last night's game was one of the most bizarre i have ever seen, in decades of watching nba ball. the number of times that harden seemed to not care on both offense and D, it often looked like he was, dare i say it, throwing the game. as ludicrous as it sounds, i wondered at times if he was actually trying to get mchale canned
Harden has lost his chance to be considered mvp. I'll say it he's playing a very selfish immature style of basketball. May adidas and khloe have gone into his head, thinking he's already made it. When you look at Westbrook's drive even when he's not playing well, no comparison. He's frustrated but he's not communicating with his teammates. I don't think we'll go far with this guy.
The thing is with the Adidas contract at $200m, is that even if Harden goes from MVP contender to merely an all-star, he may get a contract that is $3-5m per year less, which over 5 years is like $15-25m. What's that compared to a shoe contract guaranteeing you $200m + a next contract that will still give you $100m. So combined $300m pretty much in the bag already ... why not slacken off a bit.
No. Basically the penetration from the perimeter and the lack of any help defence is so much that even a good defensive center like Dwight is unable to protect the rim adequately. You can take Gobert, Bogut, Chandler etc all the good defensive centers in the league, put them in the Rockets and the results would be the same. Defence is a team's job not a player's job even if that player is the center. And in the clip you posted it wasn't Dwight's fault. He was away from the rim guarding Lopez. It was the job of the wings to grab the rebound. You can't expect the center to guard guys out near the perimeter AND come back inside to grab the rebounds.
huh? Did you read the article? Because it clearly demonstrates that it is in fact, VERY EASY to single out one person... James Harden. In fact the author who is far from a Harden hater (had an article last year about Hardens improve defense) shows Hardens lack of effort this year with a number of all too common lackluster efforts in the form of GIFs. Thats not to say everything is his fault, but his effort or lack thereof is by far the worst on the team. Finally while Howard may not be the defensive presence he use to be, the numbers in the article clearly shows he's also not the problem as his presence still reflects a positive impact in the defensive rating and in opponent fg % in the paint as well as rebounds.
Even if Harden "KNOCK ON WOOD" falls off to a mere All Star he won't get less money in his next contract. 25 per is the new ROOKIE max in 2 seasons which many players will get.
there were several possessions with him at the top of the key dribbling, and it really did look like he literally just handed the ball to the defender. i don't know how that happens multiple consecutive times at any level of basketball.
Exactly. Bill Russell/Mutombo nor The Dream could make the Rockets a good defensive team, if the perimeter players namely Harden, Lawson, Brewer and Thorton continue to let their man into the paint at will. Furthermore when Dwight rotates over to defend against the blow by or else give up an easy layup, the other players are failing to rotate to rebound or cover his man. Doing those rotations right can be difficult but manageable a few times a game, but it isn't possible if your perimeter defense is getting beat every other time.
I agree that the effort is terrible, but I disagree that James Harden is the lone problem. Everybody has underwhelmed, even guys like Ariza and Howard who are normally studs. Harden definitely is a huge issue on that end, though. No doubt. He has not set the proper tone for the team like he should.
Howard and Ariza have been fine. The reason you don't see articles made about Terry Lawson Thornton Brewer etc is because they either lack youth (Terry) height (Lawson) or are pretty much scrubs/role players who were never good defenders. But Harden is not only the leader and star of the team but also has all the athletic ability in the world to be a good defender. He has all the tools, height quickness strength youth. But he demonstrates more that any other player a lack of effort. That's why.
I don't think any reasonable person will claim that Harden is the lone problem. But he is IMO definitely the one with the most culpability. Not only because he is the best player on the team (stars get the most credit and blame), but also because he is the most guilty. Matt Moore didn't have to dig deep to find those gifs of Harden just plain not giving a sh#t on defense, in fact he probably left out numerous other examples and the Rockets have only played 10 games. Aside from Lawson, I doubt I could find even half the times a player on the team displayed such terrible effort or bad defense. Harden is one of the best offensive talent in the league, but if he wants to be a top 5 or even top 10 player, let alone the best... he can't not TRY on defense. He doesn't have to be Paul George or Kawhi or CP3, he just has to at least try... for as bad a defender Nash or Dirk was, they deign to make an effort.
Meanwhile Lebron says the Cavs are giving "half-assed effort" and that they need to improve in every facet of the game after a Cavs double-OT loss to end their 9 game winning streak, meanwhile Harden is still on his pathetic " Meh, it's only been x amount of games into the season" excuse. http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25375405/cavaliers-lebron-james-we-give-a-half-ass-effort-sometimes
Screw Lebron. His team gave a good effort by they still lost. Tough to accept that sometimes the other team plays better?
LeBron is a champion and is a leader. He also is a true MVP calibre player, James Harden is none of those things.
A guy claiming to be the best player in the NBA and getting paid the big $$$$ should in no way be giving that little of a ****. Go 0-10 multiple games. Heck even turn it over while you're trying to get it going. Just don't stand their like you don't give a rat's ass. Its insulting to all of us that root for you, wear your merchandise and tout you as the leader of our favorite team.
I've never seen a set of fans turn against their own star player like this in all my life of watching basketball. Fans usually defend their own till the very end but Clutchfans throw Harden under the bus and place the blame solely on him. If Harden alone is the sole reason for our offensive/defensive woes then that means we're a poorly coached team because truly great teams aren't reliant on one player to do everything. Curry is a poor defender but he's surrounded by elite defenders to hide his deficiencies on that end. They also have multiple knockdown shooters & playmakers in their starting lineup hence doubling him will result in punishment. That's how you build a great team around your star player. Instead Harden has to generate offense by himself in the most iso heavy system in the League & is surrounded by substandard shooters that still chuck 3's like they're all Reggie Miller in his prime. Get Harden his own Draymond Green & Steve Kerr before lampooning him.
