[Feigen] D'Antoni said Harden is "devastated." Open to considering strategic rest.

Esp after catching some had calls.

Rocket River

 

I agree about strategic rest, but come playoff time and winning time it's so hard to want to take the day off and not work on your game. Sometimes the best thing you can do is not do anything.

I would study the game by watching film and highlights on days off.

 

I said this last night, but Harden's performance last night really reminded me of what Lebron did against the Celtics in game 5 back in the 2010 playoffs.

The Cavs were at home, and Lebron proceeded to go 3-14 in 41 minutes as the Cavs lost to the lower seeded Celtics 120-88.

Then next year in the finals, he completely disappeared. Lebron, the Chosen One, the King, had 8 points in a finals game. He was being questioned left and right. The narrative was that he was mentally weak and scared of the big moment.

look at what Dan Gilbert wrote about him after he left Cleveland

""He has gotten a free pass," Gilbert said in a phone interview with The AP. "People have covered up for (James) for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is."

Gilbert feels James quit on the Cavs during their second-round series against the Boston Celtics, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit to eliminate Cleveland.

"He quit," Gilbert said. "Not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar."

The Cavaliers were beaten by 32 points in Game 5. During the game, James appeared distracted and uninterested, often glaring at Cleveland's coaches as the Cavs tried to foul to get back into the game in the second half. James also made some puzzling postgame comments, saying he had "spoiled" people with his play over seven seasons.

Gilbert also said he believes James quit on the Cavs in Game 6 of their series in 2009 against Orlando.

"Go back and look at the tape," he said. "How many shots did he take?""

Dirk used to be seen as a choker and was labeled soft. People thought that he couldn't be the best player on a championship team after choking away a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA finals and then losing to an 8th seed in the 1st round the very next year. In 08, he lost in 5 in the 1st round. In 09, he lost in 5 in the 2nd round. The Mavs lost again in the 1st round in the 2010 playoffs. In the 10-11 season, they finally pulled through and won a title.

It is too early to completely give up on Harden. He can overcome this. The 15-16 season was a disaster. Harden came back from that and gave us an MVP caliber season as we overachieved to 55 wins and a 3rd place finish in the WC. This season ended on a bad note, but I look forward to seeing how he will come out next season. He still has time to change his narrative just like guys like Dirk, Lebron, and even Paul Pierce have managed to do before him.

 

So we're dealing with a supposed superstar who can't handle a tough playoff defeat? No one sweeps their way to a title, at least not initially. You're gonna endure heartbreaking losses. If you can't bounce back from those or at least learn over time how to bounce back, you'll never win anything in the postseason.

 

Well, there you go. They pretty much had given up before the game started.

I need to play devil's advocate here a bit, though. It's hard to do considering most of these guys make more in a season than the rest of us will make in multiple lifetimes. But let's just go with it:


So, obviously, the lack of mental toughness described in that tweet will not win a championship. I always have thought it was the coach's job to instill that in players by whatever means. And some coaches do, but I don't think most do. And maybe it's beyond them to do that.

These kids are young, millionaires or not. They're on a huge improv stage. Many of them will crack under pressure or regret or frustration or whatever. The Rockets have a physical training staff, and they have coaches, but maybe they need to have "mental training" staff. Go find the best psychologists and psychiatrists in Houston, and have them work with these guys to get over these mental blocks and build resilience and focus. We talk about how important the mental aspect of sports is, but do we actually DO anything about it, or do we just expect these young guys to figure it out themselves?

They all know they need to be in peak physical condition, but even the most fit among all of them can be held back by his mind. I spent all of my 20s wrestling with college, then working in a complicated, often failing, family engineering business while trying to balance a girlfriend that then came to work with me, and it didn't build toughness by immersion; it shredded me. Granted, I couldn't find any good help (still looking, btw), but you'd better believe that Les can pay any amount to find the right people to help his team achieve peak mental fitness. I'm serious. Start now, and you could have a team that comes back hungry and focused from a bad loss instead of devastated and broken.

The Rockets beat themselves this last game, and now we know why. What is there to lose by trying to get them some help where it matters: mentally and emotionally?

 

Harden needs to train with Tim Grover this off season.

 

Another facilitator? We picked up Williams who can run point. James Harden off the ball and without the ball is pure lazy.

 

Bullshittt

 

I agree with this. But as D'Antoni said, whole team was zapped. They need to overcome it, starting with Harden.

 

Morey needs to realize that Harden isn't a leader that will lead his team through difficult situations. He needs to assemble a team so overloaded with talent that it doesn't matter how poor Harden's leadership is.

 

Agreed. I felt it too after the Game 5 loss - that impending sense that we were so let down, we couldn't recover.

 

I never imagined they would play THAT poorly, but I figured it would be difficult to get up for game 6. Had they executed even 5% better down the stretch of game 5, the series would have been theirs and they knew it. The way we lost that game was a mind**** even for me, and I didn't do anything except sit on my ass at Buffalo Wild Wings and watch. This is the same reason I didn't worry about us winning game 7 of that Clippers series. The odds of a team really getting up after losing a game they had no business losing are slim, I think.

It doesn't completely explain how/why they looked like a team that never played together before last night, though.

 

Nowhere in the article there is mentioning of lifestyle changes (sure because it is so personal). Yet, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the guy is a party animal. Coupled that with a grueling NBA season, and what do you expect the outcome to be when you need to be total focus at the task at hand: answer: Lala land.

Actually, if the above was truly the reason (i.e. fatigue) for that abysmal showing yesterday, then there is hope for brighter days -- just be more selective on your leisure times. Indeed, it would beat the hell out of the other explanation: that you are a quitter.

 

The whole team zapped?!

How many times have you heard of that across the league?

Have you ever heard that Ginobili zapped?
Have you ever heard Draymond zapped?
Have you ever heard Tony Allen zapped?

Have you heard the Spurs zapped?
Have you heard the Grizzles zapped?

Is this kind of "soft chemistry" the really chemistry a championship-caliber team has? Should DM start quantify personality and include it in his analytics kit going forward? There are certain traits of Houston Rockets team that remain unchanged despite coaching changes, style changes and player changes.

Also. We heard about strategic this, strategic that.

What about tactical adjustments?
What attempts have the coaches made during the game to reverse the zap?
Any adjustments to opponents tactical changes?

Once again D'Antoni lays blame on the players.

Management, Coaches and Owner all need to look in the mirror and reflect.

DEVASTATING.

 

Maybe if he would stop partying after games and focus on basketball then maybe he ll get plenty of rest.

 

Well, according to this post and subsequent research I've been doing, Theo Epstein, the GM who brought the Red Sox their first title in 86 years and the Cubs their first title in 108 years, combines analytics with personality and chemistry assessments of both the players and coaches. He doesn't just go straight from the numbers.

So, according to a GM who's actually won some difficult titles, yeah, we probably should be considering personality.

 

probably before

Nene post Game 6 drama: I am on my last legs so I will be looking for what's best for me and my family.

 

media now gonna make westbrook b2b mvp cuz hes the only nba player who rests from next season on