>Cheap owner who won't let him make moves. >A coach who has failed to make critical adjustments in the playoffs and a predictable offensive system. >Aging CP3 on an albatross contract. >Lack of key assets or young pieces to get any better than they are right now. >A roster that as currently constructed, will never beat GS. Even if Durant goes to New York. >A superstar in Harden who will not tolerate a rebuild at this stage in his career. Where does he go from here? He should have taken that 76er job offer.
Well, a transcendent superstar who does not have that final extra drive that the Jordans and Hakeems have. I mean, that's not a real knock on Jimmy H. A tiny fraction of players ever have that extra killer gear. (shrug)
I do envy him. He’s been getting paid for years on his reputation alone. He’s proven nothing, **** him.
Is the owner also a nazi about not looking for a shot anywhere inside the 3pt line? You need to be versatile and you need to be disciplined. He has zero accolades for someone touting he figured out basketball
He took the analytics too far, put too many eggs in the Harden basket. Nothing wrong with Harden, but you have to surround him with top defensive players and 2 other legit stars to make it work. Aging stars won't work well either. It ain't easy. We helped CP3 get to the 3rd round.
Of course he has zero accolades. Every GM in the league besides R.C. Buford and Bob Myers has zero accolades right now.
The actual gap between harden and the types of players you are comparing him to here is very large. He’s a great player. But I’m done trying to rationalize my way to his “all time greatness”. Maybe if regular seasons defined “all time greatness” I could, but they don’t.
D’Antoni is running the offense Morey has staked his basketball reputation on, so if you are going to blame the coach, you have to blame Morey, too. The Rockets biggest problem is between the ears, though. Last year, they played with a chip on their shoulder in the regular season and in the playoffs. This year, they didn’t play with that same edge. Think about this: In a must win game at home facing a Warriors team without Kevin Durant, they allowed 118 points, which was the Warriors highest point total of the entire series. Last year’s group built double-digit leads in games 6 and 7 with Chris Paul in street clothes.
Rockets need a new offensive philosophy. The few times a single superstar (or none) has been able to lead a team to the finals (Dirk, Hakeem, Pistons) have been able to climb the mountain top it was with a system that could extract stuff from even the most ancillary players. Rockets basically get 0 from their supporting cast if it isn't initiated by CP3 or Harden. No cutting, not movement, nothing. With all that being said, Harden does have some issues in the 4th, but that's probably because he brings the ball up every possession and makes it too easy for the defense to key in on him. He needs a coach that will force him to make that adjustment and help make the game easier for him. With all of D'antoni basically lets players do whatever they want and sometimes that just isn't the right way to do things. The Rockets defensive schemes have been excellent, but that credit goes to Bzdelik. The offense is the issue. Rockets need a new offensive philoisophy, and that basically means they need a new coach.
