OP - you should not have mentioned "LIN" in your post and title. This is just going to degrade into an drama/b****/whine-fest.
the only Harden TO that drive me nuts, is when he dribbles at top of key, and passes it to the wing... lately , either its been a TO or person isnt ready and it flys out of bounds. Last night 2 times, if he would of gave CP a better pass, he might of hit the 3 and not been as off balanced
You really need to be looking TOV% or per 100. Raw numbers are pretty useless. Harden could average 10 turnovers a game, but if every single possession goes through him that would make us the best in the game. As I noted above, among players that play significant minutes, Harden is fourth in turnover efficiency. And on a side note, this is why going after Anthony is so appealing. He is ridiculously awesome at taking care of the ball.
So until Lin is off the team or scoring like Harden, it is okay for Harden to throw lazy passes and play lazy defense? Once Lin is off the team, it will be another scapegoat to excuse other players' deficiencies? This team will go nowhere with the sort of mentality.
That's not neccesarily accurate. Some turnovers are just mental lapses where he just throws the ball away. Stop giving him a pass. I'd say most of his turnovers are fundamental mistakes that shouldn't happen often but somehow do anyway. His focus just isnt on the game during some stretches. It's important he fix this before we start talking championship
So identifying a weakness is now called scapegoating? What should we do to improve? Hope our guys start playing differently, or identifying weaknesses and try to address through trade and free agency?
This is exactly what I'm saying. I watch the game and notice those lazy azz passes where he's dribbling and just chunks the ball to the wing and it either goes out of bounds or get's stolen for a uncontested layup for the other team. Atleast we know you actually watch the game
Did you see what I was replying to? Basically, Harden's turnovers are not a problem until Lin score as efficiently as Harden?!?
Yes, I did. He was referring to the OP's claim that Harden's turnovers are just as much a problem as Lin's, which isn't true. Harden's turnovers really aren't a problem. It is a sunk cost. It is not something that can be improved upon and is right there with other high usage superstar SGs. There really isn't a need to discuss it much at all. It is not systemic issue or scheme issue, it is a natural by product of what he is. Harden is what he is. The irreplaceable center cog to the Rocket's machine. If the Rockets are going to improve it is going to be in areas outside of Harden.
You are CRAZY if you think Harden's turnovers aren't a problem. They were a problem against OKC in last years playoffs, and have been a problem this year. Don't give me that high usage crap either. Him standing at the top of the key throwing the ball right into the other team's hands isn't due to anything but lack of mental focus. He needs to protect the ball better or we're not going anywhere. The excuses made for Harden are becoming disgusting at this point
So what is your solution to this? Trade Harden? Bench him? A stern talking too? It is what it is. It is not something that is fixable. Its better to focus on things that can be improved upon.
That's not what I read. He said that Harden's turnovers should not even be discussed until Lin becomes a better scorer. I just don't see the connection between Lin's scoring efficiency and Harden's turnovers. As for me, Harden's assist/turnover ratio is not particularly good for being the primary ballhandler. His overall turnover rate isn't bad though. I still think we should find a point guard to take the ball our of Harden's hands a bit.
The solution is either one of the coaches or somebody like Parsons calling him out on it. He needs to make a effort to stop making lazy passes. What ISN'T the solution is having Harden think it's okay to turn the ball over because of his "high usage". The Rockets organization need to push him
