James Harden is the hero ball that Morey deserves, but is he the hero ball that Howard needs?

Who would be a better running mate for Howard?

Only two people I can think of are Lebron & Durant and neither will ever be available.

 

Rondo

 

Few would disagree Harden played like a max guy during the regular season. His 6 2014 playoff games tell a bit of a different story, I agree. But couldn't the same be said of Durant in this years playoffs? If so, what guy not names Lebron has such a proven playoff record that getting such a player would be a definite upgrade over Harden?

 

My opinion, he is a foundational piece. He is still so young. Would be extremely surprised if he is moved anytime before his contract is up unless it's made clear he won't be re upping his contract here and we move him before he leaves for nothing.

I understand the defense is a big problem, but i think his offensive talent is only topped by a few in this league. I think before you think about moving Harden you work on getting better defenders and better shooters around him. IF things don't work out after that, then by all means see what you can get for him.

 

Offer Harden for Lillard

Let's see what they say.

 

The problem is that the pieces we have around him are mismatched. A sieve like Harden needs to play with better defenders, especially at the 1 and 3. Beverly is a good defender but he's too small to cover Harden's man, and Parsons is turning out to be an average defender at best.

Morey did well luring two superstars to Houston, but I don't think this team is a contender until 2016 at the earliest, when Lin and Asik expire. It'll take time to find pieces that fit.

 

Remember when people thought Parsons was more valuable than Rondo?

 

Yep I agree we need to put better 'fits' around Harden.

I'm still a Parsons fan but we can't live with the perimeter defense of Harden/Parsons. All of the playoff teams have at least one elite perimeter defender. No offense to PatBev but he is a roleplayer/bench guy. Players like Kawhi, CP3, Klay and Iggy, Lebron, George, etc all play both ends of the floor. Even Portland has guys like Batum and Mathews that are 2 way players. We can't roll out Lin, Parsons, Harden, Jones who play no defense and expect to win in the playoffs when the intensity ratches up.

At the very least I'd look to add a PG like Rondo who would compliment Harden in the backcourt. Would still need to add at least one more perimeter defender and possibly another frontcourt player that fits with Dwight.

 

I understand that he had a bad playoff performance outside of last night but Carl don't get caught in the moment. 2 months again we we're asking if Dwight Howard was the right center/star for harden and now because of 6 games that a 10 yr vet played better than a 24 yr old we're gonna act like we need to trade said 24 yr old?

Iv been watching the nba a long time and players like harden don't come around very often. I would agree with everything your saying if harden was 28 but he's not. Don't forget that he's a young buck in the nba but is held to a higher standard than others because of his enormous talent.

Quick ? And I'm gone.... Do you know who the only player besides durant and lebron to avg atleast 25 5 5 and be top 5 in win shares the last 2 seasons? Ohh ya it's that guy in Houston number 13 with a beard.

Hardens a stud and we're lucky to have him. Don't dog the best young player we've had since the dream. If he can't improve his game in the next 2 yrs then sure maybe look and see what you can get. But at 24 with back to back 25 5 and 5 on over 60% ts since he's been a rocket you have to keep him unless your getting KD or LBJ.

 

Bev is a good defender and has been effective in reg season. But he has done next to nothing to stop speedy Lillard, tbh. Stop pouring candy on him. His lack of playmaking and scoring cannot compensate for Harden's disapperance in offence during the playoffs. If Houston does not want to develop Lin, trade him for someone like Lillard or with the potential like Lillard. Bev is a bad complement for Harden in playoffs when Harden summarily disappeared. Have Bev stopped any speedy guards from scoring in playoff games? No, Lillard has been killing us. Even Westbrook's backup last year scored big over him. So while his defensive intensity looks good, it doesn't stop the opponent's star guards from scoring on him, not to say he can't stop Harden's guy from scoring at will against JH. We need a starting PG who can score, defend, and with decent playmaking. If Lin is not the guy, find someone else and trade Lin. But the experiment with Bev starting to so call complement Harden does not work in the tough playoff games.

 

So we're defining Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and Steven Adams as "everything"?

 

rondo solves a lot of our issues……defending other PG's, leadership, ballhandling to get the ball downcourt and into our sets faster (assuming we acquire a coach has actual set plays), creating easy baskets for our 2 stars, midrange J's

one downside i can see is it would be hard to run the twin towers lineup with asik while rondo's on the floor due to lack of 3pt spacing. asik might be gone anyways though

 

He wasn't coming off a torn meniscus or sick for half the series or anything.

 

Wow.

Okay CF, I'm done.

This place has gone bat-**** crazy!

 

Exactly. I have no problem with CH's premise, and it is worth exploring the market for any of our players if there are opportunities to improve. But there is not much need to revisit the merits of the Harden trade. That was and still is a completely lopsided trade.

 

Were excuses made for Lin during/after every injury he has had? NO!...

Oh wait, yes. Yes there were.

But screw that, what we saw in these 6 games is a stronger sample to draw conclusions from than entire season. Harden, Bev... whoever.

 

CH, trading Harden now would be selling low, not 'trading while he is high.' Harden's game obviously has flaws, but he is the best wing player the Rockets have had since McGrady's first year with the team. I do think the pieces around Harden and Howard may need to be tweaked to find the right balance for their respective weaknesses. Right now, our 1, 3, and 4 men all have skills that duplicate our two stars, but don't compensate for their weaknesses.

 

What a ridiculous post playoff loss thread.

It is obvious that Harden is fine, and that the problem is clearly with the coaching. If he is playing to much hero ball that is the coaching staffs fault for allowing it to happen. When need a coach that is a clear leader, and knows what is going on.