I disagree that the amount of blame isn't important . Maybe not from us fans, but you certainly want management to find out EXACTLY what went wrong and who is more or less responsible . I think harden could have played better . However , i think it is more reasonable to say that as much as harden didn't demonstrate perfection .... others (among them CP3 and Clint) did even less to live up to their expectations . I don't think this is harden getting a pass for playing at 99% vs 100 % (just making up numbers) I think people's reluctance to criticize James has to do with the fact that he and pj were about the only guys to not completely **** the bed .
stop... they traded Derozan who is only an All-Star due to lack of talent in the East for top 5 player/superstar Kawhi...that is an enormous upgrade...of course they improved Harden isn’t a Demar Derozan, he is an MVP caliber player...u are not getting a better player than him or equal value back in return once Harden is gone we are most likely gonna be fcked
Kawhi was the primary defender on Draymond. Draymond did have 6 turnovers last night. Kawhi impacts the game in ways that don’t always reflect in the box score.
Somewhere, Morey will find 2 power forwards. They will be 6f 8inches, past their prime, slow , can't jump , but will be cheap. Maybe Morey can tell Tilman they went to the University of Houston. Then they will get a no cut contract, and a 1 million dollar bonus. I don't understand why Tilman will do anything for U. Of Houston, but treat the Rockets like an ex wife.
Yes it is, you see this board people talking about Harden and what he could have done more and how the offense was bad. It’s flat out untrue and not backed by numbers. Meanwhile our SECON and THIRD best player don’t show up(in Clint’s case shut down) and you expect to win.....nah it’s not happening. Though I could be understating Paul’s defense but I’m not entirely even Sure. about that
No he wasn't but he was very good. 29/6/6/2/1 on .538 TS% vs 20/7/5/2 on .522 TS% Both were pretty inefficient, but Harden def had more of a load.
for morey and co sure. and it should be. as far as wanting to just pile on everyone else as if harden couldn't have played better around here not so much.
Maybe it's easier for them to go off because Kawhi doesn't waste 8+ seconds walking the ball up and dribbling. And also Kawhi doesn't just stand at halfcourt when they have the ball.
there's nothing untrue about him being able to take over a game in the end. hes certainly capable but it wasn't done. the game is 48 minutes. not the first 30. the difference in winning and losing do come down to the final moments. its always been that way and even more magnified in the playoffs. if oracle harden this year ever showed up in the playoffs consistently, the league would be in trouble and the rockets would still probably be playing right now
Or maybe it’s because they have a center that can shoot and a 6-9 athletic scorer instead of a center who is a non-factor outside the paint and a 34 year point guard past his prime that can’t shoot or beat anybody off the dribble.
That’s fine, I’m just talking about in terms of shot creation Lowry does a lot more Than Kawhi. Watched Siakm maybe like 2-3 plays were affected by Kawhi,the rest were all him and he even got 14 boards and 5 assist to go with it. When is the last time anyone had that on our team(sams Harden)in the POs this year, almost none.
Rockets had won just 1 playoff series since 1997 before Harden arrived and were so irrelevant for many years, but we got people acting like good fortune might await us after Harden is gone nah, it’s right back to irrelevancy and being a team absolutely nobody cares about
Well sure he could have played better . I'm not sure how reasonable it is to expect him to play better . Sure there are a few situations in which I hope he will learn to make better decisions / maintain focus . But his play on the court is a function of the talent he plays with and the team he is facing as well . If CP3 stepped up or Clint was able to finish even half of the passes James got to him in the paint ... then that makes the game soooo much easier for James . I'll agree that harden wasn't perfect , but I dunno how much more we can expect . The question is , is it good enough ? And I think you have to say that the answer is yes . He dueled KD to a standstill in the first 4 games despite suffering an eye injury. Was by far our best option in game 5 , and was the only guy to show up in the first half of game 6 . Meanwhile he played incredible defense throughout the series . Pj was great , and tough Eric had an under appreciated series ... and playoffs . But James was so far and away our best player that it's actually sad . I'll agree with the letter of your post he could have played better . But **** man , he couldn't have played much better. And other guys clearly could and maybe should have
