[ClutchFans] Podcast: Rockets take Game 5, but Harden still in a deep funk

For sure... But it kinda seemed like he was bashing Bev for being sick. Obviously not what he was doing but his tone made it sound that way.

And I disagreed with how he took almost all negatives out of the game 5 win.

 

He is on my ignore list, he is just trolling.

 

Harden is "getting a pass?" That's stupid.

 

I did and you trashed him a lot before you started giving him credit. Ray Finkel moment? It was not an easy situation to call timeout. People are conversion on him. People focus on Lin's mistake on here and forget it was easier for McHale to call time out. People forget Lin put himself to get that rebound when Harden and Beverly stood by.

It does sound like you are harping on the negative when Lin has played very well most of the series and except for a couple of boneheaded plays (not talking about the Mo steal) and a couple of airballs he has played very well. Harp on that.

Geez he played a big part in our only two wins and did everything in overtime for us to win game one. He is playing his best basketball. He is playing well. Yeah Houston will try to move him but that's been going on since the beginning of the season. The playoffs won't change that much. They still want to trade him but who wants that contract.

Lin is arguably the second best player this playoffs. You could argue Parsons and Asik are but Parsons disappears in the second half. Asik hasn't contributed early and while he is playing much better he still misses too many easy shots. Harden and bev are out of the discussion for different reasons. So give Lin some credit for the series not just game 5.

 

Well thought post. Lin earned more respects from me for his toughness and his hustle. After so many negativities going on across the BBS and internet against him, and so many people bashing him for the turnover ( which was a result of Lilliar's foul uncalled by ref.), and even boos from his own home court fans, he is not quitting. I was too pissed off of the turnover and thought he should have called timeout, but when you have people around you it might not be easy for him to call it. The most important thing I observed in game 5 is that this kid is tough, mentally tough.

 

At least be honest, you're not a Lin Fan.

 

After doing more calculations, I found it pretty ironic that Harden has missed more shots per game (15.4) than the 15 shots he took in game 5. He made 118 FGAs but missed 77 in the last five playoff games.

And he has been lazy on offense, have shot 58 treys but missed 46, 49.15% of a total of 118 FGAs, resulting in 20.68% in 3P%.

He has 60% less drives than in the regular season. That's the main reason why he has got much less foul calls in the playoffs.

 

"He has flaws" is safe enough to say for almost all players, even stars; Harden is demonstrating some of his own flaws in this series as well. But in the year 0 BH, where were we going to go anyway? Lin had basketball upside and a current level of star power.

As for not a star, he is clearly not a player who can make it work in any environment, which is what you expect of a top level star. But next to Harden is also clearly not the place where he is playing his best game. In a more structured system and with a less ball dominant fellow guard, the story could still change.

(I originally ended that with "Or not." But, hey, way to take a stand. So I took it out.
Besides, he's still playing here. Maybe this playoffs is where he seizes the 6th man role and runs with it.)

 

good post. and even morey said earlier today that lin's turnover in gm 4, while would've been great if he had called a timeout, wasn't all that bad considering there were still 35 sec on the clock and not under 24. he also credited mo williams for making an incredible play - knock ball away, save it in-bounds, and knock down a 3. he'll prob never do that again for a long time. i don't think people gave enough credit to mo for making that play.

i really don't think it's a coincidence that he played his best game while bev played the least and as did Harden. he just needs his minutes to get into a rhythm and last night, he got his minutes. mchale needs to give him more minutes earlier in the game.

 

I am completely on board with letting Draigc go for Lin was a mistake, but I don't think we have yet to witness what Lin is truly capable of yet. He seems to run the offense well when he is running point.

Having Dragic right now would definitely be an upgrade, but how would our offense look like? will Mchale let Dragic get those double screen like he is getting in phoenix? Is he going to be relegated to a spot up shooter and perimeter defender and let Harden runs the show?

Dragic would definitely be more consistent than Lin and won't have those bone head plays neither, but I doubt he can produce the number he is producing now in Phoenix when Harden and Howard are on this team.

 

Clutch, I wish you'd acknowledge part of Lin's inconsistency is due to his inconsistent role and usage. I mean, it's blatantly obvious. The consistent expectations placed on him combined with his inconsistent handling is mindblowing. The facts are: he is best playing as a PG, best as a PNR player, best as a driver - not a 3 pt shooter. It's on the coaching staff to make use of that.

 

Both Dragic and Lowry did better after they left the Rockets and neither were very enthusiastic about the coaching; I don't think this is a coincidence.

 

I thought Clutch would know better, but morey didn't let dragic go FOR lin; he let dragic go FOR cap flexibility going into 2015 free agency. Whether or not that was a mistake wouldn't be realized until we see what we get with that cap space in 2015.

getting lin wasn't up to the Rockets at the time; it was up to the Knicks. Morey, when deciding whether to give dragic the 4th yr option, did NOT have dragic and lin to choose from. he had dragic, and cap flexibility in 2015. he chose cap flexibility. he had no idea harden would even be available to him, and dwight had turned down houston once already.

 

From here:

D12 20
Harden 14
Asik 5
Lin 5
TJones 1.5
Parsons <1
Beverly <1
Daniels 160k

Based on 2014 playoff production so far, there is only one person on this list who is overpaid, and I'm praying that he steps up.

 

I think the criticism he received in the podcast was fair; on the site was just a little over the top.

But then, we don't know how the rest of the playoffs goes. He could play himself onto another team by being good, or by being bad, or by being really bad. If he's really good, on the other hand, life will get confusing for everyone.

 

For some reason, whenever the whole Lin thing comes up, I often have a flashback to this episode of The Simpsons in which these puppies are pawing the tv screen and the family is giggling and oohing and awwing over how cute they are, and then the cat walks in, tries the same thing, and Homer screams "GET THAT CAT OUT OF HERE!!!" Maybe it doesn't make make a lot of sense.

 

the "dribbling like a 5th grader" line was a bit much, especially considering harden and bev has made the same kind of dumb turnover at the end of games. But maybe they were just "disengaged"...