Who has the most pressure with the playoffs looming?

#1. Howard. He left the Lakers. He's in the play offs. The media will be zoomed in on him the entire series.

#2. McHale. If he makes too many coaching errors, I wouldn't be shocked if he's shown the door over the summer.

#1,945. Morey. He got Howard. He got Harden. He picked up Parsons, TJones, Beverley, Asik, Lin, etc. He's done about as well as you can hope in the last 2 years considering he completely tore apart the team and transformed it from K-Mart and Co and ended up with Harden, Howard on a a legitimate dark horse Championship contender with HCA in the West, and he STILL has loads of draft picks to improve.

 

in no particular order, Dwight Harden Mchale...every other player is playing with house money

 

It's Harden and Howard without question. They are the teams superstars.

 

Coach, Harden and Howard, and Lin have most pressure.

McHale: i think it's his contract year? So he has to do something with this team in post season to prove his worth. Even George Karl and Hollins wasn't safe from being fired.

Harden/Howard: this year is supposed to be a big year for both. Harden has Howard for help, and Howard is on a team that is supposedly has been the best team in succeeding in postseason in awhile.

Lin: His contract is questionable with his spotty play, him being on the bench, Linsanity expectations - fans will have a lot of expectations from him. Plus add on tot he fact that Lin has never had a complete/healthy run in the post season - Rockets fans and Knick fans will be scrutinizing on his play.

Rest of the Rockets don't have much pressure. But I suppose, the bench has the pressure to perform and contribute as well.

 

and make in-game adjustment too.

 

Howard by far. His career reputation is on the line. If he has a bad series and isn't in some way the difference maker for the Rockets he will be pounded by the media. Harden is a young phenom and his rep is under construction. Howard is supposed to be the old pro who takes us to the later rounds.

 

I don't think Harden is under any pressure. He's just going to go in there, shoot stepbacks and there are no doubters on him.

Howard tho

 

Lin. Every mistake he makes will be magnified like no other.

 

Lin shouldn't even be mentioned, he's a freaking role player. If Lin ACTUALLY has pressure to perform this playoffs, I will be upset because that would mean Lin is given > 25 mins a game, which isn't something I want from a spark plug off the bench.

In other words, Lin should not be given a chance to prove his contract's worth this playoffs because in order to justify a $15mil pay-day you'd need to play at least 30+ mins a game - the exact opposite of what we need.

Howard will be the one to get killed by the media, but I think Harden will not be immune to criticism. Harden absolutely got called in for his performance in the 2012 finals despite being only the 3rd best player on the Thunder. If he puts up disappointing numbers like 20/4/4 (disappointing relative to his season averages), then yes, he will get roasted if we lose to Portland.

 

HOWARD BY FAR all eyes will be on him, in fact they're already.

 

lol 20-4-4 is disappointing? these are the playoffs. defenses tighten up. it sounds like you are saying the playoffs rest on harden's shoulders to go ham

 

I honestly don't think there's any real pressure on Harden at all. Harden played well last year in the play offs. And he's still very young. Harden will get at least another year or two of the KD/CP3 "pass" while the team sorts it out as long as he doesn't play like absolute crap. However, he doesn't have to do anything extraordinary.

Howard will be expected to dominate at times. Even when he plays well, he still takes heat for not "demanding the ball" and "dominating the game". Guys like Barkley and Shaq will never cut him slack unless he's playing at/near MVP level in the play offs.

As for Lin, he'll feel some pressure from the fan base, however considering some have already written him off (expect him to play poorly), some feel he's playing out of position (won't be shocked if he's not spectacular in his role), and that he's a mid-level national media story (focus will be on Harden and Howard), I think the only real pressure on Lin will be from Lin. As for his health, if he's healthy he's healthy. If he's injured he's injured. At this point it is what it is. I doubt Lin will beat himself up too much for too long if he's injured and can't play well. He Will beat himself up a lot if he's healthy and doesn't play well.

 

Let me put it this way... if you were a Thunder fan, would you say 20-4-4 would be disappointing for KD?

Harden doesn't even have a Westbrook to share the ball with. Ideally we should be running the Harden/Howard pnr as much as we can. Harden's attempted 16.5 FGA's per game throughout the season and that number will likely be higher in the playoffs. IMO, Harden's the 3rd best offensive player in the NBA and I think holding him to his regular season averages is an acceptable standard.

 

A lot of people would want Howard to fail... Lakers fans, Magic fans, some media (probably because he left the Lakers), Warriors and Mavs (because Howard didn't sign with them. I say Howard bears a lot of pressure. Don't know if Howard pays attention to those, though.

 

I get what you're saying...Harden is probably a top 5 offensive player but I think there is a massive difference between KD/Lebron....and whoever #3 is

 

It's not even close in my opinion....

#1. McHale...... we have enough talent to beat ANYONE, and yet were capable of losing to ANYONE as well... It's time to put your big-boy pants on McHale and show us that your capable of being "That Coach" that elevates his team!

#2.

#3.

#4. Howard...... He chose Houston over L.A. & Dallas, both are darlings of the media! He needs to prove to the naysayers that he did the right choice by joining the Rockets! A good playoff run would shut their pie holes!

#5. Lin...... He has to prove to all of the NBA that he isn't over hyped and is a solid contributor on a title contending team! As it stands right now, there doesn't appear to be to much interest in acquiring him and his contract. If he plays in control, and to his strengths he can be a major asset in our title run. His value would sky rocket with a good solid performance in the playoffs!
.......
.......
.......

 

Mchale and Lin.
If they don't show up and perform, Mchale will get burned by writers, (analysts are in his corner), Lin will get burned by writers, analysts, and get traded for peanuts.

 

1. Howard: Him leaving the lakers upset a lot of people. A lot of media attention and a lot of people will want him to fail.

2. Mchale: Seriously if Mchale isn't able to get houston out of the first round, there will be serious doubts about his position as head coach. He has to make a decent run in this playoff to ensure his future with houston.

3. Harden: upcoming star, this is the type of playoff where he can firmly establish himself as a top player in the league or wither away from the spotlight.

Mentions

Jeremy Lin: I would say all the pressure is on himself to perform to his expectations. Can't really put pressure on a bench player to carry the team. Don't see him playing more than 25 minutes a night.

Patrick Beverley: and finally a quick mention to Pat Bev. His defensive play has rustled a few jimmies in the Blazers fanbase. Imagine Lillard vs Bev to be a fiery matchup in the first round.

 

Oh yeah, and Dwight, by LA friendly media

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>On the happier, more humble Dwight Howard &amp; how playoff success is the only way to rewrite this complicated script- <a href="http://t.co/qlN3YDX81t">http://t.co/qlN3YDX81t</a></p>&mdash; Sam Amick (@sam_amick) <a href="https://twitter.com/sam_amick/statuses/456801821881671681">April 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>A confident Howard to USAT: &quot;When you win games, nobody can say anything. So that's the only thing I'm going to do.&quot; <a href="http://t.co/qlN3YDX81t">http://t.co/qlN3YDX81t</a></p>&mdash; Sam Amick (@sam_amick) <a href="https://twitter.com/sam_amick/statuses/456802073447632897">April 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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