[ClutchFans] Podcast: Stop complaining and start giving Harden, McHale credit for Game 2

Stop complaining? While Harden had a great scoring game, he still has yet to put together 2 consecutive great games. For a MVP candidate, something is missing. Maybe the fact it seems he coasts for 3 quarters, then tries to turn it on. We need Harden to play hard every quarter

 

Give McHale credit? For taking 6 quarters of Blake Griffin domination to realize he would need Ariza/Jones to start fronting him?

Once CP3 comes back and changes the dynamic, we have to be able to adjust on the fly and not wait 6 quarters to adjust.

 

i can accept harden as our franchise player. after all, not every team in the nba has a #1 guy at his level.

that said, i have to say, that, i've always thought the rockets' chance of winning another championship with harden being the #1 guy is... not so good to say the least.

in an ideal situation, harden will be a perfect #2 guy but not as a #1, imho.

 

Both your "Rocket's Fan Cards" should be revoked.

 

The runner-up MVP isn't a good enough #1 option? Are you serious?

 

Awful fans. After game 1 i didn't log in because i expected the overreactions but even after wins this place surprises me.

 

yeah, i am dead serious.

i said he isn't good enough for being the #1 guy to win a championship. i wasn't saying he's not good enough to be the #1 guy on an nba team.

this is just my general opinion on him. it's not a complaint on harden. it's not specifically related to this year's playoffs, either. so i will not digress in this thread.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with complaining that McHale took too long to make a defensive adjustment on Griffin. You don't have to wait til halftime to switch things up. Why spot the Clippers a 9-point lead and make things even more difficult for yourself?

That being said, at least he did make an adjustment during the game and not after they were down 0-2 like he did a year ago against Portland. And McHale also made the right call in removing Harden early in the 3rd when he got his 4th foul and sitting Dwight halfway through the 4th quarter which prevented the Hack-a strategy from being employed.

Definitely a tale of two halves. Now let's hope that carries over into Game 3 from the opening tip. Cuz you can't spot the Clippers a double-digit lead on their home floor and think you'll come back as easily.

 

only one way to change that for people that believe this

 

What we need is another player who can create shots for himself and others in the back court along with good defense. This will enable Harden to wreak havoc on offense, and have more energy for defense.

 

Steph Curry, the actual MVP, scored 19pts in 41 min of action the other night and they lost. I'm guessing by your logic something is missing with him as well?

Yes stop complaining.

 

Championships are won with excellent teams. Harden with a great supporting cast that fits his playstyle has just about the same percentages to win a championship than a team built around LeBron.

Your statements were about as ungrateful and inaccurate as can be. The dude is 25 years old

 

Love your podcasts. Thank you again for making one. I agree about Harden. He showed his MVP status by willing the Rockets to a win in the 4th. Before that point though, he wasn't playing that well, or as Barkley would say, "engaged."

Shoot, I think Dwight was our MVP with the free throws, rebounding and defense. But then again, Trevor Ariza played some defense that I've never seen him play.


However, I don't understand the part about giving McHale his due. He has subbed poorly and he has not coached with the intensity and motivation that champion coaches use. (See: Doc, Pop, Spoelstra, Carlisle) and even near-winners (RA, JVG, Thibs)


He doesn't have this team in terms of "control" and motivation.

Most people don't care, but a coach that is up, walking and talking to his players throughout the game shows the body language of investment. Kevin rarely stands up,that is, until we are in the pits of Clipper hell.

There is NO excuse for allowing Blake to Hakeem on us. A simple adjustment would have helped.

McHale also totally messed up with our time outs. He needed to use a few when the Clips went on massive runs. You don't allow your team to continue getting beat up without regrouping. That's why Doc had 1 timeout near the end and Kevin had so many.

His philosophy may be "Let them play though it." Here's the problem: We are not Shaq/Kobe/Phil. (Thankfully) That worked for them, though.

It does not for this group of guys. They need leadership. We tend to give Kevin too much of a break based on the team's regular season record. We hound our players but forget who's supposed to help facilitate control, player talent and build chemistry. Kevin needs work on that.

But, you have to ask yourself, and Morey, do we really have time for Kevin to get better as a coach? Our window isn't huge. Dwight is aging. James is in his prime. A coach that's been through the ringer and has coached at a championship level, with a variety of offenses and defenses, would be ideal for this type of talent on our team.

Anyway:

Kudos to James, Dwight,Jet, Trevor and Corey for closing this out. Especially Jet. His buckets were timely and damn crucial to stay in the game.

I feel like we give Kevin too much of a break because of the record. We hound

Josh is going to come back and have a bigger impact next game.

 

Last night's game was a really close one, I would rather give credits to brewer, prigioni, and howard, not to mention Ariza guarded Blake well after the 2nd quarter. It was the role players' hustle play and d that brought us back from the deficit when Harden sat.

We lucked out last night, the Clippers made a lot of bone headed mistakes and caused them this game. We can't rely on FT disparity to win this series. To think that we barely beat a Chris Pauless team worries me

 

The complaint about McHale not standing up enough is so weird. He moves around as much as Phil Jackson did

You guys really think that if McHale stood up more that we wouldn't miss wide open threes like we did for 3 quarters last night? Or Maybe if McHale took 25 more steps throughout a game it wouldn't take 3 quarters for Terrence Jones to come out of his benadryl coma? Or maybe if McHale danced the river dance Harden wouldn't have committed two really stupid fouls to glue himself to the bench?

For all his animation, Doc Rivers has never won a thing without 3 hall of famers, and he only won once with them.

 

Good point about Harden's age. 25...wow.

I wonder what his ceiling is, but in my mind, he should have been the MVP.

I feel like Curry got it to appease to the new breed of NBA fans that idolize Steph for his shooting.

They forget what Harden has done this year with injuries and how he's improved his defense.

I think the Grizz are taking the Warriors down.

ZBo is about to bring the pain in the paint and Toney Allen is going to make sure that Steph and co. have abysmal shooting nights. I don't like Tony, but I respect his craft.

 

you do have a point.

but i see something is missing from harden's overall game. and it applies to the next generation nba players as well.

i know he's only like 25. so future changes are possible. but to be a great player that wins championships, harden and his game has to change/evolve. i certainly hope that will happen.

 

Seriously? Jordan got that alley oop at the end of 4th quarter so easily. Our defense is so poor. Lucky we had enough points to prevent what happened last year.