cmutt taking it way too far, but he made a good point: Bledsoe’s confidence and sense of dominance carried over to the team, got the crowd into it and if you don’t understand that Harden and the Rockets should’ve at least tried to go at him more, play tougher D and shut him down, then I don’t know what to tell you.
My thoughts: -Milwaukee is tough, and is a lot more than just Giannis. -Gonna have to play mistake free and hit shots to win. -Officiating was bad. Harden probably should have had 4 more shooting fouls and 7-8 more points. -Can't make stupid mistakes on transition passing. We lost 6-8 points on silly turnovers in transition after defensive stops. -Have to win the shooting game. They hit open shots, we didn't. We hit two more shots, they hit two less, that's a 12 point swing.
Sadly this is about the way we have been playing since Memphis. Harden has been covering up a lot of glaring issues. If he can’t get his scoring average, we are in trouble
Give us that chance and I'll take it, every single time. It is so incredibly difficult to get to the Finals, especially from the West. Difficult for every team in the WC playoffs. Difficult for us, for Oakland, for OKC, for SA, for Portland, for every team that wants a chance to play for the title. They all want that chance and will fight to get it. We went to 2 Finals in the '80's and lost each time, but it was a great ride, both times. A decade or so later, we went to two more, and won two championships. I don't care who we play for the trophy that means everything. I could care less. We have to get there first, and if we do, and we're healthy, I like our chances. It's what you work for all season, to have that chance. It ain't easy.
That's possible, I may have emphasized the point a bit strongly, but I do honestly believe that Hardens' history in this regard is very important. Character and personality are vital traits when it comes to champions. CP3 and Harden have been under the microscope by most of the national media, NBA experts and analysts for many years now... and they've been making these same observations and raising these same questions. What I find strange and sad though, is that so many people take such offense to these questions and points being made about Harden. Almost everyone agrees that Harden is highly skilled and that he has great talent. But when his mental toughness and character are questioned, people get so up in arms and defensive. That's why I said I liked your post, and that I wished more people would open their eyes and their minds. These are legit questions and issues.
Given the apocalypse today, I decided to lay down 224k and secure my spot in Vault 106. I've just been flipping a coin on it. But I feel good I done it and secured my future with Vault Tec.
Here is something to ponder. The Bucks played without two of their better 3 point shooters. The NBA is no longer Golden State and everyone else. There are a lot of exciting young teams that are now a major threat to the Warriors. The Rockets really aren't one of those rising teams. The Rockets are just trying to hang on to being a contender. This may be the Rockets last year to really contend for a while.
28-2 fast break points for Bucks over Rockets (triggered by missed 3's and drives to the basket with refs swallowing their whistle) 60-46 rebounding edge for Bucks over Rockets Gordon/Tucker 1-16 in 3's. Bledsoe elevating his game. He isn't a good 3pt shooter but hit them. MDA getting out coached. No adjustments. LAZY turnovers. Rockets can't inbound the ball now? These are NBA players? Not adjusting to the pressure? Really? Rockets had A LOT of self inflicted wounds here. Bucks stepped up and took advantage so credit them. Morey built the Rockets to beat the Warriors. If they get past the Warriors they will have to deal with the Bucks.
Also, GM of the year to the Bucks GM. I don't care about Lakers getting LeBron. Or even Elton Brand making his trades for Butler/Harris. Bucks GM did all of the little things with that roster. Coach Bud for coach of the year. Really hats off to the Bucks in general. All the right moves.
No offense... But that's a regular season game bro. Nothing of any true significance is on the line. As many others have been saying... he NEEDS to do this in a BIG TIME, MAJOR, SERIES DECIDING game in the post season. Trust me bro, I desperately WANT him to do it, and I'm rooting for him to do it. But the facts are the facts, he has faltered and failed to perform in almost all of the big post season games in his career. 10 years now. He has to do it when it matters most. MVP's, scoring titles, and records won't mean a damn thing if he under performs or wilts in the playoffs throughout his career. That's all we're saying.
w I never expect Harden to explode in the playoffs, but this poor performance exposes his mental fragility again, despite his big gains this year. James needs to fight back by being aggressive. What I mean by that, is to use all the tricks he has in his bag, without worrying about the outcome. He can't show regression on defense too.
If the Bucks want to play us this way. I'd take the Bucks in the finals a heartbeat. They should have been crushed for using that defensive scheme.
Weird how people still talk about Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, Karl Malone, etc etc etc etc even though they didn't win titles. I want Harden to win a title. I want the Rockets to win a title. But defining a superstar simply by the title's he's won is short sighted. It's hard to win titles. The man has been to two WCF's and pushed the best team every assembled further than anyone else has. He's by any metric one of the TOP 5 OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF ALL TIME. All time. Ever. Come on dude. Edit: The Bucks were in try hard mode yesterday. The Rockets were waltzing. Rockets know who the real boss is at season's end. That's where their mind is at.
What I saw last night was eerily reminiscent of how Seattle gave us fits back in the day and seemed to be everywhere at once. To make matters worse, the bucks do it legally.
Yeah, but my point wasn't about whether Harden put up points or stats VS the Bucks, in a regular season game... The point is that Harden let another player, a non-superstar player, intimidate him, bully him, and disrespect him... and that can't happen in ANY game, ever. Losing the game isn't the problem or worry... it's how Harden lost his self respect and his confidence... and thus, how the team is affected by that. Truly great players NEVER let themselves get disrespected or punked in any game, that's why Bird and the Celtics would get into fights with Dr. J and the Sixers even in preseason games. That's why players like Jordan, Kobe, etc. NEVER let any other players get into their heads and dominate them. I don't think I can make the point any more simple than that. If some people still can't see it... they just can't.
