Harden: "Dwight and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets. The rest of the guys are role players..."

Yep and that's because the harden trade single handedly turned this franchise around

 

Considering that:
(1) He was replaced with a more limited player in Ariza
(2) We've got no bench
(3) But we have still freaking McSuccess;
then we should expect the offense to suck even MORE.

 

Chandler could learn from his own words, as well.

 

Who shot 28% from 3 on the season?

 

I really dont like this guy ..

 

3pt Shooting and defense arizas better
Slashing same
Passing parsons better

 

Ariza is a better 3 point shooter, still improving.

Our bench will be better than last year

No arguing 3. Wish we could have hit on a good assistant this off season.

 

I agree with that. He probably will have a larger role with better coaching and direction on the Mavs this year. But just from the quotes we've heard from him, clearly he thinks he's a max player. Max players don't see themselves as third options. And I'm betting he wasn't pitched that when he was being recruited.

"You'll be the man up here"
"Dirk is getting old, you're next in line"
"MONEYMONEYMONEYMONEY"
etc.

It fed right into his already high opinion of himself. Again, just based on some of his comments. I don't think he's a bad dude and he was good player. I think HE just thinks he's a lot better than he actually is.

 

A bench full of inexperienced D-leaguers, euro scrubs and "Summer league Hakeem" Donuts. Yea, a better bench.

 

Carl is so got damn annoying

 

Sure he could have hyped up the current teammates and that would have made this better. However, I don't think this is "dumb" PR. It's just not perfect, and PR is never perfect, especially in this kind of a setting. I think what he said wasn't a big deal. I think the only people that took offense to this are the people that love to criticize and criticize Harden specifically.

Those "pieces" know their place and know that they are incredibly valuable to the team. Harden said this one thing to a reporter. You don't think that he talks to his teammates outside of the media? Teammates are not nearly as impressionable as you think they are, because this is but one thing Harden has said about them. If Harden hangs out with them during training camp, during the season, during offseason, and in a private manner, then they will know how Harden truly sees them.

Right now their is fire in the media, claiming that the Rockets lost more in this FA than any other team in the NBA, which is not true, but that's what the media says. Harden is just playing it down, similar to how Howard did it, and saying that there is no problem. He said what was supposed to, just because you didn't like it, doesn't make it wrong.

 

My two cents, first of all Parsons is setting himself up for a major fall I believe. Just let your play do the talking. Parsons very likely won't live up to his own hype and this current contract will be his best so I hope he invest his money well.

As far as Harden, I see what Harden is trying to do as far as shouldering more of a leadership role/accountability along with Howard, but talk is cheap and when your a total embarrassment on one end of the floor, you can't afford to call yourself a cornerstone of anything. Also, the rest of the players aside from Harden and Howard who are still on the team probably don't feel they are "just" a role player in the whole scheme of things moving forward with the team. The fact of the matter is I'm starting to feel Dwight nor Harden have what it takes to be the mature leaders that could lead a team to a championship. I don't feel they command the respect other cornerstone leaders on other teams command, that's why Morey is forever seeking a third elite player to offset our flawed "superstars". It doesn't help the coach is a total idiot either.

 

Parsons head has got too big with all those $$$

Kid is in for a harsh reality. He better know his place. He will be marked as a big contract player in the league now. No more feeding off the attention that Dwight and Harden demanded.

Parsons better have two more levels to his game if he indeed is to back all this crap talk.

What an idiot. Glad he is gone.

 

Outside of turnover machine and Mr. Grumpy who took his ball and went home, who did we have better on the bench last year? All of our incredibly young players will be better.

 

I have been saying this. Other players respected him because he made less than them. Now that he is is making much more, they will want to show they deserve that money and he is over paid. He will be a target.

 

Who or what in the hell are you talking about here?

 

IMHO I really thiink that Howard and Harden thought going into the play-offs that the Parsons-Batum matchup was one that favored Houston. They then wartched Parsons get scorched left and right on defense by Batum after saying he was the better player. In addition to that some blame may be pointed at Parsons for the open Lilard shot at the end of game 6. It sounds like he lost some friends in the locker room (even if via trade).

The rockets were talking about being on the same page and having the same goals in their exit speeches at seasons end. At that time people were assuming D-Mo and Garcia were the issues. However, in many big games last season Parsons always looked to be playing to be efficient versus helping his team win. Not that he wanted Houston to lose, but he mainly was playing for a contract. It will be real intersting to see how aggressive he is as a scorer in Dallas.

 

Would you be happy if Harden upped his defense and focus this year?

 

he's a troll. he'll find something else to complain about.

he's always ripping Morey and Mchale too.

 

Yeah I can agree. I think Harden would become an annoying teammate after a while. Offensively he's a truly great talent, but playing with him on defense must be super annoying. Personally speaking, when a teammate doesn't play any defense, you have to pick up their slack. You have to be better at rotating and you need to be able to play 2 men at the same time. Doing that every couple of nights for 7, 8 months would be pushing it.

However, I do think teammates like Harden, because he seems like a fun guy to be around. He may just test their patience every now and then, but that is a problem for just about any young star. He's 24, he will learn.

Additionally, I hope Parsons is talking about himself, because he clearly didn't think before those Batum comments.