, and perhaps rox chances are better vs Warriors than other teams sans Memphis. Got to go through Warriors regardless, better to lose to Warriors in first round than 2nd
It was. It took Hakeem several heartbreakers to get his first ring. Things don't happen overnight just because the armchair coaches decree it. The combination of coming in out of shape, pushing to fire McHale apparently, getting zilch results from JB being promoted (which I'm sure he was ecstatic about), and then the former and likely future MVP buries his 8th seed team. And it's exactly the team he had 13 turnovers against and got bounced from the WCF. Believe me, it will reasonate. Harden, I've noticed, has a habit. He is stubbornly against criticism at first, but after some time he quietly re-analyzes the feedback he's getting from media, coaches, players. He is an elite LEARNER (for lack of better vocabulary). He will be fine, and he will change. He HAS changed. His sharing of the ball has improved, his decision making on when to attack/distribute is on fire, and his defense is less atrocious than it was earlier this season. Yeah, no. That's factually incorrect. There are things to gain for the future in loss, even if nothing is immediately gained. He has been prolific at improving after having a down season/stretch dating back to his college days. Not exactly sure what you're saying here. Do you mean, you don't think this season is his fault? or do you mean, he doesn't seem to care about the season? If it's the former, I agree. This season is not just James Harden's fault. If it's the latter, doesn't matter. Appearances are deceiving. We don't know these guys that well. He could be drinking away his pain, or drinking just to party. All we know is what he does on the court and for the team. So if scoring a basketball is any indication at all of how you want to help fix things, then he is killing it. News Alert: Every NBA player is pulling in millions, only a handful of them have the on court impact of James Harden. Allen Iverson went to the Finals btw with a horrendous team. If Harden can carry a ****tier team than the current Rockets to the Finals, I'll take it. This guy finished 2nd in the MVP race last season, and 1st in players MVP voting. Players who hear scouting reports about Harden. Who hear about his lifestyle. His practice habits. See him on the court at least a few times a year, on TV a bunch more times. Even if he didn't learn a single thing past what he knows/does right now, you would be begging to sign him to the MAX once you realize an NBA team's paltry chances of landing a superstar without multiple top 5 picks.
actually its fairly correct. hes tasted every level of the playoffs and has seen every round. like i said its either you win or you don't now. This "learning" experience you seem to still believe in is not that relevant any longer. There's nothing left to see in the playoffs for him have it become some new learning experience. Unless you think being demolished and swept 4-0 in round 1 by one of the best teams in history is going to teach him something.
Its an insult to compare dream to Harden, please stop right there. When did dream ever in his career became a laughing stock in the league for being completely garbage in particular area of his game and when did dream ever been questioned about his efforts on the floor? Stop comparing to a HOF player when the player you mentioned has been frequently questioned about his efforts on the floor.
the lower seeds in the playoff should be a race to the 7th seed. no one wants to be on the wrong side of history by being an 8th seed vs the warriors. hope rockets acknowledge this, but they're so stupid. i dunno
Harden looks like a quitter. He'll just go to LA, MIA or NY for a max deal when he gets tired of losing here even if it's his fault. He's not about that life like Dream was.
No, listen. It's incorrect. Not just related to this topic but also in general in human history and for the rest of eternity, humans will learn from even repeating the same mistake more than once - although the mistakes that led to us being bounced from the playoffs have nothing to do with what caused this season. The irony here is that Harden has been jaw-droppingly good at displaying this prior to this season. James Harden has been an underdog his whole life. This was the first time in his life that he was awarded king status, highly praised roster, tremendous off court success, media buzzing, players crowning him MVP. He did not prepare for this. He ****ed up. It happens. There is nothing to learn just because you play in the playoffs. What there is to learn is another close look at how the Warriors play a series. A lesson in how it's stupid to think the team can just turn it on in the playoffs and have a chance. A definite answer on whether it's good for your buddy to be the coach. It's also another look at what kind of coach him and Durant have been lacking all these years. I know you're mad at this season and I'm mad with you, but you're not making an argument here. You're just repeating a fallacy. Your argument is that if we went to the WCF again and lost to the Warriors 4-1 again there will be no lessons learned. There is not a single basketball expert who would agree with you. It's a preposterous notion. It's like saying atoms don't exist. There's just nothing to discuss there. If what you were saying was true, there would be no Hakeems and no Jordans and no Shaqs. These guys took a long time to pick up their first rings, and they stupidly allowed opportunities to slip over and over again. Hakeem famously was considered a bit of a black hole, and that's part of what held his teams up for so long. Poor coaching, poor rosters. Same story. Kept repeating the same mistakes and he LEARNED. He learned big time. From doing the same thing wrong over and over. People learn and grow, this is how people work, and I'm sure you either know but are mad, or you're very young and need to learn things too (don't mean this as an insult at all).
I'll just wait for the 99'ers to come in here and school you guys up on pre-championship Hakeem. The up and down MVP candidate, early boomer, accused of not making his teammates better, stubborn about so many things. It's not insulting at all to compare Harden to pre-championship Hakeem. It's actually a really good comparison.
