Here, ill say it for those who dont want to speak out

Just sad because Ginobli is considered under Wade/Kobe as the 3rd best SG in the league in the years of his prime. People tend to think of him as a tier down because he was never a 1st option in his prime, and now he's a 1st option and starter when he's healthy but is declining and has severe injury problems(dude's like glass, gets injured and misses over half the games every season).

 

Yeah mans, but Ginobili get 40 minutes just means Ginobili on IR. Guy can't stay healthy.

 

Iggy and Tony Allen totally shut him down. In OKC Durant and Westbrook normally had the best defenders on em so Harden had it easy there.

He is not a num 1 go to guy.

 

So many quality threads pop up when Lin's not putting up Linsanity numbers and Harden's not averaging 45 points.
3 losses out of 5. Season over.

 

I know, Ginobli could never sustain a higher MPG and he was injury prone, even as a starter he only played 30-35 min(yet he produced a 20 pts/5 assist avg for many years). Just saying if he was healthy and was a 1st option in his prime and got 40 min a game...

That's the hope I have for Harden. My hope is Harden will turn out to be a better, younger, healthier Ginobli in his prime as a 1st option. That may be a real monster and potential super star. The first 2 games really raised my hope...

 

Stop. Harden is a Star but HE NEEDS HELP.

This is on Mchale.

 

Everyone keeps expecting Harden to be the next coming of Kobe Bryant or something. Keep in mind that the last 3 games, the defense has been locked on to Harden. They always have one defender guarding tightly on James and another guy shadowing him. He's a great scorer and also great playmaker, but it would be hard for him to play well with the defense constantly collapsing on him.

Every time James drives to the rim, the defense collapsed onto him because they know that no one else is a threat. I am surprised he even got to the rim a few times. The bad thing is, lately the officials haven't blew the whistle as much and it's hard for him to get into rhythm. Because he is the best player on Houston, he gets blame for the loses.

Keep in mind that he's still young and this is his first time in the NBA that he is the main player. He's not the type of scorer that Kobe or Durant is but he is special in his own way. The Rockets must have another player to help him out because the defense will continue to suffocate him.

The Rockets paying him the max is a good thing. Keep in mind that if Houston does not offer him a big contract, it will be nearly impossible for the Rockets to get any star player on this team. Houston isn't the most attractive place that star wants to come to especially with these group of guys before Harden. Now with Harden, the Rockets look like a more suitable place to sign, but before Harden, nobody even think of Houston.

Its not Harden's fault that the last few games has been terrible. Its the coaching job that should help run plays on their offense so that their star player would have room to operate.

Denver and Memphis had one of the best wing defenders in the NBA in Andre and Tony Allen. Those two guys are capable to playing great defense on anyone, including Kobe or Lebron. Plus they had their defense also set onto Harden knowing that the Rockets will run only pick and rolls and ISO for him. Every time they ISO him, the defense are locked onto him, waiting for him to drive to the basket. On P&R, the defense will just double him and trap him, leaving the player that rolls alone, because they know that the roller is not a threat.

I love the way Asik plays defense and how he sets great screens but he is not a threat on offense, even when open. A lot of times he is unable to catch the ball which forces him to shy away from it sometimes. He can't operate the ball anywhere further than 10 feet from the basket. The rest of the starters are not threats also. Parsons is more of a lengthy athletic defender and Patrick Patterson has not been aggressive at all, instead he just camps out at the 3 point line too much. Lin isn't a great spot up shooter and has a hard time scoring unless the Rockets push the ball, which they have not.

The coaches has been terrible in operating an offense for Harden. I kept saying that instead of constant P&R and ISO, they should run the same play on Harden like they do with Kmart which should help him out a little more. The Rockets offense has been so stagnant that it is so frustrating to watch. Everyone just stands there and watch Harden go 1 on 5 most of the time. Plus, they also have a hard time grabbing rebounds or even pushing the ball sometimes.

 

Anyone knows what he's saying is spot on if you watched the game. It's clearly a coaching problem. Fire McHale or else we're going to go on a huge losing streak. Unless we're trying to tank this season? Then bring on the tank

 

Lebron gets a bit over 16m a year because the cba doesn't let teams offer him 30 or 40, and they would.

 

why didn't you post this thread after his first 2 games????? weak ****.

harden is legit.

 

If you're not going to pay him $16m/year, then PHX & Mavs will gladly will. The Rockets are not going to get any other star unless they pay them some big money. The Rockets got the best player and the right star for this team. He's young, has been healthy, and is a great locker room person.

If not Harden, the Rockets will have nobody on this team and will not able to sign any big time player over FA without a guy like Harden to help lure in. Lin isn't the type of player stars would want to come play with.

You can be angry all you want about how much Houston paid Harden. But look at all the players that are worse than Harden who got paid much more. Guys that are already falling away from their primes, constant injury bug etc while James is healthy, and yet to enter his prime, who also been to the Finals and is an Olympian ( I don't want to hear that crap about him making the Olympics team because Westbrook and KD made it, no he made it because of his playing style and his playmaking ability).

Between the Thunders and the Rockets, the Rockets came out winners in that blockbuster trade. It might seem like they gave up a lot but Lamb isn't going to be as good as Harden, the Raptors lotto pick may fall between 8-14th spot which will net them a decent player but not a top 3 talent, the Dallas's pick will be mid to late first round anyway so that will probably net them an average-decent player. The thing that matters most is the Rockets came out of the trade with the best player and that should be the most important thing. Plus the fact that Houston traded all those pieces, they have to retain him and pay him the max, otherwise, he will just leave after this year and go sign with Dallas or Phoenix.

 

Do you really think Harden is a ball stopper like Melo? Harden isn't even close to being a ball stopper like Carmelo at all. The reason why he rather take a contested shot than pass it to an open teammate is because he has a better chance to make the shot than an open teammate.

Look at the players around him. They are just standing there anyway, even if they're wide open, no one is cutting or anything. Asik does not want the ball half the times, the other half, he has a hard time catching it. Parsons isn't an offensive player but more of a defender. We all saw how Parsons keep losing the ball today when he's handling it. Sure he's a decent shooter but he's not going anywhere with it. Patrick has been frustrating because he is NOT aggressive at all. He just stands there and take jumpshots, even though he's strong as a bull, he plays like a butterfly. Lin is not able to knock down shots consistently and he's only effective if the offense is moving. But other than that, I much rather have Harden go 1 on 5 and take a contested shot or driving in with the defense all over him than Lin, Parsons, or Patrick shooting a spot up 3 or long 2.

 

We signed Harden for the next 6 years, and some fans here already cast him under the bus after 2 bad games???

No wonder we can't get FA's to play here....

 

Panic award in full effect. Come on there is always games star players struggle in. The issue with the Rockets will be solve next offseason, they need an inside scorer. Can you name the player on the team you can give the ball in the low post and expect a basket. You have 20+ million in cap room this offseason. Chill Rockets fan and enjoy the roller coaster season before the team get back rolling.

 

I am sorry to say this and I do not mean to offend you but this is one of the most ignorant post I've seen.

Trevor and Harden are both different players. The Rockets signed Trevor because they panicked when Artest left Houston to sign with LA so the Rockets went ahead and grab Ariza instead to replace him. At that time, the Rockets still believe that they still have Yao Ming so they though that by having Ariza, he could fill in the role of Ron Artest, a cagey defender who will bring energy to the team.

Harden on the other hand is the player that the Rockets really wanted. Aside from Howard, James is the guy the Rockets are after and wanted him bad. Teams like Phoenix and Dallas are willing to pay as much for James Harden, its just that they don't have the assets that Houston do. The Rockets signed Harden because they needed a star badly and he was available. Not only is he just a star but he got to the Finals, got a gold medal and he's only 23 years old.

Ariza and Harden has nothing in common except both of them plays for the Rockets. Ariza was a headcase and Houston got fed up with him and luckily they were able to flip him for Courtney Lee. Ariza was so bad on offense because he tries to do too much but he is limited on offense. He is more of an athletic F who is a decent spot up shooter that can spark a team with his energy sometimes. Harden is a star that can create his own shot as well create for others.

So far with James Harden, the coaches have been terrible lately on utilizing his skills. Because he's a star that they think they can just ISO him the entire game without running any types of plays. I doesn't matter how good of a player is, if the coaches does not run any plays for them except just ISO him and let him create for himself or others, the defense will easily worn him down. The problem is also that everyone else on the team is not effective at all. No one is a threat besides Harden. The best spot up shooter on this team is Delfino but its Delfino, not Ray Allen.

The opposing team are not worried about anyone else besides Harden, so they much rather have other players beat them, not Harden. They don't really care if the other players score because they know that if Harden is shut down, Houston will lose.

 

Wow, Ariza? Really? This is not threadworthy.

 

Harden is similar to Ginobli but Harden has potential to be even better than Manu. Manu is very injury prone but before, he was a great player. He was easily the #1 option for the Spurs but he also has help from Duncan and Parker. Which is why Harden also needs help badly.

Harden has the potential to be better than Manu because he's young, healthier, stronger and has a higher vertical leap. James Harden doesn't look like he's that athletic but he has a higher running vertical than Blake Griffin. He just really need help from his teammates and coaches. I'm not going to really blame his teammates because they are who they are and they're not going to get any better. Only Patrick Patterson is the only one that frustrates me. He has been so soft and just settle for a jumpshot and avoids contact when going up. He much rather do a tough up and under layup instead of just dunking it to avoid the contact. I do not understand why he's not aggressive at all.

One of the reasons why I'm so angry at the coaches for not letting Jones play. How worst can it get? Jones I know at least would bring some energy and more aggressiveness than Patrick. Jones can also handle the ball at the 4 position. He will bring more opportunities for Houston.

The coaches also have been so terrible utilizing Lin and Harden strengths. The Rockets are not playing to Harden's strength at all. Both Lin and Harden are struggling because they both cannot go 1 on 1 or P&R all day. They need to run plays in order to be successful.

Its almost like the Rockets are playing pick up basketball out there. Its like give the ball to the best player and just watch him play. Nobody cuts or move around. That's another thing why I really wish Rick Adelman was still here. His motion offense will be extremely effective with this group. I believe Harden and Lin would thrive under Rick's motion offense. Rick's offense was always moving, in motion and in sync. Everyone plays off from one another. Even though the Rockets Rick's team lacked a star, they didn't lack in offensive plays and motion. Everyone was always moving, getting to open spots, which makes it harder for defenders to stick on one guy.

Right now, McHale and co has to come up with new scheme to help Harden. They should know at least by now that the defense are locked onto James Harden, and will continue to lock onto him. Every team now will put their best wing defender on him and have another player shadow him. Notice how much Marc Gasol was so busy leaving Asik today? Its like they don't even care whether the other players score or not. Its all about shutting James Harden down, don't let him get to the rim and suffocate him throughout the entire game. He's even got doubled when he doesn't even have the ball, that's how much the defense worries about him. How is he suppose to score 25-40 points with the defense constantly all over him?

Any teams will struggle if their offense is stagnant and the coaches are doing a terrible job. Look at the Lakers, they are 1-4 even with a Kobe, Dwight and Gasol. Its because they don't have any chemistry, the coaches can't get any rhythm into their offense and its stagnant. The Lakers are almost doing what the Rockets are doing. They are letting Kobe handle the ball and let him make plays for himself and everyone else while everyone is watching.

 

Jeremy is a true point guard. A good coach like Mike D'Antonio would let Jeremy run pick and roll. Harden needs to be less selfish. Free Jeremy!

 

First of all, nobody was getting paid that much during Mad Max's time in the NBA. Second, Maxwell was just a spot up shooter that can play elite defense. The Rockets got Maxwell because he's more of a capable spot up jump shooter that they can put around the Dream. The Rockets had nothing but 3 point shooters around Hakeem, and none of them are able to create their own shot. Maxwell cannot create his own shot or create for others. He just finds an open spot and wait for Hakeem to pass it to him.

I can't believe you're even comparing James Harden to Maxwell. Just because both of them plays the SG does not mean they're the same. Plus, Maxwell's personality is crazy, Harden is totally opposite of that.

 

Is James Harden our Rashard Lewis?

Seems likely. The guy is happy to get paid and now he quits on the team.

This is what happens when you give a child massive pay before they become man.