I know its still early in the season and he can turn it around easily, but i believe this year he actually is trying on both sides of the court. That takes a lot more effort than him just playing offense like he has been doing up to this point. Both his FG% and his 3pt FG% are much lower than his average. Do you guys think this could be the reason why? Im just trying to figure this out. I don't think he is hurt, right?
I think he'll be fine evetually and get back to his averages. I predict around 43% and 36.5% for the regular season. He was good last night going 7/11 and 2/3
He relies on contact too much, has subpar handles for a guard, has been gaining weight since he got here, can barely beat his man off the dribble sometimes, and doesn't have the stamina he should.
He's being relied on too much offensively because we don't have any other playmakers. Naturally his field goal percentage is going to decline. He's still played mostly great this season, even with the subpar shooting.
lol. no. Also, I didn't mention defense, as it is known to everyone and that he's been putting more effort into it as of late.
Teams are not even guarding our post men and just playing a double team zone on Harden. We can not have 2 guys on the floor who can not put the ball in the basket(DMO, Black). That will not work.
He's expending more energy on defense which leaves him tired on offense. Needs to get his stamina up so he can do both.
Lol subpar handles for a guard, do we even watch the same team? He appears to be the exact same weight he was when he got here, if not even more muscular.
Wow. Can't beat his man off the dribble? Bad handles? Do you smoke crack and watch static on the TV thinking its Rockets games? Legit question.
it's only going to get worse from the contact thing. once the refs target you and stop calling fouls they would have in the past, the defenders are going to start taking advantage of the free contact they can make without getting called. once that happens, more of those not so yummy turnovers are going to start baking. and once those turnovers bake, harden is going to get discouraged from driving ala tmac in the 2007 utah series. the shooting will come back up. i'm just worried about the stern/silver minions.
oops, I phrased that wrong thanks for catching it. I meant for a player of his caliber. for being the "best 2 guard in the league" he doesn't have the handles worthy of the title. Previous players at that level, Kobe, Wade, Mcgrady, Allen, had much better handle on the ball. I say this because I see him lose the ball or get stripped too often. Anyways, this is kind of a pointless thread. We're lucky to have James. We need to accept him for who he is, which is a great player whose performance is greatly impacted by how often the whistle blows.
Do you have comprehension issues? I said he has trouble beating his man off the dribble sometimes, which goes back to the earlier statement of him gaining weight. I don't know if you actually watched the rockets when we got Harden, considering all you do is b****, moan, make it known that an intelligent conversation is above you, but he was a lot more agile and could get past defenders much more easily. Youtube or batkins are your best friends in helping you understand this.
Totally dissagree Harden has great handles the problem is teams are shawdowing him with 2-3 guys so he cant attack the lane with ease. Having Jones and Dwight greatly helps that issue. His shooting % is low but its always low at the beggining of the year. He will pick it up. Harden is the last player on the team i have concerns with.
He was known for his defense in OKC and was still an efficiency monster. I think it's just a slow start. My money is on his shooting numbers settling into his career norm eventually.
Harden has way better handles than Allen. The issue is Tracy McGrady had perhaps the most elite handles ever at the sg/sf position. And we were all spoiled because of that. Kobe's were great as well; ditto for Wade. Relative to the current group of players (all that matters at this point) Harden's handles are elite.
