If the offense is PG oriented why is the PG not having the ball in his hands facilitating things & instead sitting at the baseline for a corner 3 (something he is poor at)? And why is the coaching staff making Harden something he is not, a PG? He is a SG who can pass really well but he isn't a PG. There is a big difference between the two. Jonathan Feigen said essentially the same thing.
No, we're not a playoff team. I think we are slightly worser then last year, if we don't make any further moves, I see us getting the 9th-11th pick in the draft.
Now, no way. However, the bright side is Houston is playing terrible so there's much growth to be had. 1st in the league in TO is not a good thing, so if Houston can cut that down that's going to be a world of difference. Also, hopefully the coaching staff understands that this Harden "iso" thing shoud be limited as it's not working. Harden needs to limit is TOs, Lin needs to be more efficient in scoring, O needs to just dunk things instead of dancing around the rim, and the other players need to make their shots. Lin's assist average could have been 2-3 more if shots were going down.
Appreciate your input but this is all sorts of wrong. First off we are not looking for a "final piece", I'm not even going to get into that, we are rebuilding. Next, besides OKC (who had monster raw talent) there is no team recently who got better in just a couple of years by sticking together and having playoff experience. You need a superstar in the NBA. Period. Nowadays you need a couple and you get those by either drafting them or trading for them. Nobody wants our abundance 14th draft picks and the past 4 years have shown that Morey isn't flipping our average to slightly above par talent for a star.
Why waste time to argue anymore. Although its only 6 games, I think who had watched all these 6 games would have a legitimate thinking about him already.
Yes Harden is a SG but i'm willing to bet he got most of the points through the pick and roll when he played with the Thunder. Harden is more of a pick and roll player than a SG you give the ball to and expect to score.
We have arguably the most raw talent of any roster in the NBA. Playoff experience and knowing what it will take to win does make an immeasurable difference on player development, in my opinion. There are the rare, rare Jordan / Lebron / Olajuwon superstars that you can tell almost immediately. These guys are acquired with #1 draft picks or fateful "The Decision" type events. But as a GM, you can't force that. And beyond that, 'stars' are often crowned such in retrospect, after winning. If we start gelling and get a system in place and (somehow) win a series, Harden and even Lin will be considered stars. If we don't win, your statement about having no stars will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. But it takes a team to win.
You are right. Harden was elite in the pnr & elite in isolation as well. I guess my point is that Harden is a lot more talented than Lin. So it would make the most sense to put Lin in a position that he can be successful in & have Harden adjust to that as opposed to the other way around. Lin is at his best with the ball in his hands directing the offense making decisions etc he is a terrible spot up shooter. So let him have the ball in his hands a lot more & have Harden have the ball in his hands a little bit less would likely work wonders that seemed to be the direction they were going in after yesterdays game. It sucks that we are playing Miami next. I would have liked a weaker opponent so that the team could figure this all out before we played the defending champions.
We're not playing anywhere close to a playoff caliber team (1-3 against teams that aren't the Pistons). However, we're young, which means we *should* improve as the season progresses.
Agreed on most of those points besides that Lin is or will be considered a star caliber player and that our raw talent is anywhere near close to that of 09-10 OKC, to compare this team to that is a little silly. When I say star, I don't care what media thinks, as in if we win a playoff series some writers will call Harden and Lin "stars". Will they be considerably better players than they are now by winning a series or more likely getting our butts kicked?...no, they won't. They for the most part are who they are. One of the young guys MIGHT turn out to be a diamond in the rough, but guess what, that is more of a longshot than getting a high draft pick and drafting for a proven vet.
I disagree with the notion that a 23 year old & 24 year old player are who they are right now & likely won't get better. Also I feel that you are underestimating how much better a player can improve by getting some playoff experience how much more confident they become. Look at Jrue Holliday for example, he got two rounds of play off experience and also participated in the USA select team. Thus far he has started off the season playing a lot better than last year. Danny Granger himself said that the playoff experience helps. It may be that the media thinks of them as stars but if GM's value successful playoff experience (even a first round elimination) then doesn't that increase a players trade value.
All those points are correct, I have absolutely nothing to counter that with. I'm being way too critical of players who are that young. +1 for you.
We are certainly not playing at a playoff level right now. If we manage to stay in the hunt and be close by the all-star game and we are at a point where we have a system that is maximizing our talent, then perhaps we could sneak in. I would say the odds are against it this year though. Of course, something like another unexpected trade or signing could change this in our favor. But as things stand now, we have tons of work to do in terms of chemistry and player to player awareness before we play consistently at a higher level.
