For the third season now, Harden and Howard have proved unable to lead us to a championship, and many analysts have cited the immense talent they each have. It's clear they don't have chemistry. But why? Howard is clearly unhappy about the way the team views his game (and it shows on the court, regardless of what he says to the media). When locked in, he's a defensive force to be reckoned. But he's not locked in. Why would he when Harden rather take pull up shots instead of recognizing mismatches and feeding him the ball? Why would he be locked in when Harden doesn't play defense (minus this GSW series. He's actually given a lot of effort on that end). Harden, despite the belief of many people who don't watch the game, is actually very unselfish. He will lob it up or hit the open shooter if they have a better shot, but they simply cannot shoot. He's not locked in either (mostly defensively). Why would he be locked in defensively, which Howard is supposed to anchor, when Howard can't even make free throws (which Harden shoots very well)? Why would he feed it to Howard when Howard will just get hacked and miss the ensuing free throws? Instead of focusing on their strengths and using the best in each other for the team, they don't respect (put some respeck on it) each other and instead, this disastrous chemistry is what results. Personally, I blame coaching for not being able to get the players to bring their own ego down for the sake of the team. The era is over...
should have started a thread long ago This is not the downfall of it, it is the end of that era if nothing else happens
Season 1 - Dwight was hurt majority of the season, and Lillard stomped on the Rockets in the playoffs. Season 2 - Dwight was in and out of the lineup most of the season, and the Rockets played very well without him there. Then in the postseason, Howard got going, but Harden started going cold. The Western Conference finals rolled around and talent was exposed. Season 3 - Nightmare since the beginning, as these "two stars" got their head coach fired. JBB had NO respect, and the players just regressed all around. The fact is that Harden and Howard were just a terrible combination. Remember when they suggested that their pick and roll would be impossible to stop??? LOL. They have more botched post up opportunities than highlight plays. Finally...Morey's gamble on a system that didnt have the right players. Having players that CANT shoot, but are given green lights to jack up shots? WTF is that? The Rockets better be ready to clean house, and if Morey is collateral damage...I really dont care. I watched every second of the game tonight...even though they were getting shelled. I love my team and my city...but as a life long fan...Im embarrassed that these clowns represented "Clutch City."
Chasing some mythical 3rd star instead of building a team---and getting a competent coach. "lost to portland? Lets extend Mchale!"
It's not that hard to find the cause: Your best offensive player plays poor defense Your best defensive player plays poor offense Both of your supposed top players include all of the above. There's never been an instance in the past 30 years where a championship team has been built around two stars that severely lacked on one side of the court. I still have hope that Harden can turn into an average or slightly below average defender. Howard? He's done.
