[Chron] Stage is set for Harden's next big step with the Rockets

Yeah, lets do it like Denver and go iso at the end of the game.

 

"Harden and the Dead Weight"

 

Who does this dufus think he is?!? He has nowhere near the athletic ability and straight-up talent it requires to be on the level of the some of the players he mentioned. Lebron?!? Kobe?!? Durant?!? Are you kidding me? Harden will never be a good iso player because he just doesn't have the skills for it. This dude relies on FT to score 50% of his points. I mean, come on.

He needs to realize his limits and freaking pass to his talented teammates more. Parsons and Lin can go off for 20-30 points every single game. He should recognize their contributions instead of being a POS and taking all the credit himself. Consider me off of this guy's bandwagon. The 80 mil contract really got to him.

 

Gotta hate LOFs.

 

Jeeeeez, how quickly people turn on a guy.

Sampson says you have to keep a thumb on him. Look at McHale's responses. Can't you see where the trouble lies?

Remember that this team finally has hope for the future because we have that first foundation player.

Harden doesn't get a free pass, but my goodness. One step at a time.

 

Do NOT bring T-Mac's name into this. That's either dishonest or just wrong. Injuries, surgeries, special chair to sit in. . . . He was here for years. I hardly see a single point of similarity. Maybe you can elaborate.

 

It's really easy to forget James is only 23. ONLY 23. Just repeat that to yourself. Some board members here are old enough to be his grandfather. Being so successful at 23 especially in the professional sports world, you're like only 17 in the real world. As much as I want to throw my remote at the TV when he "Francis ISOs" 20 seconds off the clock and shoots a step back 3 or pass it to Jeremy who can't create his own shot, I realize these are the growing pains he's going to have to go through in order to grow.

People learn from their mistakes not their successes. For as great James is, he still needs to be humbled sometimes. And I don't fault him for this because again, he's only 23. Would it help to have some veteran leadership like a Charles Oakley type whose no nonsense approach would help James mature quicker? Probably. As the article suggests, James needs to be challenged and he needs to be rided on sometimes and I think the coaching staff behind closed doors are doing this, but they're carefully balancing the line between being too overbearing or too carefree. I can't say if McHale and Sampson are doing a good job in this, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Each person handles criticism differently. From the article and previous accounts, James like any super talented 23 year old (we heard the same about LeBron James), he can be a little stubborn, cocky, and dismissive of authority. But, as we saw happen to LeBron, he matured immensely as time went on and adversity mounted. James will go through the same maturation process and this series against OKC will do wonders for that. Comparing him to Jeremy Lin, I think a lot of people are overlooking the possibility that Jeremy can handle more criticism, which is why we see McHale being so hard on Jeremy and less so with James. Not saying that Jeremy will ever be as good as Tony Parker, but we saw the same happen with Popovich's treatment of Tony in his early years.

Remember guys, James is ONLY 23.

 

Well you might as well get off the Rockets bandwagon for the next five years too, because he's the guy we've tied our fates to for better or worse.

Like McHale said, Harden gets a pass this year. He's already ahead of schedule in terms of his development, and next year we'll have a whole new set of expectations to thrust upon him.

 

I always assumed the special chair had something to do with McGrady's back

 

Okay, how about Harden and ISO with a bunch of Third Wheels.

Jokes aside, when Harden used the term "brought along," it really sounds like his teammates are some third wheels if not dead weight. But as ROXTXIA pointed out, someone is enabling Harden's issues by handing over the leash to Harden himself. While I kind of understand why that person does that, we can only hope his bet works out and Harden won't turn into Melo 2.0.

 

lol LOF

 

Really? Really?? Get your head out of your arse bro cause without james, we wouldnt even be in this situation. Sure he comes off a bit arrogant but we need someone who is a bit on that side...He has all the tools to be a superstar IMO and many analysts feel the same as well. What glasses are you using to watch bro? lol

 

My only wish for Harden is to PASS the ball in playoff. If I didn't see that, I would see him not leader of this team.

 

................ ???

 

I don't think one statement in this thing is correct. He has all the tools, and is already a good iso player. Parsons, and Lin have the ability to put up 20-30 pts sometimes, not every night. If they had that kind of ability they would score more points, simple is that.

 

I think people do learn from their successes, but they learn "MORE" from their mistakes. As rox said, he's only 23! He's also a rookie as the team leader and #1 option. I'm really excited to see what happens when he has a full training camp with this squad next season.

 

I'm going to get flamed for this, but could we have sold McHale a little short? Was he actually being smart by letting Harden have all that freedom in the last few games after the playoffs were clinched? By letting Harden make mistakes along the way is he grooming him for something greater? I admit I've been on the "WTF are you doing?" train for a while now in regards to a lot of the coaching moves, but maybe, just maybe they have a long term plan in place. I mean, we know there's a small chance we'll move on this year, so maybe the house money is being played for the future.

Or McHale could just be the lazy, clueless moron who's putting all his eggs in the Harden basket and praying that Harden matures and learns on his own.

Thoughts?

 

there could be some truth to this.. Phil Jackson was never over-bearing either. He let his stars do their thing

though im not sure mchale brings that philosophical element

 

Per Synergy, Harden is a good/great ISO Player (.95ppp, 26th in the league). However, the ISO is statistically not a great play, unless it's at the end of quarters, where it's vital that you get the last shot, or go for a 2-1...basically it's great for clock management. He is however elite as a PnR ballhandler and off hand-offs, and does very well off cuts and is a good spot up shooter. All these plays I've listed are more efficient than ISOs, for him personally and for the league as a whole. Basically, ISO is a piss poor play for any perimeter player, unless used for clock management purposes.

 

I agree, all I was saying was that Harden must have the tools to be good in the iso situation since he already is good in it. He will become less selfish when he has a little more experience in his new role. It takes time to learn how to carry a team, while still being a part of it.