I get the risk and that no one would/should do it, but I can't say I wouldn't love to see the same thing. The improbability of something occurring doesn't mean we can't desire the improbable.
I don't think anyone forgets that. It's not about "can" or "should" or capability right now though.... he has played poorly for +3 weeks and we have won 4 games in that time. He has to either not play and get himself right, or when he plays... be smarter, utilize the clock, teammates, avoid doubles early, and take more tests if needed, because we know now that the team can function somewhat without him.
CF is deriding or worse, calling to trade Harden, only superstar player that gets no benefit of doubt playing thru injury. If Beard is hurting team with play due to injury, then onus is on FO to sit him. Otherwise James will insist on playing, he loves to hoop and CF is turning this trait into a reason for a witch hunt. Pathetic.
"loving to hoop" is an excuse for having too big of an ego to sit. Maybe Harden wants to put up stats so that when his career ends he can be up there in the top 5 scoring list, maybe he has other reasons but a guy that puts winning championships above all would always do what's in the best interest of the TEAM, not himself.
It's not a witch hunt if the person is a witch. Harden carries this franchise, we aren't s**t without him. But he is playing like complete garbage right now and actively hurting the team. If he's too stubborn to say he's needs rest, that most certainly is on Harden. He doesn't deserve any benefit because other players would wisely sit down and wait until they're well. You think the Lakers tell LeBron he can't play when he wants to? I swear Harden could murder somebody and some people would rush to his defense. "You don't appreciate him, how can you turn on him so quickly" Harden deserves all the criticism he is getting right now for being stubborn to a fault and choosing to hurt the team because he "loves to hoop"
Speculative on your part. The selfish characterization has been proven wrong and this is an ignorant media take and completely unsupportable. FO needs to evaluate his injury and if necessary force Harden to sit. But if injury not issue and he needs to play himself back to form then losing a few games while Beard knocks off the rust is in Rockets best interest. Again, FO needs to do their job.
This. This is it right here. Go ahead, keep on blaming D'Antoni or Daryl or Tilman or whoever. "They need to sit him." You know who decides when Kawhi/LeBron/Giannis will play and when Kawhi/LeBron/Giannis will get a day off/load manage? Kawhi. LeBron. Giannis. Not Doc Rivers. Not Frank Vogel. Not Mike B. If you're hurt, sit your ass down. You're not a warrior, you're not brave, you're not heroic, you're just hurting your team.
I guarantee you those guys take cues from the coaching staff and medical staff .... the exception Miiiight be lebron , but at this point he’s earned it . If James wins a ring he can play 82 games 40 mpg if he wants . But , you brought up those players .... I’ll say out of all the coaches those players play for , only 1 coach has a history of running short rotations and running his players down ... and that’s MDA It’s 90 percent MDA , 10 percent James being stubborn .
When he brought James back in in the Minnesota game (or whatever game it was) in the 4th, yeah, I can put that on the coach. When Harden says "I played" or "I was out there" or "I'll figure it out" or "I'm fine", LOL hell yeah you can bet Mike is gonna play him his 38 minutes. James knows his body better than Daryl, Tilman, Mike or the training staff. Respectfully, I'd switch that 90/10. or maybe like 60/40.
Idk you OG but I promise you the point of a “free clinic” or any clinic at all is to inspire and teach but yeah please let’s make fun on young dudes trynna hoop... because it’s easier to make fun rather than to teach... do your job and teach smh
Right now it's tough to watch Harden. If he's not healthy he needs to sit out and focus on his health. He's not helping the team out there. This also gives us a glimpse of what Harden's decline will look like. I'm afraid it'll be more like Melo than Lebron.
Here’s the rub tho ... there is no in between with MDA . Like you said . If he’s in the game he’s getting his 38 min . I’d argue this effects the players thought process , even if it’s subconsciously. If James goes to MDA and says “hey man I’m about 70 percent tonight so I can go , but please only gimme 25 min so I can go hard for those minutes.” Do we really think MDA is gonna be able to control himself ? I’d argue this is part of the reason why we struggle to blow teams out . It’s no secret we open up a lead when our shots fall and our defensive intensity is up . The key to blowing people out is keeping that intensity up . That takes effort . If our starters were confident they’d only have to play 30 min instead of 38 then maybe we could put forth more effort when they are on the floor . As it is , MDA will leave guys in and so the mindset shifts from “let’s play as hard as possible and build a big lead “ to “we must conserve energy to close out the game” If I was a player , it would be in the back of my mind that even if we go up big ... I’ll have to stay in the game until 2 min left . Therefore I don’t want to use max effort / risk getting winded because if the shots DONT fall then I’ve placed the team in a worse position because I won’t have juice down the stretch .
Or James is stubborn as hell and/or chasing that scoring title again and has to play a certain number of games to qualify----who knows what, but he's hurting the team now more than helping.
I pray to God that isn’t the case because that means Harden doesn’t give a **** about winning Houston a title and he’s a selfish b****
he should speak out or asking for load management at least, if he was dealing w/ injury or something. playing w/ injuries hurts team as well as himself. （certain player) playing with small injury might not be a big issue; the big issue is whether there is any communicate in the locker room or not…A team lack of locker room communication wont go any far in post season…no matter how well they play in regular.
Well, I'm just wondering what's the point of playing when he's helping them lose. That's how bad he seems to be hurt. He isn't proving anything to anyone except he's hard-headed. Take a couple weeks off. Maybe we can go .500 in that time. (And Capela? That bruised heel ain't gettin' better neither.)
James Harden is a 30 year old man. He has been in the league for more than a decade. If he can't listen to the advice of others or to what his body is telling him then this is on him. Sure it would be nice if the coach or the GM could force him to sit. But the ultimate responsibillity lies o\n James Harden Hell there are many superstars around the league who don't even trust team doctors and they have their experts and go against team advice to play.
