I call BS when I see it and buddy its all over you, even you know it. I think you just do it for entertainment, no one's that full of ****, lol.
Because he was the only superstar available at the time and teams were willing to take a chance on him. I mean, even Golden State made a hard push for Dwight. Pretty much every team with cap room did. If you think about it, Golden State doesn't end up resigning Bogut nor do they likely land Iguodala if Dwight had chosen them. They dodged a bullet there and actually made their team better in the process. This is conjecture, not fact.
Whatever happened to the way we were playing James at the beginning of the season ? He went out at the 8 min mark of the first and came back in at the 8 of the second . Two 8 min stretches . It was perfect . 32 min a game . He could go hard for 8 min knowing that he would have rest in between . Now he has to pace himself and plays the whole first quarter . I think it's a mistake , we should go back to that earlier rotation .
That was early in the season when less defense was being played. Teams are mid season mode now and you tend to see better defense being played as everyone is gunning for playoff runs now. It would be nice if Harden had extra stars on the team to help carry some of the load but he doesn't so he will need to play more minutes and raise the level of his play from now until the playoffs are over. That's just the way it goes.
instead of saying Harden needs to get better like you guys, i would say Harden needs some rest, Bench him for one or two games.
Fewer game minutes for Harden, Ariza and EGo would be a good start, 30 or less. Also think it may be time to flip Bev and Gordon's roles. Have Bev come off bench with Williams and let Gordon start. Gordon needs some easy looks to get him started because something is off with the guy. Or have Williams be 6th man and replace Harden when he sits. And playing Harden, Gordon and Lou together only works when opposing team is playing small ball. That small line up should have Trez instead of Nene or Capella IMO. Need another stretch 4 back up, Dekker was already a poor defender but now he can't score or rebound.
Harden has a bit of McGrady in him where, if it's not going his way halfway thru the game in terms of shots falling or whistles blowing, then he starts to give off b**** ass body language and just sulks for the rest of the game. To his credit, he still tries to take it to the rack when this happens, but it oftentimes looks like Tracy, where if the team can't win through him then he'd rather the team not win at all period. He has to be there for teammates particularly when he's playing like **** some nights. The box score won't show it, but he was **** tonight. This loss is on him and yes over the past month a good chunk of our losses can be placed squarely on him alone. We're not as good as we were in December, and more than rebounding he is to blame. I wouldn't vote him for MVP in his current state. Pick it up James!
Incorrect. You said Harden needs to be better since earlier in the season, which was totally false. In the period you claimed you he should be better, he was the MVP candidate and we were winning at a staggeringly better rate than anyone predicted. Harden has dipped in performance since January 29, which I agree with. He simply is going to better. It's not an effort issue, it's just his shots are going through typical statistical dip, same with his passing and whatever. Same effort, same choices, same attention. He's not being lazy. It's just going to bounce back really soon and we all know it, even if Harden haters want to act like it's meaningful. I also think he needs to be better since we acquired Lou Williams. I'm expecting improved defense and slightly better asst/to ratio since the trade. There is less of a load on him. His overall defensive effort against the Pacers was good, despite the couple of flagrantly missed assignments which hurt us bad. That CJ Miles corner 3 killed us and Harden was asleep. But players have slumps, we should be better able to absorb a Harden slump now that we have Williams. Michael Jordan had slumps. Lebron James has slumps. Hakeem had slumps. Harden will have slumps. Sucks, but it's unavoidable. No amount of effort or preparation or attention will make a player not go through a dip in an 82 game schedule. I'm more concerned with Capela's recent drop in aggressiveness/confidence, overusing Ariza, Ryan Anderson taking fade away mid range shots, Gordon/Harden whining to the refs while the other team attacks and a general expectation from our bigs that the guards will save them from having to rebound. Also, I'll give this team another week before becoming more critical of its defense (we had barely practiced until after the All Star break) but we are getting to the point in the season where the "I thought you had him on the switch" look is becoming unacceptable. Harden will automatically bounce back without anyone saying a word to him. We should focus on system, structure and confidence issues with the team. Good thing we have improved depth in most spots and signing two more players, we are going to have to bench some people or cut their minutes. Right now, I would give Capela an ultimatum. His drop in performance is not injury related, it is simply a matter of being as aggressive as he was with every jump and ever lateral move. We've seen him do it consistently, we know he can do it consistently. It's a matter of going back to not biting on pump fakes so easily and frequently. It's a matter of having the confidence that he can outplay his opponent and not sighing every time something goes wrong. It's about grabbing the rebound at the peak of his jump rather than jumping once it gets near his head. These are not skill or mental factors, these are issues with physical effort and labor. He can make a dramatic change. If he doesn't, bench him. His improvement in his career has been too good for us to let him believe this is acceptable level of play, it will affect his development. The other thing is Ariza, we are overplaying him. He is not good when he is tired. We need to bring him down to 30 minute range, and we need a backup immediately. Dekker is not that guy. Ariza's backup needs to be a decent defender, someone like Alonzo Gee or Lance Stephenson just to give Ariza an extra 3-5 minute breather defending the best opposing wing. When he or Pat are not defending, everything breaks down. Ariza, Beverley and Capela have to be sharp for us to be an acceptable defensive team. On offense, Harden's dip is the main culprit, but I am also not liking Ryan spending 10 seonds to take a contested fadeaway and I am especially not liking him gesturing before the attempt is in the bucket. The execution is not crisp right now. Players are setting the pick a second too late, they're getting to the corner late and the passes are a half second late too. Dekker is not as aggressive on the offensive boards and on cuts to the basket, he is leaning more on the 3 than he was, and while I think he's being encouraged to do so, he is also ignoring open lanes to the basket sometimes. Our offense has been better than this. The Wolves did not test us, they are a terrible defensive team. We have been better than this against good defenses. I'm almost glad we lost this game to a good defensive team on national TV. These guys were feeling a bit too invincible on offense.
There's a difference between criticism, and what certain posters where doing back in January. Nobody thought Harden was above criticism.
To echo the sentiments of other posters, I think there needs to be some accountability from the top down. Wasting possessions on pull up threes when he very clearly is not Steph Curry, or pulling the Jeremy Lin jump in the air then throw the ball backwards right in the hands of a defender playing the passing lanes, is not ok. Teams are playing off James now because his shot has been so bad the past month. The solution is to let Beverley, Gordon, or Lou Williams run plays (NOT Ariza) and set Harden up for more catch and shoot threes until his shot can get working again. Under no championship basketball system ever has one guy been able to run things 100% of the time. That applies to Westbrook, that applies to Harden, it applied to Shaq and Kobe. You can't find a ballhog who won it all.
So you agree he was a superstar. When Harden matures to the point where he is willing to share the ball with another superstar then we will get another superstar.
Dwight was a superstar at the time the Rockets acquired him, however his back problems and his clownish behavior prevented him from being a superstar while he was a member of the Rockets. You blame Harden for this? That's ****ing stupid, man. Look, I don't hate Dwight and I wish him the best and all but he's not a superstar anymore. He's not even a top 5 center anymore. I hope he can fix whatever issues he has upstairs but he left three different teams on bad terms so I won't hold my breath on it. His physical ability is now a fraction of what it was when he played for Orlando and he hasn't exactly done much to expand his game to make up for it. He's still a horrible FT shooter with a limited post up game and even his defense has dropped off. Your point about Harden is just stupid, though. You really need to ditch that tinfoil hat B.S. It would make you a much better poster here Holic.
"It starts with me. I need to play better. Need to coach better. Need to execute better. Need to get better." Spoiler
I just don't understand the reluctance to drive to the basket or take a step or two inside the three point line when the 3's aren't falling. We consistently blow big leads because we act like taking a 2pt shot is illegal. Harden can get to the rack whenever he wants so he's helping teams defend him by limiting his game to shooting 3's all night.
Didn't say he was a superstar now. What I said was we signed him to a four year max contract as a superstar and made him a cornerstone. That AUTOMATICALLY means he's got to get his touches. That AUTOMATICALLY means the two cornerstones have to put their heads together and work it out. Both guys gotta give some to make it work. Lebron has mastered this art. Harden hasn't. And that's why each man has the supporting cast that they have. Everybody in the Association knows this is Harden's team. And everybody, even the superstars, are seeing that if they came to Houston they are going to have to subserve Harden by curbing their own game. But they don't see Harden doing that. They see Harden demanding everybody else play defense while he stands around and waits to get the ball. That's not a good look for the franchise in terms of forming a super team that can compete for title against the dubs and cavs. Sure Harden can get the Lou Williams role players to want to come here. But he failed to get his superstar best friend here. We are going to have difficulty getting another superstar to come here until Harden shows he will subserve their games and not just expect everybody to subserve him.
No. It's not incorrect. I first made the post around the slump we were in pre-allstar break. (i can find the post if necessary). The losses that spurred that post were incredibly similar to this one. My opinion hasn't changed since then. The same Harden criticisms apply. One of the major things that has changed though, is the fatigue excuse, which has been relied upon so vehemently, is no longer available to explain away this loss. Now even you, (the staunchest of all Harden supporters), are having to admit that some of the team's problems are Harden's fault, which is in contradiction with what you were saying in the earlier posts. Sure, He may have not been in quite this bad of a shooting slump pre all star break, but you absolutely cannot say what I said then doesn't apply now. If you'll remember, I was never talking about his shooting % in those posts. In fact, I spent all my time talking about things having to do with the mental side of the game. All of that still applies, shooting slump or not. It's not an effort issue? please. I even have MDA backing me up this time. What is heart? What is determination? it is effort. I don't care about the missed shots, I care more about the poor shot selection, and the overall malaise he plays with on nights like this. (which I have been saying all along.) If a coach calls out a team for lack of heart and determination, that is always, irrefutably, speaking to the leader of the team before anyone else. I will change one thing from the earlier posts though, before I said we were looking at a second round exit, that is incorrect. It will be in the first round. One last thing...(from your post a few days ago). you cannot argue that this team does not have offensive lulls. It's obvious. I have honestly lost count of how many times we have blown large double digit leads. Does the defense suck during those stretches? Of course. But, we wouldn't loose the leads if the offense didn't completely come to a halt . I have coach and player support on this claim too. The team gets complacent. Who's job is it to stop that? The leader. Harden. You are glad we lost huh? Are you sure you are not just trying to rationalize this in any way you can? Remember that Atlanta loss? Blew a huge lead on national TV. Why didn't they learn from that one? There are others too.
