This is only a point to make if Harden has never had a good post-season performance. He has. The mistake you guys are making is not realizing that those guys you put over Harden have failed pretty hard in big games too.
No I'm actually smart, I have a PhD and everything. No quotation marks needed. Thanks for the heads up though.
Thanks man, I mean, I even made an acknowledgement slide thanking clutchfans for helping me through those dreary times in the program. Heck, I invited @topfive to my defense. We'll get them next year.
I was honored and really wish I could have been there. NEXT time, when you get another Ph.D., I'll be there!
God, never again. That was the longest most soul sucking experience for such a little payout. So not worth it. But... If going back meant the rockets would win a championship, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Oh good, I'm glad you picked up on the condescension that was focused on missing that reference completely. I feel better.
The smart thing to do for you heart and overall health would be to drop 20 to 40 pounds. I have seen your pictures and am willing to bet your dissertation was not on nutrition. Protip from a Chemical Engineer right there, smart guy.
While I'll admit that I was not onboard with the hiring of D'Antoni (because I knew his track record and basketball philosophy), I was willing to wait and see just how this team playing his style of basketball would fare in the playoffs. I believe that in one of my posts, I likened this season to a "science experiment". As the season progressed, I began to notice that MDA consistently spoke about offense and rarely even mentioned the "D" word. OK, fine, we'll play it your way Mike. The Rox start the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, faced OKC and dispatched them primarily because of their poor defense and bad coaching by Donovan. Now, I knew that SA was going to be a different animal - especially with Pop as the opposing coach. Anyone who has watched the Spurs over the years knows that their No 1 priority is to take away what you do the best. You would also know that in 3 of their 4 games during the 2016-17 season, the Rox were held to 100 points and lost. So clearly, Pop had the framework of a workable defensive strategy for the playoffs. Now what I find to be instructive here is that MDA did not recognize this and make the necessary adjustments in his approach which ultimately proved to be fatal. And a lot of the more level-headed posters here who are pointing this out aren't gloating but rather are being sadly realistic. Anyway, the Spurs knew that Harden was the key - EVERYTHING they (Rox) do revolves around his style of play. His getting to foul line, driving the lane getting layups, passing off to wide open shooters in the corners, playing the PnR - he was the main cog in their offense. So you find a way to take him out of the equation and make the others beat you and that's exactly what the Spurs did. They made a deliberate effort not to send Harden to the FT line by keeping their hands up and not getting caught reaching in. They did not leave the Rox shooters open at the 3 pt line. So once they found a way to defense Harden's PnR with just two players, it was basically over. MDA never countered this tactic and then when Nene went down, he made another critical error by shortening his bench (instead of playing Dekker and Harrell more). What we saw last night was simply the endgame as far as the Spurs were concerned: Harden was getting pummeled inside and forced into playing defense on bigger, stronger players which took its toll on his game. By doing so, you saw the Spurs do to the Rockets what they'd done in other big games. It's what they do which is why Pop has now beaten every team in the Western Conference in a playoff series and Pop is now 5-0 in playoff series against MDA for a 20-6 postseason record. As I said: It's what they do.
The nuthuggers dont like it when they are proven wrong... When they have to deal with actual RESULTS rather than trumped up stats... I blame it on that whole 'everybody gets a trophy mentality'.... cause that aint how the real world works... They just can't deal with criticism and acknowledging that their team/player isnt the greatest thing since sliced bread - and that there's a lot more work to be done! Stats do not equal rings - accept it... and save your adulation for an actual accomplishment. I'm not a hater and would've loved nothing more than for this to be a championship season... but I dont believe burying ones head in the sand and denying any shortcomings is the route to success... and i'm tired of people criticizing for levying legitimate concerns....
Real, smart fans recognize the positives and don't hang on every little flaw b****ing and whining ad nauseam about them. We see all the good things that have happened in this season, the first under MDA and Harden's new position. We look forward to the Rockets getting better next year. Harden is a legit top 5 player. Anyone with half a brain knows this. Does he has his flaws? Of course, no one is perfect. Do we wish the series ended differently? Absolutely. Doesn't change the fact that Harden still had a hell of a season and some great games during the playoffs. There is a difference between us smart fans and your type of pathetic haters. Smart fans love Rockets and we love Harden for taking us farther than any player since Yao Ming. Haters like you, kjayp, and others SALIVATE at the thought of Harden doing poorly so you guys can come out of your shanties and scream "I TOLD YOU SO!" to the high heavens. You know what the difference between us and you? What we rejoice and hope for aligns with the Rockets best interest. You? You are the dirtiest turd at the bottom of a filthy porta potty.
