Actually that logic would only make him "one of the smartest" which I would never intentionally say or try to make that point FWIW. Also, I pointed out that it is a way to measure intelligence.....not the only way....I am exhausted by the criticism of our leadership's intelligence....criticize their decisions if you don't like them....but stop acting like they are dumb and that folks who post on a forum are smarter then them.....most, if not all, including myself, are not smarter than Morey and MDA....especially in world of basketball.
He managed to maintain his defensive intensity even when shots weren't falling. I've never seen him get more steals and blocks. He also somehow managed to be pretty clutch even in games in which he had been shooting terribly all game. But this would have been a sweep if we had gotten the James Harden we've come to expect. B. We're going to need him to get back to normal production if we're going to advance past the Warriors. It's very weird to me to see Durant and Lilliard scoring 40+ points left and right and Harden struggling to get to 30 some games.
AGREE....they have deficiencies….intelligence is not one of them. It is valid to criticize their philosophies and decisions….not their intelligence.... that is pretty shitty And call me sensitive, silly, and another name you like...but mine was a point not a belief.....
The entire game plan for the Jazz was to stop James Harden. Literally, the entire plan. I agree that Harden will need to score more and more efficiently against the Warriors, but he likely will. Every opponent is different. When you are calling Mike D'Antoni and Daryl Morey dumb, you really need some objectivity.
A- HARGOD spoiled us during the regular season and only showed up for 2 playoff games. Good to see him pick it up defensively and stay focused during his offensive drought. Time to put this rd behind us and focus on the worriers or clippers...
then no fan - including you - has the right to criticize any player or coach in the NBA. That's not what I see on this board or other places on the internet. Just because some people are more knowledgeable or have more status, doesn't make them immune to criticism. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has blindspots. That's what makes them human. You place way too much faith in the credentials in a nation run by Donald Trump. Give me a break.
No. Especially when the paint defender can easily block it. What Harden needs to do when these gimmick defenses are employed is when he is handed the ball on the opposite end of the court, instead of slow dribbling it up and letting defenses set, Harden needs to jog up and make the quick move to the right which the defense gives him so he has carried momentum to create separation from behind so he can have a clean open mid range pull up. When he slowly walks down and does that stationary slow dribble while the defense is guarding on his left hip or sometimes even completely behind him, he can't create the separation behind to take a clean mid range jumper without the possibility of the defender behind him swatting it. He needs a running start to create that space.
Forcing Harden into the paint by being behind him isn't ridiculous, it's just using geometry of the court to limit his offense, yet he still averaged 26 pts on the series. If he would've averaged 4 more points to make it 30 by having the refs call the usual fouls, I don't know if you'd really be mad at what he delivered. I'll give Harden an A or a B+, but it seems clear to me that Harden isn't getting calls for the fouls and that means his numbers will be usually lower.
Not sure how people can give Harden a C or less. He never got the freedom to play his own game. The Jazz focused solely on stopping Harden and not the other players. Yeah, his shooting could have been better in a few games, but he never really got the lane to run into because of Gobert guarding it.... and couldn't do his stepback 3 as he wanted. Plus, he isn't even getting the shooting fouls in the paint. I think he's only averaging around 7 free throws this playoffs. I'm pretty certain he'll dominate next round, simply because the other teams can't defend like the Jazz and that they don't have a player like Gobert blocking the lane. I gave him a B+. He's been pretty good overall, just not his overall best. But I'm sure that will change next round, because the rest of the teams will not guard Harden the same way (except maybe the Bucks).
Do you think it's a gaping blind spot in Morey's analytics philosophy to not consider the psychological aspect of the game? Do you think they should understand thank concept of "keeping defenses honest" more?
who other than maybe Rudy gobert and Giannis can block a floater? Seems like if they can block floater they can block fade away 2s from a 6'6 guard. Think about it.
If the key to stopping Harden is playing a gimmick defense of "this guy is essentially Ben Simmons of the mid range", that isn't exactly flattering in my opinion. When a defender is literally playing behind you on purpose, that's insulting to me and that should be a red flag to Harden where he should introspect and think "gee... Is my offense that freaking predictable"?
B. Struggled because of the weird defense thrown at him, but came through big when it really mattered.
When we're complaining about mid range shots are we talking about 3-10 feet because half the 2 point shots he took in the series are from 3-10 feet and the rest are at the rim. Why do we want him to take an inefficient long 2 to make the defense honest? I myself and the Jazz will let you take that long 2 all day long and continue to take away the 3 and the paint.
when you're that good, a team has to throw a completely new defensive look to stop you. That's the ultimate mark and compliment of a great player and speaks to harden's impact on the game these days.
How is "you are the Ben Simmons of the mid range" defense flattering? When defenders are literally guarding behind you on purpose maybe Harden should introspect on whether his offensive game is very predictable. The gimmick works because his offense is predictable.
First two games he was decent, but then got fatigued I think and played relatively bad. It was not mvp Harden for sure and he must be better in 2nd round
