1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

[ESPN / Watkins] Harden, Howard and Rockets face uncertainty

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Deuce, Apr 27, 2016.

  1. RasaqBoi

    RasaqBoi Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2007
    Messages:
    17,079
    Likes Received:
    20,703
    If everyone is constantly on the team bus and your franchise player isn't .............. that does not look good. Gives the wrong impression to the guys. I'm just saying.
     
  2. T_Man

    T_Man Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Messages:
    6,529
    Likes Received:
    2,420
    Hmmm..... I wonder if the organization would allow other players such as Bev, Jones or Brewer to do that...

    T_Man
     
  3. YOLO

    YOLO Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Messages:
    46,475
    Likes Received:
    44,651
    oh man its gotten to the point where people are bringing up team bus rides as the problems for houston. my how this season was a wreck.
     
  4. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    34,061
    Likes Received:
    13,410
    All I'm hearing is a bunch of speculation about how people might feel and how those feelings they might have might affect their play. Waiting to see some indication that it actually makes any difference to anybody because it sounds like a bunch of bs to me. It's teenage girl stuff.
     
  5. daoshi

    daoshi Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2002
    Messages:
    3,021
    Likes Received:
    75
    This remind me a story with Curry after they won the title last year.

    One day, Curry walked in the GM's office with a sunglasses, that got this reaction from GM Bob Myers, "Really, this is what we become after title? Wearing this inside?".

    Curry has never done that again.
     
  6. scolandry1

    scolandry1 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2010
    Messages:
    3,868
    Likes Received:
    3,573
    The other bus is much shorter (no leg room)
     
  7. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2008
    Messages:
    25,522
    Likes Received:
    1,109
    Except that there's TWO buses that shuttle players and staff...one bus leaves early...players can choose either....so it's kind of hard to get the wrong impression, when you don't see half the players anyway.
     
  8. joeson332

    joeson332 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2014
    Messages:
    6,663
    Likes Received:
    2,616
    All I care about is has JB been fired yet
     
  9. chievous minniefield

    chievous minniefield Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2001
    Messages:
    2,240
    Likes Received:
    1,226
    It's definitely not you. I've been reading Watkins since he was a Cowboys beat writer, and he sucked there, too.

    He might be a nice guy, but his writing is pretty terrible.

    He meanders.
     
  10. Texanasiafan

    Texanasiafan Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2013
    Messages:
    7,003
    Likes Received:
    2,812
    Good selling points for Morey to any FA this summer.

    "Come to Houston and play with Harden, you can have the whole forking bus by your own to ride to the arena."
     
  11. Joshfast

    Joshfast "We're all gonna die" - Billy Sole
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2001
    Messages:
    6,473
    Likes Received:
    2,065
    But millennial men = teenage girls. Times' a changing Juan, these guys are sensitive, entitled divas that will let a whole season go to waste because they are full of ****.
     
  12. Vivi

    Vivi Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2016
    Messages:
    18,561
    Likes Received:
    20,774
    True.


    But hey, maybe the chemistry was better last year cause Harden was always on the right bus :eek:
     
  13. J.R.

    J.R. Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2008
    Messages:
    106,788
    Likes Received:
    154,648
    [rQUOTEr]Calvin:

    ...

    Morey said no interviews have occurred yet, but that if things are to improve, the chemistry must. James Harden is at the forefront of this. He can no longer ride to road games by himself; he needs to be on the team bus like everybody else, unless, of course, he’s back in his native Los Angeles, visiting family.

    NBA players have homes in cities where they grew up or played in previously and sometimes won’t stay at the team hotel on the road, and that’s fine for Harden and others. Outside of that, everybody needs to ride together on the team bus and team plane, stand together for the national anthem and huddle up together after player introductions.

    Harden typically bolts to stretch his legs at the scorer’s table following player intros instead of huddling one last time with his teammates. It’s a small thing, a nitpicky deal, but when people on your team talk about dysfunction and chemistry, the little things -- like not huddling with your team after being introduced -- say something. It’s something Harden did at times last season, too.

    A togetherness was missing.

    Many point to the relationship between Harden and Dwight Howard as the cause of the problems. It wasn’t good, but they didn’t hate each other -- it just didn’t work on the court. Harden seemingly lost trust in Howard’s game, and took more of the offensive load while others struggled.

    It has led to reports from commentators saying nobody wants to play with Harden.

    ...[/rQUOTEr]
     
  14. T_Man

    T_Man Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Messages:
    6,529
    Likes Received:
    2,420
    Calvin is basically saying everything that has been pretty much talked about on this site and reported by others.

    T_Man
     
  15. RV6

    RV6 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2008
    Messages:
    25,522
    Likes Received:
    1,109
    ^^^ that paragraph saying Harden has to stop taking a car to games, etc...that's not what Morey told him, is it? It sounds like commentary from Watkins.

    And Morey is talking about other teams saying negative stuff..but it's also been..Calvin Watkins. :p
     
  16. J.R.

    J.R. Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2008
    Messages:
    106,788
    Likes Received:
    154,648
    Calvin: James Harden's injury & getting fat a precursor to disappointing Rockets season

     
  17. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2002
    Messages:
    56,793
    Likes Received:
    39,077
    The team has problems. It doesn't take a Rocket scientist to figure that out. This stuff from Watkins, however, sounds more like typical ESPN manufactured drama to produce more hits for their website and more viewers for their multiple cable channels. Harden is an easy target. He's not the world's most verbose, outgoing guy, a guy who can easily deflect criticism, easily defend himself and his team. That's on his personality, not his basketball ability, which is All World, in my humble opinion. The Rockets franchise has always, for whatever reason, been a target for hit pieces in sports media, post Twin Towers, and that's a long ass time to be dumped on.

    We need a strong, brilliant, and deeply experienced coach. A coach who can implement a solid defensive system, an offense that has actual plays, instead of what seems like street ball half the time. A coach who can instill a culture of winning and accountability, for the players and the coaching staff. A coach all the players have great respect for. Harden wants to win and he needs both the right players around him and the guidance to make him as effective as he can be within the system the new coach brings with him or her.

    If we could steal a top assistant from the Spurs who could bring some of that culture with him/her, along with a basketball mind able to adapt to the changes in the league, something the Spurs seem to do effortlessly, that might do the trick. Who stands out on the staff of the Spurs that would make a great head coach? Messina and Hammon intrigue me. The Spurs come to mind because I really admire what they do. Others are out there. Guys like Van Gundy would be a risk, as would Hammon of the afore mentioned Spurs, like McHale was, in a way. Sometimes risks work out. RudyT was a gamble himself, not one Les took, who leans more towards "famous names." What the organization is doing needs to change. Let's hope it isn't change simply for the sake of change. That didn't work well 11 games into the season, did it.
     
  18. T_Man

    T_Man Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Messages:
    6,529
    Likes Received:
    2,420
    Hmm... Some questions...

    If Harden was riding to the games with his teammates before, when did he stop?

    Did he get an OK from the Coach or GM to do this?

    Also with all the other nitpicky things, when did they start?

    Why didn't the Coach and the GM have a mtg with Harden before things got to where they are to put an end to it?

    As a parent I know it's my kid's job to try and get away with as much as they can... And it's my job to not let them..

    But it seems that the coach and the Front office were ok with the things that Harden was doing and only decided to change things once this article came out.

    T_Man
     
  19. J.R.

    J.R. Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2008
    Messages:
    106,788
    Likes Received:
    154,648
    He did it because he could get away with it. Rockets allowed it. And nothing has changed. We won't know until next year if things have changed or not.

    It's likewise on Houston for allowing it.

    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The optics are bad for a team leader not to ride with his teammates whatever Harden's reasons are. It's likewise on Houston for allowing it.</p>&mdash; Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/725759960416555008">April 28, 2016</a></blockquote>
    <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now