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Struggling is good for Harden

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by gmoney411, May 27, 2015.

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  1. danoman

    danoman Contributing Member

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    Eventually I think Harden may be wiser but there's also a chance that he doesn't meet every single one of our expectations.
     
  2. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Dealing with adversity and being able to overcome that adversity is important. Important for leadership.

    I think at times Harden gets down on himself. He needs to show more resolve and be able to overcome those bumps in the road.

    Harden is awesome and I am THANKFUL the Rockets have him. He has shown great growth and I feel he will continue to grow.
     
  3. seeingred

    seeingred Member

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    Great season by Harden. Growth i would like to see over the next few years:

    1) Less ball watching. His steals when through the roof and a lot of that had to do with ball watching. But good teams and good shooters take advantage of this and 2 steals a game isn't worth giving up 7 or 8 open looks. The team needs to build good Playoff Habits and this isn't one of them.

    2) More movement off the ball. This is on McHale too, but our off ball screens are hot garbage. I didn't see one other playoff team whose screens consistently failed to create separation.

    3) Less dribbling. GS exposed it last night, but we've seen it all year. It's annoying at the top of the key but it's even worse when he comes off a pick, walks toward the free throw line, and starts doing dribble moves in the paint. Need him to be more decisive.

    4) Clock management. If we're down 9 in the 3rd, there's no reason for you to dribble the shot clock down to 5 seconds before you take a contested fade away 3.

    Guy gets better every year and is the best Rocket since Dream. Life is good.
     
  4. zcarenow

    zcarenow Member

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    James needs to improve his jumper. If he can consistently hit his jumpers, then it will take him to another level. Reddick's game plan was very simple. Just stay in front of him and force Harden to shoot the jumper. Harden hasn't developed a consistent deadly jumper yet.
     
  5. zcarenow

    zcarenow Member

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    He also needs to move better without the ball. Curls, shooting off screens and picks. Learn how to cut to the rim while catching the ball and scoring.
     
  6. Houstunna

    Houstunna The Most Unbiased Fan
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    Harden had a crap game... historically crap (damn, wish that didn't happen), but he hs improved every season. Respect. His main flaw IMO is leadership. He's young and can still improve that aspect and I think he will. Once he sows that up, everything else will follow.
     
  7. val_modus

    val_modus Member

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    Am I crazy for thinking that Harden looked like he was shaving points?
     
  8. Lorenzomax

    Lorenzomax Rookie

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    OP is Morey. ;)
     
  9. solid

    solid Contributing Member

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    But not for the fans.
     
  10. HTine

    HTine Member

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    best Rocket since Hakem. But everything will be "what have you done for me lately". I hope he puts up with the spoiled fans who are media parrots, boxscore whores, and dotcom toms. Because I'm super excited about where he'll peak at considering he's only 25.

    Agree with OP that this is good so it keeps a chip on his shoulder for pushing himself even more into the elite tier
     
  11. Sydeffect

    Sydeffect Member

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    I mean he's improved significantly in the playoffs this year and each year in the regular season.

    If people are going to hold 2 poor games in the WCF against him, they really are not reasonable in their expectations when it comes to the playoffs.

    And before people comment on how he got outplayed by Curry:

    Curry was being guarded by Jason Terry, Ariza, Dwight, Josh Smith and Brewer. All who are too slow to stay in front of Curry.

    Harden was being guarded by a runner up DPOY (Green), an all NBA first team defender (Iguodala), and one of the best perimeter defenders in the league (Klay). And the Warriors were the top defense in the league for a reason.

    Heck look at how a more experienced and better player in Lebron played efficiency wise vs the Bulls.
     
  12. HTine

    HTine Member

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    been hearing that ever since the loss and it never added up for me. all i could remember was the talk over the summer

    ========================================
    http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....en-as-good-a-leader-as-weve-had-for-team-usa/

    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/spo...der-How-James-Harden-took-control-6206874.php

    http://spacecityscoop.com/2015/03/20/james-harden-embraces-leadership-role/



    Players returned to their usual seats. Coach Kevin McHale shared his customary postgame thoughts. Then Harden stood and made his way around the room, stopping at each player's cubicle to individually thank everyone for their help, a clockwise trip around the room meant to express no more than thanks, but it revealed something about how he had grown as a leader.

    ========================================

    it's a very "what have you done for me lately" approach. i think the leadership of a front office is severely underrated. and can only be overcome when you have a guy like Lebron James/KD/etc. and even Lebron will bounce when the coaching situation isn't letting him play high IQ tactical ball. That's all we're missing. It'd take JH's game to another level.
     
  13. Swish4fives

    Swish4fives Member

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    I think he was mentally defeated by game 5. I mean our guys had to play perfect to beat that team. Even if Harden is averaging an uber efficient 35 ppg, it wouldn't be enough with the cast we had. No doubt in my mind that he comes back even better next season.

    I've even seen Lebron play games while he was mentally defeated and not playing how he normally does. This Golden state team will likely have Lebron mentally defeated by game 3 also. It can even happen to the best player in the game.
     
  14. Marteen

    Marteen Member

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    He was awesome. If there's one thing I wish he worked on other than turnovers is to stop expecting a call by cockblocking himself to the basket. It annoys the hell out of me when he could have scored if not for him "acting" like he got poked in the eye or something.
     
  15. calurker

    calurker Contributing Member

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    It remains to be seen whether Harden can be that transcendental talent we all want him to become, but to put things in perspective, this Rockets squad was projected by many before the season to possibly miss the playoffs altogether. The team just isn't that good. I'd say 2015 Dwight just isn't on the same level as 91-98 Pippen, 95 Glide, 99 DRob, early 2000 Kobe, 2006 Shaq, 2000's Parker/Manu, late 2000's Gasol or late 2000's Wade. We have our third star. Now we need to look for our second.
     
  16. solid

    solid Contributing Member

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    So many of you keep saying that he is only 25. Yes, that is very young, but irrelevant. The issue that concerns me is not his age, his athleticism, or his basketball skills. He is an uber talented elite NBA basketball player, clearly one of the top players in the league. What concerns me is his lifestyle. Who would deny that Johnny Football was one of the most exciting and talented college players ever. His lifestyle choices have near destroyed his career. Steve Francis was one of the most exciting NBA players ever, but lifestyle choices and injuries cut his career short. You guys can make all the comparisons to Jordan and LeBron you want, but they NEVER went from a 45 point game to setting a record for turnovers. Harden wasn't intimidated by the big stage, he wasn't "right" and you know it. If the rumors of his partying before big games is even half true, there is reason for concern.
     
  17. RESINator

    RESINator Member

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    How many clutch step back jumpers did he hit before game 5? You guys say that he shouldn't dribble between the leg... But that is how he gets in rhythm. He's been doing it all season ffs. He just became a mental midget when his shots weren't falling and he wasn't getting the calls
     
  18. MistaK

    MistaK Member

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    What about his lifestyle though?? If we knew for a fact, through confirmed media reports/the org/clutch/ etc. that he was out hitting clubs, getting drunk the night before games and then showing up hung over, missing practices, etc., yeah then I'd agree with you. But none of this has ever been confirmed or even been mentioned. It is the fans and many on this board who think that this is what's happening.

    Take game 3 for example. A random tweet is posted, that Harden was spotted at a club the night before game 3. Harden doesn't have a good game. The board runs with it and the tweet takes on a life of its own. By page 5 Harden is a drunk who doesn't seem to care about basketball. By page 10 he is doing drugs with hookers and most definitely is not a leader (YES I EXAGGERATED here). After game 4 it turns out that the tweet was made up to begin with.

    Then take the report that he went to a concert before game 4. Turns out to be true by most accounts (if i remember correctly it on the local news - I'm not from Houston, so can only go with what was posted - and someone mentioned it was on the news). Well that was a game Harden played exceptionally well (probably one of the best playoff conference final games ever played).

    To make a long story even longer .... I'm sure Harden goes out before games from time to time. I'm also pretty certain (though I don't know this for a fact) that Harden, like most basketball players, will stick to his daily routines. And as long as going out doesn't affect his on work ethic, on-court performance, etc. let the man enjoy his life too. Sometimes it even helps to get away from basketball (or whatever else you may be doing in your life) for a few hours.
     
  19. solid

    solid Contributing Member

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    I understand what you are saying and no doubt reports can be false or exaggerated. However, it is pretty certain that Harden frequents strip clubs, pictures have been posted on this site. (one holding a bottle). Put that together with his atrocious performance in the last game and suspicions arise. Everyone deserves a measure of privacy, but there has to be some explanation for what happened the other night. Substance abuse can quickly become debilitating and destroy a person's life, when everyone around them are in denial.
     
  20. YOLO

    YOLO Member

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    this statement is getting pretty old. at this point this shouldn't be really be used as an excuse or pass for him. Only thing that can really apply to is he's still able to potentially add to his game. he'll be 26 when the season starts. he's very very close to the established player he is. at this point there's a few things he still needs to learn to become an unquestioned superstar and be able to lead houston to a title. he's got more than enough experience in the playoffs. he'll likely be in the mvp conversation for the foreseeable future.
     

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