Harden has had some really strange playoff performances. My theory is he gets stressed and compensates by clubbing, smoking, drinking which for a professional athlete who depends on finely honed motor skills is an unmitigated disaster. That's the past. At present, so far, this is one of his best playoff starts, BUT in the last three games especially, there have been flash backs to the past. Harden is very skilled but I think that he has solidified his rep as a playoff "choker" so far as the media is concerned. We love him, but it is what it is. Sports media is very predatory.
I'd like to give him an A-, but since that's not a choice, had to give him a B simply cuz he couldn't make shots in games 3-5. Especially last night, there were shots in the 1st half where it just seemed like he was just forcing shots. He played his a** off in every other aspect and affected the game in a positive way on the defensive end. Not taking everyone else's performance into account, he's gonna need to shoot at a minimum 43% from the field, and 35% from 3 if they're gonna have a chance against GSW (or maybe even LAC)
There’s literally a handful of people in the world that can do their job at an elite level. They’re both extremely intelligent.
I'm kind of in the "B" camp. Solid play all around, focused defense, some offensive sloppiness with the turnovers etc. Seemed to get flustered by the cover-Harden's-ass defense. But all in all a solid series. He'll need to stitch together an entire series of uninterrupted excellence, though, to get to the conference finals and beyond.
C. Maybe my expectations have become to high. If we are putting Harden in the same class as MJ or Kobe then he HAS to make more big time shots in the playoffs. The argument that Utah’s scheme bothered him is a valid point. But teams do unconventional things to try to stop truly great players. This is not new. Teams loaded up up to stop MJ(Jordan rules), Dream sometimes got quadruple teamed ect. The best of the best get it done no matter the defense, no matter what pressure they face. I watched D Wade carry his team, making clutch shot after clutch shot to a title averaging an astonishing 37 ppg. Once these type of players reached their primes, it seemed liked they took their game to some magical level come playoff time. I expect the same from James. I LOVE James Harden and I will defend him to no end. But he cannot shoot this poorly, miss dunks and layups, or get his shot blocked as many times as he did and still be considered to be among the all time greats. Is that fair? I guess that’s for each fan to judge on their own. James set the bar pretty high for himself after an incredible and historic season. This dude is a scoring machine. So yes I want to see flat out Jordan, Kobe, Dream, Bird killer mode for the rest of these playoffs. He is in his prime and he is too good not to.
B - thought it was solid, overall. Great first two games, then he got really affected by a top NBA defense, that has a mammoth center inside to disrupt his newly added floater. The thing is, excluding game 4, he hit big shots, was good on defense and showed poise to not get totally down on his shooting woes. We need a A from him vs the Warriors, but the good news is they are not as good defensively as the Jazz.
I think the reality is the way Harden has to score is more difficult that other more athletic/longer super stars. I still feel like he doesn't diversify his offense enough for easier shots. The step back 3 is a hard shot to make consistently especially the defense tunnels on it. The floater is also a hard shot to make on a consistent basis. I think Harden has the tendency to keep shooting the same shot until he scores mentality which is why he can literally go 3 for 18 on three pointers. Someone needs to get in his ear when he tunnels on offense and tell him to shoot the open midrange, maybe do a little postup, maybe run him a play for a mid range. Maybe a cut to the rim.
I was leaning towards B but went A for a few reasons: 1) Utah planned their whole strategy against stopping Harden. We still beat them in 5 games. Even though Harden shot poorly, he's a huge part of the reason we gentlemanly swept them. 2) His D. Commentators kept saying "Why doesn't Gobert just take it to Harden?" I think he can sometimes but other times it's ineffective. Harden can D down low. And his stls/blks were big. 3) Harden played big in the 4th quarters. I think he may have been saving up a bit for the fourth quarters. We won, so if he did do that then it was the right strategy. 4) I didn't see any big meltdowns from Harden. Teams always try to flop and draw the offensive foul from Harden. Harden didn't get frustrated and give these up. He was composed even when his shot wasn't falling. This is HUGE for us going forward. Especially when he drives, gets mugged in the lane, and the refs refuse to call a foul. That's very frustrating but Harden kept his cool. 5) Harden made good decisions. He's learning when he has to take over a game and when to defer. That's a big deal.
say, aren't you the bad juju guy? what's the meaning of an F? not sure I get the jinx anti-jinx chemistry on this one. need a ruling
I think a B is fair considering his regular season play as the benchmark. He struggled with shooting (granted the Jazz D is really good) at times, but his defense was solid and he made plays when it counted in crunch time (game 3 three pointer, game 5 clutch strip of Gobert and hitting he free throws to win it). He did what he had to do to win on both offense and defense.
I think tighter defenses in the playoffs makes it harder for him to score because he isn't athletically explosive. He also feels that he needs to live up to his well deserved MVP performance. If you give him some room against anyone in the playoffs, he will dump 30-35 at an efficient rate every night, even 40 without much effort. He is working harder on defense, I appreciate that.
This a terrible comment from anyone who calls themselves a Rockets fan or even reasonable human being.... Smarts or intelligence can be measured in many ways.....one way is through monetary compensation and education levels in respect to one's field.... We can track at least some portion of Morey's and MDA's incomes.....Would love to hear how yours stacks up to each of theirs...and my guess is that by this measurement you should not be questioning how smart they are or saying either is dumb. Regarding education levels....how does Morey's stack up against yours? How does MDA's years of experience in his given field compare to yours? Yeah, let's keep acting and believing you have a right to call either dumb and question their intelligence. Lastly.....this is basketball not boxing.....nice try.....but you are making an incongruent argument.....go watch more boxing if you want to.
B- as a homer, C as a realist. Harden isn’t a normal superstar. Dude averaged 36ppg in the reg season...that’s insane and shows what he’s capable off. Obvious drop off but he needs to stay focused and composed.
Grade A for Thicc for being that defensive Captain and rebounder in clutch..... and doing blu collar work night in night out. Getting paid decently but not sufficiently. A momentum changer and a game winner for sure. Everyone still talking Harden but guess who is the Low Stats Superstar? Guess I am not Mainstream enough. (B plus for Eric Gordo. B+ for CP3)
haha, I just think Harden played like crap. The last 3 games were an absolute crapshoot and he contributed to that. Games 3,4,5 Harden looked nothing like Games 1 & 2 Harden.
