seems to be working this season though. I agree that the late game, walking the ball up the floor gets a little unnerving at times, but I suspect that methodical pace is how Harden and MDA prefer to set up the offense. I'm okay with it for the most part, those late game Harden ISOs make me crazy at times.
I've been saying this for the past 2 seasons... If you look at his body right from OKC to now, he's put on some pounds. Of course, a good amount of it is muscle but you can see some of the added weight on his face. He's around the point in his career that he should think about trimming down a little bit. There's no way he'll be able to keep up this level of play, the minutes he plays and the amount of games he plays by carrying 10-15 pounds of added weight. I think he still has 2 or so years of being able to play at his current body measurements but when he gets around 30, it'll be time to trim down fast. Kobe started trimming down around 30. LBJ did it a little sooner, even better. Duncan started a couple of years after 30 but when he did, he added another 3 years to his career. Someone that didn't trim down was Tracy McGrady. He kept adding weight, slowly, but look what happened, by the time he was 30, he was almost completely washed up. Harden needs to be a Kobe/LBJ/TD than McGrady please, and this comes from a big fan of Tracy..
he only has 2 chins so until he has 3 like murray i say keep eating those cheeseburgers and pass me some
No, i mean, in games like those, he didn't even need to be quicker, when you face a team with no defense/intensity it's obviously going to be easy, it's when you need to move more, and on both sides, that maybe more mass/weight can be a negative
Also, this is one of the reasons why Harden doesn't (and can't) play off the ball. He's simply not agile enough to shake off his defenders without the ball.
Except when Harden loses weight, he loses his ability to outpower his opponent and bump them off (which has always been his biggest advantage). Harden has never been the hyper explosive, Westbrook type player. He has always been slow and methodical, using his strength force defenders out of position. Don't forget, Avery Bradley wasn't able to trouble Harden much in terms of scoring and that was only 2 games ago.
Yep, but he was able to outpower his opponent even 3 years ago, i'm just saying that maybe he can try to have a better balance with his body (if that's even possible)...it would be nice to know how much weight he had 3/4 years ago and how much he has today
Harden can still lose some fat while maintaining the muscle mass. OP is right in pointing out that when Harden was playing with Parsons and Lin he looked a lot better physically, and he's still relatively young so there's no reason to be this slow or lethargic. It's one of the reasons why people think he's lazy; it's really just that he's slow.
He needs to cut out the behind the back passes and the excessive step back 3's otherwise nothing wrong with his game.
Harden needs to include more mid-range game into his repertoire when the 3s are not falling. Seeing him regularly go 2/11 behind the three point line is so frustrating, when at least half of those shots could've been mid-range jumpers which Harden usually hits with high percentage.
Is the poster being paid millions of dollars to stay in elite shape? I would be in elite shape if I was paid 1/20th the salary of Harden's.
He played too many minutes tonight, D'Antoni usually plays him 36, with rests at 9 mins in the 1st and 3rd quarters, but he played longer than that. DD
This is Harden's first game as a Rocket. Not only does he obviously appear much leaner but also look at how quick he moves. Look at how much more elevation he has in his lay ups and jumpers. His release is even quicker. Everything about his movement seemed to have more purpose to it. His feet moved much quicker. He even has an explosive second jump too. He's regressed athletically far too much for only 4 years and a lot of it has to do with his added weight. He's only 27, not 35. Here's his second game also as a Rocket for more evidence. He looks like a different player.
Should probably gain another 10/15 pounds. But he should really lay off partying before games ( sauces)
