the harden apologist won't acknowledge that but it's definitely true, especially in the 3 games the rockets took from them. he was wrecking GS
I saw Siakm having a better game than Kawhi is what i saw and Kawhi pretty much had nothing to do with it, I will go full game highlights to see kawhis impact
Lotto odds have changed since then. I loved the Scola, Hayes teams. They didn't piss me off like these last two warriors series.
what does this even mean? so just because siakam had a great game, that means kawhi had no impact? thats really strange
The biggest difference i see if i look at the Raptors roster and our own, is athleticism and physicality, Kawhi, Siakam, Ibaka...Gasol is slow but big, on the other hand we're old, slow, small, weak...being physical against the Warriors help, OKC wasn't up 3-1 few years ago because of luck.
Morey can watch Toronto all he wants...he ain’t transforming this team from the oldest, shortest, and probably least athletic in the NBA to 1 filled with youth, athleticism, and length over 1 summer with no cap space, no draft pick, and a lack of assets our best athletes are Capela who is entirely dependent on Harden in order to be effective, House, and 31 yo EG...it’s a joke
What the Rockets of last year and the Raptors of this year have in common is a team build on DEFENSE. And a high floor. Like everyone is saying, the length and athleticism up front. Raptors have plus defenders all over the court. And players with HIGH BB IQ.
I agree. But his impact in taking Draymond out of his comfort zone was noticeable to me. Warriors players made 5 - 13 when guarded by Kawhi. Certain players didn’t even want the ball when when he was the primary defender. I’m not saying that he won the game by any stretch. The entire Raptors front line was outstanding last night. I’m just pointing out that he impacts games without having to score 35 points, and has extreme value outside of just scoring points.
Also deploying a stretch 5 does wonders for a team against GSW. Sure Gasol only took 4 3s and made 2 of them but just the threat of having a big man that can shoot is killer.
We aren't that slow but harden wants to walk it up and move as minimally as possible. Hard to show athleticism in that situation.
i for one think, him being able to close out games like hes capable of isn't unreasonable. if he truly is as good as alot of us think he is, this shouldn't really be much of an issue. If the answer is no, then there's a problem there. Again, if oracle harden ever appeared in the playoffs from game to game, the league would be in trouble we can pile on everyone else all day, but what's that really doing. the rockets had opportunities to win and they still weren't able to pull it out. if you're not able to rely on your best player in a 50/50 game in the final moments then yeah there's an issue. you can have all the talent in the world and more help for harden. that doesn't mean the games won't be close in the end. GS has all the talent in the world. They're not blowing out houston at every opportunity. The general excuse is harden needs more help. sure that would be nice but does that mean houston is gonna just blowout GS now if that happens. Probably not. The games will still come down to the final moments. And then what? The assumption here is well harden will be fresh and can close out better. Is that really valid?
I’m saying Kawhi had nothing to do with Siakm going off which is the main reason they won that game. People outside of your best player can do things like that from time to time. I mean Siakm did most the scoring on his own or with Lowry passing it to him. Kawhi has no affect on the a lot of his plays. Just take a look at it.
when the entire defense is focused on kawhi, he has plenty to do with siakim having a great game. not even sure why that needs to be mentioned if gs pushes that same defense toward siakam hes going to struggle. but that gameplan would obviously not be ideal
That’s fair but I wouldn’t say his impact I’m the Game was any greater than Hardens at any point during our series.
Go check his highlights my friend. I’m not saying Kawhi had no impact but I am saying that his impact isn’t greater than Hardens.
i don't need to check highlights. I saw the entire game. you said in your post kawhi didn't really make much of an impact last night
I get where you are coming from . In regards to you right final question , I think the answer is yes . It's not only rest , it's being able to keep moves in your pocket because you haven't had to go to them all game to get you team any scoring . I wanna extend the argument to MDA as well. Harden ISO is so good . But , once you run it all season ... teams have 82 games of tape on James moves and tendencies . Imagine if you held some **** back ! Im sure we would have a lot better idea of how to stop the curry green pick and roll down the stretch of game 6 had Kerr and GS been spamming that play the entire season and entire series . It's how they jumped us with it that ****ed us up (I mean it's also a great play don't get me wrong) The same thing goes for James IMO . He's not superhuman . I think despite his own "failing" he just needs more help .
I honestly don't think it would be true. even if you upgrade the talent to where someone that's not better than harden, the ball is still going to be in his hands primarily throughout the game. i really doubt harden is just going to stand around and be passive all the way up until the 4 quarter where hell apparently unleash himself
I watched the 3 quarters of the game and then I rewatched Siakm highlights. Cmon man. Kawhi Offensively in that game, no I wouldn’t say so. Or at the very least had very very little to do with Siakm.
