Harden was the only one making his shots yesterday so I can live with him not passing to his teammates. I mean, they should always keep feeding the hot hand right? Well it just so happens the hot hand was also our playmaker. I do wish he would pass to the open teammate more when his shots aren't falling instead of trying to force something. He's young though, and when he starts to trust his teammates more I expect him to be less of a ballhog.
Pretty much. If there is any one that is a blackhole on the team it is Delfino. Dude hardly ever passes the ball. But it is okay, he's a scorer and it's understood that he's going to look to score before doing anything else. It's whatever. Iverson, Kobe, Melo...pretty much any leading scorer even Jordan was called a 'ballhog' some fans need to understand that the teams best player is going to take the most shots.
First, it is not Delfino's role to be a major ball handler, nor is that his strength. It doesn't make sense to expect him to be something he's not. Secondly, when players do not feel they are part of the offense, they start chucking for themselves. It is of course not good to do this, but this behavior is not surprising. If you don't get the ball much, even when you're open, you'll make sure you get your own. I think that if Delfino regularly gets the ball when he's open, he will also pass the ball when others are open. But if Delfino does not feel that he is part of the offense, he will pass less when he does get touches. Talking about how Harden is better than Delfino, or that Delfino is a ball hog is really missing the point. If the team isn't playing as a team, then players start playing more like individuals. That may be a matter of the player's subjective perception but that does matter -- it is the team member's perception that matters, not the view of some blokes on a fansite like us.
Most shots doesn't mean most touches. As a play maker, if you don't get your teammates involved enough to make them feel they are part of the offense, they will tend to lack effort on defense. Also, they will not be willing to pass once they get to touch the ball.
Sure, but better yet: what winning team doesn't have multiple players contributing double-digit scoring?
Ballhog mean he's controlling the ball and not allowing others to get offensive OPPORTUNITIES (he can't make them score...just give them the opportunity). Here is the Shot Attempt distribution: Total 95 Shots taken Harden = 16 Patterson = 14 Parsons = 10 Lin = 9 Asik = 6 Cook = 9 Douglas = 9 Delfino = 7 Morris = 5 Jones = 5 Smith = 3 Aldrich = 2 Dmo = 0 Harden took 16% of all shots taken Tim Duncan took 15% For comparisons sake, here's the distribution for the Laker when they played us and lost with Kobe ball hogging Kobe = 31 Jamison = 12 DHo = 9 MWP = 7 Duhon = 4 Hill = 8 Meeks = 8 Clark = 2 Morris = 2 Kobe took 37% of all shots taken That same game Harden took 18% of all shots taken by the Rox You could even just look at everyones shooting percentages and determine Harden wasn't hogging the ball....he was just the only one making his shots.
Might want to look up your stats before you reply blindly. Okc - Westbrook and Durante average the most shots Heat - lebron avgs the most attempts Spurs - Duncan and Parker But that's besides the point
Do you know what Harden's role is currently? It is to take the most shots and to be the first option. You all are asking him to be something lesser and that isn't going to happen. He's going to continue to take the most shots. For those bringing up OKC and the Spurs. Well those teams have other all-star players to take shots...the Rockets do not. Until they get another then Harden is going to continue to take the most shots. Last night he was the one that even gave the Rockets a shot at it keeping them close.
Ball hogging doesn't necessarily mean taking the most shots. It means the player holds the ball all the time.
Harden should be taking the most shots. No one takes issue with this; I don't think that's what the discussion is about. The relevant question is whether 'first option' means taking contested shots even when other players are open, especially when the open player is plenty capable of making the shot.
Awe don't start that shigaddy! If it wasn't for him, we loose by a 100 points last night. He only controls the ball when no one else is scoring.
He passed it plenty of times to the open guy. People have to realize that these guys think differently than your normal player. A 'Contested' shot is a open shot to these guys and that is what makes them all-star players. Harden's ability to slice into the lane, collapse the defense, and STILL score on the defense is the reason that people are open in the first place.
True, and if that were the case here no one else would either a) have any significantly less attempts than Harden because he's holding on to it and taking the shot himself or b) passing it off to another player with no time or in a position with a lower likelihood of getting a good shot. From the game last night it looked like other players had good looks and chances....their shots just weren't falling.
How much of this is ball hogging is out of selfishness, how much is out of a sense of duty as head honcho, and how much is to prove doubters that he's a max guy?
