Trade Harden

EXACTLY. We lost the game but man, T-Mac did NOT quit. He was playing with a broken back and a bum knee and still put up 40, 10, and 5. So much heart.

I also support Harden and I think he will be different in the playoffs this year.

 

Not that this thread needs to keep going, but the thing that has bugged me about it is this. How do we know he quit?? Um, because we watched the game. There's not a million possibilities as to why he sucked. He didn't just go from being awesome, our clear #1 guy, clear top scorer, to taking ZERO shots in the first quarter and only two in the first half, despite not being double teamed. And being disinterested and disengaged the whole game.

To be fair, there are SOME possibilities. Some have pointed to the possible concussion in Game 5. Ok, that seems plausible. It's just frustrating after the game 6 loss, if he had a concussion, he was out partying late into the night at clubs and strip clubs.

But if there's an answer that doesn't involve him quitting in some way, I guess that's it. Unless someone slipped him a roofie or something, lol.

Otherwise, it's indisputable. He quit.

There have been a lot of posts (mine included) beyond that talking about other players that might have quit before, or background as to WHY he might have quit. And that's fine. But it is what it is.

 

Haters gonna hate, miserable ****s.

 

Excellent post @Nook. Thanks for posting that. Jackie is an excellent source and the below recount makes a lot of sense to me.

 

Whoever made this thread... needs to catch these hands.

Meet me in temacula at 8pm on the dot.

I have to get my ONE with this fool ASAP.

ON SIGHT!

 

@Asian Sensation

 

I mean, the below recount might be correct, but it's also off base

Harden's best game of the playoffs was Game 3 against the Spurs. Or game 4, depending on what you value. So his best two game stretch was games 3/4. Both obviously after game 2.

That doesn't mean she's wrong. If the coaches saw something, and he was tiring down, he was tiring down.

It is kind of interesting though... given the specific mention of game 1 or 2 being the "turning" point where coaches could tell something was coming. It's not like he was logging huge minutes.

It could have been physical exhaustion... but it just seems strange. One of Harden's best traits has been his resilience. Rarely injured. Plays most games in a season. Etc. And again, he wasn't logging huge minutes. Enough, sure, but not consistent 40+ minute games. And they had nearly a week off between round 1 and 2.

Again, it's just weird. They have a week off, come back, Harden plays loose, puts up an efficient 20/14 in a game 1 blowout win (which I attended in SA...) and that's when coaches started noticing something???

I definitely agree with frustrated, didn't handle it well.

Fried, quit... again, its just trying to change the nomenclature. Those games, throughout much of sports history, are described as quit games. Cause/reason is useful to know (eg. he was fried), but don't change the outcome.

I mean, c'mon .... Did Magic have a WTF series in 84? Yes. In the clutch multiple times that series he made some VERY strange and bad plays. Of course he was already a champion and Finals MVP.

And on top of that, the actual game where he got the nickname Tragic Johnson, Game 4, he put up 20, 17 (assists) and 11 on 8-12 shooting. It was the 7 turnovers (including down the stretch of regulation, Lakers were up 5 with 1 minute to go and lost in OT) and missed FTs in OT that got him the moniker. Not apples to apples. It was much more a question of Magic's "clutchness" than overall play.

Also Game 4 was Magic's 18th game of the playoffs, and he ended playing 39 or more minutes in 14 of the 21 playoff games that year. [Harden put in 39 or more minutes in 3 of his 11 playoff games last year]. Granted, Magic played only 67 games in 83/84, though at 38 mpg.

But yes, there have been "quit" type games before, even by all time greats, so hopefully Harden's play in the playoffs this year and going forward makes us forget that.... as most people have forgotten Tragic Johnson, or glossed over not going to shoot Kobe.

---

Bigger picture regarding the rest thing... if James is either truly carrying such a huge load relative to all other superstar players that have played the game (admittedly he's higher than many offensively, but he puts very little effort in defensively)... OR if James is just unique in that they've found by the playoffs he's just worn down from either # of games played or minutes played or whatever... well, ok. HOPEFULLY they've figured that out this year. He will be at his lowest games played since 13/14 and his lowest mpg since 11/12.

 

Again, this is the first time since playing in OKC that he's had a legit team all around him. Harden was carrying some pretty mediocre talent for the last several years, and he's a great player, but he's not quite Lebron James (who also had some pretty questionable playoff performances -- again, remember 2010 and then 2011?).

Also, his best game in that Portland series was the one elimination game of the series... One that we coulda/shoulda/woulda won (ultimately, likely, winning the series) if not for the Lillard Miracle and some terrible defense by Parsons.

I'm talking about when you wanted to trade "James Frauden" during the 2015 playoffs... Far worse than being upset about Game 6 last year (which still, again, could have other explanations and is not remotely enough evidence to give up on a player of his caliber).

So did Lebron quit in 2011? Or Kobe in the 2nd half in 2006?

As long as your answer is yes, then at least you're consistent, and I can't really argue... Sometimes even all-world caliber players have inexplicably poor showings (or no shows).

 

fyi

@apollo33 - kmart only fan
@swyyyguy - mavs fan/never harden/jeremy lamb supernova fan
@JayZ750 - "trade harden for giannis & rebuild" fan

 

A 99er started this thread, I've lost respect to the status it means nothing.

 

So you're a bandwagon can? Because you basically quit on him by accusing him of being a quitter. Notice the irony?

 

So you're making excuses for McGrady in order to justify quitting on Harden in order to jump back onto the bandwagon?

 

Ok tmac1, brewergoAt,hardens beard, cheke, sir Ivy League, Lorna malvos and whatever other ids you use to troll about harden. Man you lin trolls are so obvious

 

Yes, LeBron DID quit in 2011 and Kobe DID quit in 2006. The difference is Kobe won 3 rings before he quit and 3 rings after he quit. LeBron also won 2 rings after he quit. This is why both of them get more slack than Harden for now.

Believe me, I used to be a big LeBron fan but then I HATED him after he let the Mavs win in 2011. I have since forgiven LeBron for beating the Warriors in 2016. I also respect LeBron for all that he does for the community and for paying for lots of kids' educations. LeBron does a lot for the culture.

 

Huh? I don't see why this is so hard for you to understand.

T-Mac lost in 2008 but went down fighting hard. Harden lost in 2017 but went down quitting. Whether you love or hate T-Mac and love or hate Harden, as a ROCKETS FAN, T-Mac's 2008 game 6 effort and performance was inspiring. Harden's 2017 game 6 was disappointing and infuriating.

I'm not making any excuses for T-Mac. He lost but he didn't quit. He showed so much heart and grit.

 

mavsprick never harden jeremy lamb superstar fan

so it's harden's fault he never had a championship team with the likes of Shaq/Wade/Bosuh built around him?

 

I don’t read this thread very often but it astounds me that people continue to say things like “he puts very little effort in defensively.” I don’t think you’re watching the same player that I’m watching.

 

nope. it's his fault he QUIT.

 

LOL mavprick wanna stay relevant

or want Jeremy Lamb back

go back under the the rock you crawled out from when Harden gets injured or another concussion