He looks a lot slower than he did in the first half of the season. Do you remember those times where he was getting to the basket at will every single time for 2 and 1. Last few games he has still been driving but either missing the shot a lot/getting stripped. Either teams are defending him a lot better (including teams without great defensive reputations) or he's not getting calls or he's not at his peak physically. It's probably a combination of all three. Come the playoffs the defensive intensity will be notched up and getting calls won't be any easier. But at least we can ensure that he is in the best physical condition we can get him before then. Also you are ignoring his complete abandonment of anything resembling a defensive effort which will force the rest of his team to expend a lot more energy on that end. Look how bad of a first couple of months Lin had when he wasn't 100%, his game improved dramatically as he got healthier. I think some of you guys drastically underestimate the effect of wear and tear. Harden has been overplayed in his first season as a starter and he is showing it. He should rest the next 2-4 games, then play 28-32 minutes for the last three games to shake off any rust. If the Rockets want to make any noise in the playoffs they need a well rested Harden who is fully healthy and ready to go.
Where's torocan? I need to borrow a few links from his sig so I can review the efficacy of Harden ISOs if I can. If I had to put an arbitrary number to it, I'd say that Harden ISO has worked in 1/4 games. Not the worst strategy but it's definitely not the most efficient. I'd like to see ball movement continue and only when our players are laying eggs out there should Harden look to engage ISO mode. I would like to preface by saying I'm not a Harden hater, but I do think that this was one of his poorer showings, contrary to the numbers he put up. Of course, it's awesome that this is one of his poorer games because that just means we're spoiled :grin:. I watched Carmelo's 50 point game against the Heat and he got all those buckets effortlessly within the flow of the offense. I've seen Harden operate uncannily like this his entire career, but tonight was reminiscent of his earlier season performances. He made a lot of great passes and correct reads, but at the same time he also took some ridiculous shots like settling for long three balls immediately after waving for an ISO and driving straight into obvious zones. I think he does prioritise 'getting his' at times but I guess he's still getting back into the mix of a new line-up and he's making a concerted effort to share the ball with Lin more so seeing fewer touches, particularly with Parsons balling tonight and channeling the bromance, it would compel him to want to score with the touches he did receive.
Very fair points and I agree. Important to remember that the team didn't even have an offseason together. They've had to do all this development and chemistry building on the fly during the season which is obviously not ideal.
Agreed. I like to look at the dramatic development in Denver's squad, transitioning from a play-off bubble team to an elite contender within the span of an off-season, and most of their improvements were internal. It's inevitable we make a serviceable PF out of one of our prospects at least, and perhaps the rumors regarding Morey's interest in Josh Smith is true and we add an all-star caliber PF who should instantly make us a top Western Conference team through his addition alone (though that's not saying much these days given how stacked the West is already). Cautiously optimistic about the Rockets next year. If we were in the East we'd be in the discussion for making the ECF this season already with our rag-tag group of 2nd rounders, d-leaguers and undrafted nobodies led by a superstar sixth man.
If Harden isnt 100% for playoffs, and Lin doesnt have some left-field eruption, we aren't going anywhere. But its not about this season, playoffs and strong performances will bode very well for the future, be interesting to see how Morey plays this.
