He was successful at the rim, and then just for no apparent reason whatsoever started deferring to everyone and completely stopped running pick and roll from the top, and when he did run pick and roll it was from the corner where he was trapped. Between the ears. Nothing to do with getting calls. He simply stopped doing what was working instead of milking it.
I believe Harden gave his heart and soul this season (as he was historically spectacular) but ultimately his obsession with winning MVP likely burnt him out. Harden's role would be a work load for any player but he foolishly took it too far, playing in too many garbage minutes, playing games he could have taken off, even playing injured in games when the third seed was a certainty. As if that wasn't enough of a statement, he went out of his way to remind the media of his case for MVP. It's quite unfortunate, this Rockets team should have beaten the Spurs (especially considering the circumstances), but Harden was flat out gassed. He had nothing left in the tank.
Should Harden abandon his foul-baiting ways next season and simply strive to make his shots? I think that would both please fans and simplify his game considerably.
I really do think Harden is aware of his limitations, and is big reason why he has those patented mental breakdowns when the referees swallow the whistle. I still think Harden has the potential to be a very good offensive player w/o all the ref-baiting, but he's become psychologically too reliant on it to the extent that how the officiating is carried out impacts his whole game. It really shouldn't be, and Harden can definitely diversify his options on offense because he was actually more multi-dimensional few years ago. The whole Moreyball thing has gotten into his head and made him more easier to defend.
Harden's offensive game is far from limited He can drive Dish And leads the league in assists And I rhymed In all seriousness he can score a bunch of ways. He isn't dependent on free throws
Just because he shoots a lot of free throws doesn't mean he is dependant on them It's just part of what makes him great. There were much bigger issues with his game six performance than not getting to the line
Some of the posters here say ridiculous things like this. You have to look at the makeup of the whole team. He was driving against two 7 foot bigs and Ryan Anderson wasn't hitting as well as he usually can. Either the team sacrifices some shooting for more capable bigs in the offseason or we need to open up some cap space somehow to get a big who can do both more capably than Ryan Anderson can. This team is great when people are hitting, but it seems to me that as incredibly skilled as the guards on this team are, they have to exert way too much effort to overcome other teams' bigs.
Harden's problem this series had nothing to do with fouls, he was getting the calls. He just stopped doing it properly and he stopped being aggressive. He basically quit, Im not ok with that but I think if we didn't rely on him driving so much when guys shots werent falling we would have never gotten to this point. Harden needed to conserve himself a bit more during the season and that just comes form having a better roster. The pressure here is on Morey. We will win a chip only with another star, we were never gonna win as currently constructed. I said that during the season YOU GUYS EXPECT TOO MUCH from this roster. We got beat by a 60 win Spurs team, the rockets were gassed and threw in the towel. If you're GM and coach you need to take a look at why, minutes and roster. The 7 man rotation was stupid and we need another star or two its that simple. Getting a Paul George or Westbrook to come here will be difficult. Morey needs to get a star with Harden in the next 2 or 3 years or he will have to leave in order to get a chip elsewhere.
Like someone said, this is an NBA problem, not a Harden problem. He got all the same calls he got during the season against OKC. Then the refs swallowed their whistles in round 2. It certainly wasn't the spurs either because that was the most undisciplined Spurs team I have ever seen. They commit more fouls than any defense in the league but don't get called based on past reputation. Harden has led the Rockets to more playoff success than anyone not named Hakeem in decades dumb comment
he is dependent on free throws . how many times did we see him this season drive to run and throw hands up without going aggressively to rim or hook defenders purposely to bait a foul call. that crap got old and refs stop calling it in spurs series. he melted under pressure because other than driving left or top of key contested 3 he has nothing. last season he had a step back from post move and a dribble combo leading to step back jumper. he got predictable in spurs series and got shut down sadly
No, he can't, but it's hard to blame him b/c he's not physically gifted like other elite players. Like Space City said, it's pretty much driving off pick and rolls (when the opposing big switches onto him) and step back 3's. He'd be a lot more effective if he were a good 3pt shooter, but he shot less than 35% from the 3pt line this year. In fact, it was the worst shooting year of his career.
He shoots a lot free throws because he is a big guard excellent at driving to the basket Just any other guard with that skill set in the history of the nba
he gets carried away but nah its overblown. the team is built so tha the does nearly everything on offense, which is a flaw. so he conserves his energy by drawing fouls. he does need to chill with that esp in the playoffs, unless teams like okc are stupid enough to keep falling fo rit. all u have to do is not reach!
Are you talking about James Harden or Ryan Anderson? if you are talking about James Harden then you should just delete your account before you embarrass yourself further.
