Harden disinterested and at half court when Chris ran the offense

That Knicks team could not win against Bulls and Rockets because both Jordan and Hakeem were more talented than Ewing and the second best player on that Knicks team was John Starks lol...

And every single player (Ewing, Hakeem, Jordan) played ISO ball.

Thanks for still not getting it I guess. *sigh*

You made such an asinine claim in your orignal statement that you are are all over the place now trying to defend it.

 

The list of guys who didn’t need(or didn’t have) a ton of help to win can be counted on 1 hand.

 

Yes and All time greats, all of which played ISO ball.

I mean the offense that Rockets ran with Hakeem did exactly what the offense with Harden does.

Dump the ball to Hakeem and let him create his own shot or create an open look for others with 10 or more seconds off of the shot clock.

It wasnt some magical special sauce team ball movement that no one could figure out lol.

 

This is my biggest issue with Harden. It is a sign of poor leadership and the action implies that he doesnt care as much about winning. MDA has responsibility to address it.

 

This is an issue.

Harden will not win a ring playing like this.

 

For 7 years now all the stat dudes have proclaimed how Harden walks on water and to expect/ask anything more of him was ludicrous - and every year he has improved.... there is always room for improvement... Just because we do something well (or even better than everyone else) does not mean we should not seek to improve...

When looking at these stats you have to factor tons of stuff...

We are built for offense - at a detriment to rebounding and defense... when you build a team and run a rotation based on this emphasis - you better be performing at or near the top of the league... to compare our offensive efficiencies with other teams that potentially have a more balanced approach is short sighted...

I mentioned the time per possession (between CP3 and harden) with you in mind... I saw you had cited the time for each to proclaim that Harden doesnt hold the ball too long... c'mon... you cant really watch these games and have that impression... CP3 holds the ball while dribbling around the paint trying to find an opening - Harden oftentimes just burns clock while giving all the other defenders a breather... this is a prime example of where stats dont tell the whole story... how often does the other team come back running downhill because 4 of their guys just got to stand around catching their breath for the last possession? It may be called an isolation - but it doesnt happen in a vacuum...

and despite all these efficiency accolades - we still havent won it all - even with GSW being without KD... now one can say "oh well... they're one of the greatest teams ever with so many all-stars so losing is acceptable - there's nothing we can/should change..." but really... watching the games there were plenty of opportunities for us to step up and take the series - we didnt.... we typically played down to their level when they were struggling - and then lost when they found the right gear... c'mon no KD and Curry scoreless for a half - and we're tied - wtf is that?

Personally, I would say put another body or two on the floor that can effectively box out, rebound and defend - while continuing to push to maintain these offensive efficiencies that so many are enamored with - that will provide a truer read on our coaching and effectiveness...

 

Dude please tell me you're not comparing these players form of "isolation play" to this ISO **** we see from Harden...

 

It could also be that.

But if what Jalen is talking about is true (Harden is sort of unintentionally sabotaging Paul's offensive plays) it's a cyclical problem for Paul's numbers.

Paul is overpaid but we can weather his decline in scoring if he still architects good plays - which requires spacing.

I'm hoping this stuff is just overblown and the media needs stuff to talk about.

Also, my gut tells me that defense and rebounds are where a better (taller) roster construction can really help us improve. People are focusing too much on fixing the offensive side (and those things are legitimate too).

 

Dude, Hakeem was unstoppable, played with great competitiveness at all times. He was athletically gifted at both ends. Hardens offense is a gimmick and his defense is still horrible. He's a millennial cry baby that believes he's entitled. This dude can be great but missing heart, will, leadership, team play. Only delusional fans believe that he can lead us to a championship.

 

Did you forget that the Rockets didn't lose to the Warriors two years ago. It was the Kawhi-less Spurs. I agree that it's no shame to lose to the Warriors because of the talent gap. But don't assume that if the Warriors didn't exist, we would be a lock for the championship. That's just Rockets fans homerism.

I see two sides of this discussion.
The Harden critics blame Harden's style for losing in consecutive years in the playoffs.
The Harden apologists say that Harden has done all he could and we lost because the team just didn't have enough talents.

If we don't use the angle of putting blame, perhaps it will be more productive. No need to put all the blames on Harden. But also no need to give Harden a pass and blame the team other than Harden.

Instead of placing blames, we can focus on how the team can improve, and it isn't unreasonable to start at our best player. It is true that Harden has worked hard to improve himself every season, the stepback three, the floater, etc. That shows you that "Harden doesn't care " is just not true.

But did you notice that the improvements he worked on were all about how to make him a more lethal scorer. Maybe he should start thinking about working on how to create a better team system. How about working on a PnR where he is the roller instead of the ball handler? How about working on a off the back screen catch and shoot game? I am sure Harden is able to do whatever if he puts his mind to work on it.

 

I could see GSW making this assertion regarding our series... lol

 

Sounds like you just don't like the reason. It is unfathomable that he would not be more exhausted than every other superstar in the league. It is the only logical conclusion of the load he carries.

I know it doesn't suit your narrative, but at least come up with a rationale other than randomly calling it a "cop out".

 

Remember How Tmac did the same thing.

 

Keep in Mind that Dream set the Championship standard or example in this city. Thats the only way we know for sure will win. James has got to be in the plays to keep the defense honest
+

 

If he has enough energy to lead the league in unassisted stepback 3's, and the little shimmy's after the shot, he can stand in the right spot when someone else is dribbling. James Harden is selfish player who stops competing when things don't go his way

 

This narrative has too stop. There are times he's CLEARLY out there for the sole purpose of padding his stats. It's obvious. Yes he carried us while CP was hurt. But James Harden's ISO's are another way he can achieve his personal stats, while APPEARING like he really is trying 2 win

 

you know what my reasoning is. It's the glitch. It's crazy to me that all year the narrative is: "load management is stupid, he just loves basketball so much, blah blah blah". Then when it comes down to it and he lays one of his patented eggs its like : " oh well of course he was exhausted, its not his fault, usage rate blah blah blah. Not to mention it's impossible for me to agree that he is like the hardest working player in the league or something. Yes he has the ball in his hands, but huge chunks of that time are spent walking the ball up the court then doing dribble moves for 10 seconds. Then when he doesn't have the ball in his hands he stands around and barely moves. Im not even going to mention the other end of the court, because he has gotten better. I know at least one HOF pg that agrees with me on some of these points...(allegedly).

 

Things were going his way. Durant was down, we made a run. Non-sense that it's about things not going his way.

He is always a league leader in assists while simultaneously dragging this team to an efficient offense. But he's selfish. Gotcha.

 

Westbrook is selfish and he's led the league in assists twice now. Dishing out assists doesn't mean you aren't selfish especially if the way you are dishing them out is spam dribbling the ball for 20 seconds and then passing it out.

 

I think you're just convoluting what different people say into an argument that never happens.

MDA and Harden believe load management is BS. It is obviously not, that's not even debatable. I'm sure there are many players who will fight for minutes even if they are tired. You manage a guy's minutes through the season whatever he says. He's an asset.

I'm not going to dignify an argument making it seem like James Harden should not be tired because he walks the ball up. You have played basketball. I am certain you know the difference between the way Harden plays and others play.

But more important than all that is the actual fatigue of facing the GS Warriors. All the Clippers fizzle out. All the Blazers fizzled out. All the Rockets fizzled out. The rest of the league is 5-36 against the Warriors.

There is not unlimited energy. It is a miracle that he somehow found energy to play very good defense.

A league that doesn't like our style of play and doesn't seem to love the Rockets votes Harden into top 2 MVP 3 years in a row even after seeing his past playoff performances. Rockets fans are spoilt as **** if you ask me.

Harden is a saint. If I'm him, I'm sending a middle finger to the fanbase, going to win a ring just like Rockets fans' beloved Durant, Lebron, Curry. Then wave the ring in their face and say "hey I was healed! No more flaws!"