Anyone that has even very rudimentary NBA knowledge knows that NBA teams play basically zero defense in the first 2/3's of the regular season.
Harden definitely has a decent mid-range but the team's philosophy given by your Hall-of-Famer McHale is to only shoot 3s, layups and ISO; any in between is a waste of effort.
Good strategy in the regular season but not against real good teams in the playoffs. Too predictable. Just look at MJ, PP, Kobe, TMac, TD etc. all have a killer mid-range.
guys this ( harden sucks and jeremy sucks thread) really has to stop! There is no benefit to us at ALL?! Yes, Harden had a bad stretch and he needs to learn how to play with team when his shooting and iso doesnt fall. Thats what needed. ANd I'm sure these will be pointed out to him during the review with trainers and coaches.
I think facing OKC, seeing Durant hit shot after shot and seeing his buddy, Westbrook injured probaly left him tired and fatigued, mentally and physically. We got to give him credit for putting us to the postseason and he holds the record for the most FTs for the Rockets in a season. He has dead legs which is why he is shooting so poorly. He is probaly playing injured too with the hits on the floor and by opponents when he goes to the FT line. Remember he has never been a starter until season. If there was fault, McHale should of done the Popovich way, rested Harden when they clinched a spot in the playoffs. This is just the beginning for Harden and our Rockets.
He needs to develop an in between game. If teams rotate and cutoff his dribble penetration lane, he starts to panic and thropw the ball away. That's why a pull up jumpshot is a must. That's why Tmac, Kobe and other great offensive players of this era where impossible to guard. The could pretty much score from anywher on the floor.
Nice one, gotta have Super Lintendo get this team to the next round so the bearded one could do damages against other teams.
Harden's game hasn't changed at all since the beginning of the season. He's still playing the same way. Team's have now figured out how to defend him which is why he's struggling right now. Teams invite him into the paint and trap once he gets there and he has nowhere to go. He needs to start developing a mid-range game and also move the ball better on offense.
He played the same way last year in the NBA Finals and in the Olympics. He was not playing against his old team then. That's just an excuse. So is saying he's 23. Lots of 23 year old players don't play that selfishly. So both of those points are complete excuses.
When Harden is 28, he will be unstoppable. Too Young. Still Learning. But what a set of tools to build from. Once you become the guy, you need to learn how to handle the double teams and pressure. Durant still hasn't gone to the final phase, even he still disappears unexplicably. No reason to expect Harden to be there at this point, although we all wish he was. It took Hakeem and Jordan a long time. Remember Lebron, talk about checking out. He's just now understanding how this is going to go, and I look forward to seeing how he adjusts. It will only make him better to go through these struggles.
He averaged 26/6/6 in April and 33/9.5/6 in Game 2 and Game 3. You have an interesting definition of horrible. The Thunder wouldn't have even been in the NBA Finals last year if not for his other-worldly performance against the Spurs, when he was the best player on the floor and led OKC to four straight wins against a team that most had already crowned as NBA champion.
He's only 23-years-old, leading the youngest team in the NBA against his former running mates & the defending WC champions, and utterly exhausted from grinding out 78 starts, in which he racked up nearly 40 min/game. That being said, he made some god-awful decisions last night. No excuses for 7 1st half TOs and repeated hero ball sets late in the 4th. He needs to get back to his bread and butter -- attacking off the bounce, which frees up open shots for others and gives him higher % looks at the rim. He has been settling for 3s far too often... and they're not catch-and-shoot 3s, but off-the-dribble, contested 3s late in the shotclock. To be honest, Asik looks the most beaten of the bunch. He racked up 17 & 14 last night, but he has been sluggish and sloppy over the course of the last month. When he's getting buckets in the paint, it makes life so much easier on the perimeter threats.
Why are you arguing with, Rocket Booster, the latest incarnation of he who has many names - this is all a set up to prepare for an entire offseason of Rockets' rumored signing/coronation/deification of Anos Harrysackitis from PAOK as once and future guard-king-rex-archon. The deal will be derailed at the last minute when Morey refuses to meet the Greek squad's demand for factory rebuilt butter churns.
The problem with Harden IMO is that he's dead tired - 80 or so games last season, all compressed into a few months, an offseason of playing in the Olympics, then getting the boost to 40+ minutes a game with high usage as the lead dog for a super-high paced team for 82 regular season and playoff games & counting. He just needs a break, badly.
That one made me laugh, thanks :grin: And how much do I have to contribute for an ignore button? That guy has rapidly risen to the top of the list. Nice win last night. Harden arguably with the worst game of his career and the team still pulls it off. That could be huge to build on. If everyone plays that well and Harden plays to even 80% of his potential we might even steal one more.
I hope McHale changes his plan next season. Playing this fast is pretty dangerous; unless he's going to use at least a 10 men rotation with a deep bench.
