the cavs weren't down 3-2 in a must win game after lebron threw the game before. so no, he didn't pull a harden.
No what I'm saying is that one has established a habit of winning rings and making finals appearances and the other has made a habit of being accused of being drunk. And this is not just one game for Harden.
I wonder if you guys use this logic everywhere in life.... Like I might as well drive this old beat up car that runs hot every time I drive a block since it's the exact same as the newer car I got that had that engine issue that one time. Or for the fishermen, you may as well fish in the spot where you've never caught a fish or even heard of anyone catching a fish there since that one day in your favorite fishing spot you didn't do so well. Or you may as well eat at the restaurant with the terrible food and terrible reviews since your favorite place that you've eaten at and trusted for years recently got a bad review.
Some people still don't get it... Some are pissed at harden because he melted down at the crucial time - again... and they question if he has the mental fortitude to hold it together to win a championship... Still others are pissed because it looked like james just flat out dgaf.... not having a single fga or rebound through the first quarter and a half of an elimination game.... Nobody is saying - James had a bad game - let's trade him! It's deeper than that... Pointing at a 4x MVP with 3 Finals MVPs who had a bad game - and saying "look - it's the same thing" - is not grasping the situation...
Has nothing to do with being dense. We can look at Lebron now and excuse him because his accomplishments but let's not act as if he was never considered a choke artist. Matter of fact until he joined not one but two super teams he was ridiculed for not getting it done. James since coming here has never had that much talent, hell we were picked to be 8th!! So I'm not gonna sit here and make assumptions based on one game about Harden. I've seen Houston damn near turn their back on Hakeem and look how it turned out. Funny how Durant and Lebron both went to stacked teams and here we are blasting a guy who tried to do it alone and failed. What did you expect really?
imo... Some are too emotionally invested in harden, so they refuse to see the concerns... Denial is more than just a river in Egypt... Others see harden as our only chance to win and they are fearful that losing harden would automatically revert us back to the 'treadmill of mediocrity' ... A drowning man grasps at straws... To be fair, there's plenty of idiocy on the other side too... some of the trades I've seen proposed just make me smh... I'm not looking to ditch harden for a handful of beans - but I would entertain offers... If we could pull off a Hershel Walker type deal... it'd be something to consider... and just for the record, I wouldn't have trusted Carroll Dawson to maximize the return... but Morey? Yeh, I'd let Morey see what he could put together... harden wasn't considered all that when Morey pulled the trigger on that deal... so I'd let the Eel entertain offers and see if he saw something he liked...
ya'll act like harden didn't choke with 2 mvps and one of the best shot blockers in the league on team before in 2012? that talent sure saved his ass when he checked out in that game 6 vs the clippers. lebron even before he won a ring was still dominate for the most part in the playoffs. it's not one game. james has been poor so far in the playoffs as a number 1 option. his game seriously declines in the playoffs when teams actually gameplan for him. he has never risen his game in the playoffs and that is a legitimate cause for concern. the rockets were simply a better team than the spurs without parker and kawhi and harden blew it.
It will be same year after year and people will still find ways to compare Harden to Lebron, Durant and other 2 way players who had already reasonable success in the playoffs and also choked. Everything that he is not. Beard is a special regular season player who would need a Lebron or Durant to actually have a sniff at the Finals (OKC in 2012). You do not need to turn your back on him but do not treat him like your golden treasure because that would make him even more entitled and mentally weak. He should be held accountable every failed playoff tenure.
Lebron took the Cavs to the finals when he was a young player and the next best player on the team was who? Larry Hughes? He did that while beating the championship Pistons. The first super team assembled in the east was the Celtics and that was to get past James. Look, the mere fact that you are comparing Harden to James and Hakeem is the height of density. I like Harden and I would not trade him to to get rid of him, but currently I do not trust him as a basketball player to elevate his game in the playoffs like the all time greats have demonstrated.
Michael Jordan was a killer, scorer and closer. His job was to close out close games, and obtain incredible stats. Lebron is an allround guy, a leader in other ways, he has way more to do. Rbs, Asts, Blks, Stls. A bulked up Jordan frame and skills with a Scottie Pippen mindset. Harden is similar, not as good, athletic, defensive minded, strong and agile as Lebron but he is also more finesse. He is hogging the ball way more than Lebron. That is exactly why Lebron and Harden are more dependent on role players and other stars. They are facilitators and more helpers than closers. They make other dudes look good while still being able to score themselves. They need players like Robert Horry. The guys that stay hidden and wake up in the 4th quarters and around buzzer time. Derek Fisher for the Lakers.
Lebron also plays in the east with two superatrs who have been to multiple all star games and made clutch shots ...... but yeah totally comparable
Maybe he has it in his contract that he doesn't get paid unless he takes it more that 4 games... cause guess who is paying his salary. He's Lebron James. He doesn't get to be 11 points 6 TO. In that regard, he is no Michael Jordan nor Larry Bird. Michael never stopped competing. He loved to stick it to the opposing player.
As you said, the Cavs scored 42 points in the second half. In the last 16 minutes, Lebron had 4 FGA. So what happened to the rest of the Cavs' FGA in the second half? In the second half, Love shot 1-5. Smith shot 2-6. Korver went 0-3.
Lebron is top 5-10 ALL-TIME. Harden is not an "all-time great", he's just an elite offensive player in this era. Which is why the Rox need a better roster. For, instance, who's the 2nd best player on the Rox roster? There is more work to be done.
There is a decent chances Lebron sets the all time playoff scoring mark this series. He is also top 3 in assists and he isn't 33 yet. He is in the MJ tier.
Harden quit and he hasn't won anything. Lebron has won multiple championships and had 1 bad game in the playoffs which he has otherwise dominated. Not comparable.
He attempted Well, you just have some fans here that see Harden as untouchable. They feel since he's the only superstar we've had in years, he's entitled to quit whenever he chooses. I don't they even they care if he quit or not. It's "be grateful" he's here and shut up. Most these ppl were babies or weren't alive when Rudy T gave his "Heart of a Champion" speech. So Rockets players having heart doesn't resonate to them
Are people actually arguing that smart scoring 15 more points was more important than Lebron scoring more than 30 below his playoff average? Wow lol. This distance people go to defend their priors is absolutely insane.
