And BAM, there's your little narrative and personal bias leaking into your argument again. If Harden wasn't averaging 35 ppg, you might have a somewhat valid argument....but he is. And the only reason why pulling Harden out to half court works is BECAUSE he's one of the best offensive players of all time. A decoy isn't a decoy if nobody is afraid of it.
Dude... A) I think Morey is a great GM... Top 3 imo... Does he do some things I dont agree with - sure... Just because I think somebody does a great job 90% of the time does that mean I should bury my head in the sand if he does something I disagree with? Years ago Morey actually approached me in the stands at summer league to thank me for my vocal support of the team during our game... I like the guy... B) MDA... I freely admit the guy is a great offensive coordinator... but I dont think he's a great 'in game' coach... along with other concerns... I think Phil Jackson is overrated too... and never liked Riley.... so MDA is in good company i guess... C) Harden... Obviously an immense talent... Since going to smallball the carpet has matched the drapes - and I give him props for it! But again, bc somebody does some things well, we're just to ignore shortcomings? I've never ragged on Harden for missing a shot - but I've pointed it out when his effort has been lackluster in one respect or another (esp defense)... I dont know what some of y'alls deal is... are you a bunch of snowflakes who cant deal with any criticism of your deities? and Westbrook calls out Harden and he's being a leader... I call him out for the same things and I'm an a$$*ole... edit: I should have said Morey was at least top 3... I dont follow every GMs moves across the league intently... but i'm comfortable saying at least top 3... and before you ask, No, I dont know who is definitely better...
So i guess expressing an opinion is pushing a narrative... Pardon me for having an opinion that doesnt sit with the CF mafia... edit: I come to this site to have real discussions about our team and what we can do to win a championship... but obviously many just want to come here to have a circle jerk on stats or whatever... ohhhh look at this efficiency...ohhh stats stats stats.....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh and then sit in denial when another season ends short of our goal of a championship... lol
Of course there are more positives than negatives... If we can endure those negatives (however small they may be) and still win a championship - cool... but until we do win a championship nobody is beyond reproach and everybody has room for improvement... Pardon me for not burying my head in the sand and just posting stuff like "We're the greatest! Harden is a GAWWWD! MDA is a genius! blah blah blah..."
Nah, it's not about your opinion differing from mine. It's the phrasing that leads me to believe it's a narrative. It's one thing to say, "Harden loses some focus on defense....he absolutely needs to improve on that.", and it's another to say, "Man, Harden is so damn lazy. The guy can't even be bothered to cross half court." Clearly Harden has shortcomings, but it's the way those shortcomings are presented that leads me to believe that you look for more negatives in his game than positives. I could be wrong, and I'll fully admit I don't sit there and read through post histories or any of that other nonsense....I'm just basing it off the posts you have in this thread. It's honestly no hard feelings on my end, I enjoy good, rational discussion about this stuff.
Cool, man... I appreciate that... I wouldnt say Harden is lazy - the time, effort and endurance it takes to do what he does is evident... but on occasion he may be lazy - which I think happens with most players throughout the course of a game - thats why Russ' perpetual motor is so very impressive. Personally, I think hardens lapses have been based on his desire to stay on the floor - rather than take a breather... I think that falls to MDA to manage Hardens zeal... I've freely admitted that I havent always been Hardens biggest fan... I know he's a generational talent - but that SAS game 6 still burns my biscuits to this day - probably bc no explanation was ever given... Morey even stated he never spoke to Harden about it... that just still befuddles me... So yeh, I probably am hyper sensitive to any real or perceived lack of effort on his part. It does bother me how I feel I have to be guarded on what I say or have to preface any complaint about Harden with heaping praise before getting to my b****... or else some folks just lose their minds on here... Granted there are trolls on here just seeking to incite but I believe most of us just want the same thing - a championship! and until we get it everything should be scrutinized for any opportunity for improvement - no matter how small or infrequent.
