[ESPN / Watkins] Harden, Howard and Rockets face uncertainty

So do you get a coach to appease Harden's needs???

If so you will be getting a coach that will let Harden do what ever he wants...

This is just stupid and ridicules.

T_Man

 

But those guys earned the right to be divas. Kobe was winning titles when he was in his early 20's. Wade carried that aging Heat team to a championship when he was 24. LeBron single-handedly took the Cavs to the Finals when he was only 22.

Harden did help the Thunder get to the Finals in 2012. But he still has a lot to prove before he can act the way that trio has. Especially after his playoff performance in 2014 and the entire team's performance this year.

 

You know how many players sometimes travel different from their teams? It's not uncommon at all lol.

 

I GUARANTEE you that if Howard could have ANY kind of reliable offensive post moves, (you know, the kind of thing that teammates can get him the ball and have at least a reasonable confidence that he can beat his man and score), AND that he could hit at least a reasonable free-throw percentage.. then this entire 'They don't respect me' thing from Howard would not exist.

Look, I LIKE Dwight. He's obviously a good guy, probably really great to be around, probably a great friend.

But he has almost ZERO offensive skills other than dunking, and because of the awful FT%, he becomes essentially a lost possession, a turnover, just by throwing him the ball. Teammates can't get behind a guy like that.

If he would just concentrate on playing great defense, and pick-and-rolls for dunks, he would be a VERY effective player. But he thinks he is Hakeem, and he just isn't. Players know this, coaches know this, the fans know it.

If he would just do those things, Defense, block shots, be the safety net defensively like hakeem was, and work for those alley-oop dunks , and PRACTICE HIS GD FREE THROWS, then I would love to have him back, and so would everyone else.

But by this time in his career, this cat is who he is, and I don't see it ever changing. You can't win a chip with this guy as a main cog, he is too much of a liability for your own team, so much so that it literally becomes an ADVANTAGE to the other team that Dwight is on the floor.

Sorry to see him go, but he's gotta go.

Sad thing is, this all makes Harden look very bad. Harden could BARELY get away with everything HE does if he has really good teammates, but when he is basically flying solo, then it really REALLY makes him look bad, like not a leader, and not a guy anyone else would want to play with.

Morey, fix this thing!!!

 

Cliques kill.

When this season is truly over, it will come to light, one way or another.

 

Cod, Deuce axed you a question in the "dueling" thread about this article, but I can mention it here: (I think I remember it)....

How true do you think this article is?

 

I have no problem with how he wrote the article. If TRUE this shows us James Harden's colors. He thinks his s*** doesn't stink. You can NOT lead with that mentality or attitude. TRUE leaders help others succeed. Having some meat sock deliver your phone and bag because you are too important to pick your own d*** s*** up is idiotic. Dude needs a serious dose of humility or no one that has any self respect or feelings of self worth will want to play on the same court with him. Harden has the talent. He just doesn't have the humility.

 

I think it's popular to create some sort of "diva feud" between Dwight and James, but it's not necessarily true.

I'll keep it like this until "the end" allows everyone to be free: James and Dwight aren't doing much of any of the talking (at this point, anyway). True, each may have an ego, but both players are passive in the sense that they don't seem to address one another. IF there are problems, neither will admit to being the cause, which may turn out to be accurate. Cliques kill.

It was interesting to see Dwight/James/Jet walking out together. IMO, it seems to show how turmoil can snowball, even when it was minor at its onset.

I like how Jet is, once again, the bridge between our two "superstars." There are a few guys on the team that have been known to be great glue guys on the court, but more importantly, off of the court when things get more intimate.

 

He lived such an unsheltered life being raised by a single mother in Compton that he just isn't used to the success and celebrity status that he obtained.

There are two types of NBA players who were raised in a similar experience. There is the type that is humbled by their poor upbringing and don't take success for granted and then there are the Harden types that let it all go to their head.

 

Kobe was a diva. Still is. He found Pau and they were able to work things out. Shaq and Dwight are really similar. We just need to hire Rudy T, fire him, then bring Kevin McHale back with another center to win the title. Follow the laker pathway.

 

The fact that people compare Kobe and Jordan's demeanor to Harden makes me chuckle.

Kobe's demeanor allowed him to be the type of person who watched pretty much every calorie he put in and punishing himself with intense cardio every damn morning. He was a psychopath when it came to his trade craft and the dedication he put into it..

Some one tell me with a straight face that Harden has a meticulous diet.

 

Its not so strange that Harden doesnt take the team bus.
It doesnt help with chemistry. If this was a normal team with chemistry it wouldnt matter at all. However its not. Some small gestures that in a vacuum mean nothing matter much more when it comes to such things.
Maybe Harden tries to do other small gestures to help chemistry and be a leader.

 

Enabler franchise - enabler players......

We have an organizational problem here....no leadership.

DD

 

since when has humility a core trait of NBA players? (yeah, yeah, we all know about how curry sends happy birthday texts to the mothers of all the minimum wage staffers at oracle, that angel.)

our team needs leadership, unfortunately for us our best player doesnt fit the leadership archetype. neither does dwight or maybe anyone else on this squad. fortunately for us, JH is a top five offensive player in the league and that morey hopefully has the ability to bring in someone(s) else for that.

 

All I need to know about Howard occurred before he came to Houston...even before he went to LA.

It was during a game against the Magic where Yao was abusing him in the paint possession after possession. Rather than playing with more aggression and concentrating on how he can defend Yao differently, Howard took a cheap shot at Yao. Like, dude, that's how you react when you're getting dominated? If someone takes you out of your element even just by a bit, you lose your cool?

Now years later, Howard is still the same immature, impatient, offensively-unskilled center he was when he was in Orlando. The main difference is that the elite defense is gone.

In fact it was probably from this clip by Rockets2K

Yao Dominates Howard

 

guys...he's not flying on a different plane...it's just to ride to the arena from the hotel....this is hardly anything to be concerned about because there's usually an early bus and a later one...so, who rides when can sometimes be random...some players like the early bus, some the later one. James wants to get there even earlier, not a big deal. It's not like he's missing out on much on the way over, especially when they usually stay close to the arenas. Would it really improve team chemistry if he rode the earlier bus with trainers, the equipment manager, and a few players? what if the second bus had more players on it?

Calvin himself downplayed this on Twitter a few days ago...he's just using it now to have something to pair up with the metal detector story, so he can make a diva connection.



What is written about Howard is a problem though because those are actual quotes or something a source told him. It's not surprising though...hard to trust a guy who can check out so quickly mentally. James messes up, but I can at least him make extra efforts to provide a push when the team needs something...Howard, not so much. It's even surprising when he does it.

And perhaps we should have seen this coming...remember early last year, there was a distinct howard clique and Harden clique....Howard usually hung out with the younger players, IIRC...maybe in part by design, he's talked about how they want him to mentor the young guys..but he probably also gravitates to them as well, given his personality..maybe that only worked against him and made him distant from the vets over time?