KL is looking like the best player in the world, but the raptors were 17-5 when KL was out so their role players are very legit and it’s showing in this series.
KL is a better clutch player than Harden. That’s when it matters most so I guess I have to agree that makes him the better player. No way he is 100x better. Just slightly better. That’s not a big knock on Harden either. Being one of the top 5 players in the NBA is damn good and we are lucky to have him. He needs help though. It can’t all be on him. I think our biggest flaw this season was Capela. We got zero from him. Couldn’t shoot jumpers. Couldn’t shoot free throws. Couldn’t muscle his way in for lobs. Couldnt rebound. Couldn’t block shots. Torched on pick and roll. If you replace him and Nene with Ibaka and Gasol I think we beat GS. Capela has to go. We need 2 viable centers who can at least shoot a midrange shot and push some people around. We also need length at the 4 and EG back to being 6th man of the year from the bench instead of starting.
There's so many factors comparing Toronto. Raptors were going to make the finals for many years if LeBron wasn't on cle so they were already a contending team. Kawhi sat on his butt for a long time before he came out to play again. Warriors are injured and this series would be different if durant played. I like kawhi style of play and he's proven but harden still is our man. This thread doesn't help any rockets fan.
People weren't even sure they could beat the 6ers. Both bucks and warriors were solid favorites over them. This is very revisionist.
Dribble dribble dribble. How does kawhi manage to get everyone so involved by dribbling for 90% of the shot clock Oh wait
I’d say the rockets are probably a low to mid 40 win team without harden. probably a 9th seed. But then again with CP3 taking his annual mid-season sabbatical, they might be a sub 40 win team.
Raptors without kawhi is not contender. Even with Derozen, People also do not think Raptors is contender.
Unless i’m miss something, kd played 5/6 games and boogie being out hurt the rockets not the warriors.
It is still a team game, and coaching and system matters. The Rocket's isolation game doesn't work against the best teams. Neither does the "bombs away" strategy. Also, bigger and better role players matter. If you put Leonard on the Rockets in place of Harden, not sure they beat the Warriors
KL is much better than Harden. Have to admit it by now. The thing Harden needs to learn is how to play in the flow of the game - Kawhi regularly shoots over 50% and doesnt need to Jack up 30+ shots in a game to finish with 30 or more. Hope one day we see a James that can even somewhat mimic Kawhis effectiveness in the playoffs.
Not if they tell him to walk the ball up the court, don’t move unless he is running the play, only shoot 3’s, and try to draw fouls. If they let him play the way he plays then maybe he could beat the current GS team with our role players. I still doubt it though. We don’t have a center and a small PF.
I thought this was obvious. Harden has matured a lot as a player but when it comes to games that actually matter he leaves a lot to be desired. And I think it’s mostly about his style of play.
If you combine the Harden when he first arrived here, the one that just scored no matter where on the court, with the current Harden you have the most unstoppable player in the NBA. I’m betting that’s what we’ll see next season.
tbf Raptors have a better GM than us who actually uses their picks properly instead of trading them to get rid of bad contracts Look how damn deep that Raptors team is. They've only been losing to Lebron in the past couple years because their star player (Derozan) has constant no-shows in the playoffs. Sounds familiar. Once they replaced Demar with Kawhi who can play both ways at an elite level, suddenly they are getting over the hump. Ofcourse, Warriors losing KD helps a lot but they are closer to beating the Warriors than we are this year.
