Everyone knows he can't play defense, this is the playoffs I thought he would actually put some effort in. This game was a must win and he didn't even seem like he played with heart tonight and I'm a big harden fan.
Harden can play D, it is more of an effort thing for him. That said, I feel he legitimately sucks on perimeter D. Thankfully, he is pretty good actually on post D. I think we should just shift him over to PF on D and put T-Jones on the SF.
I'm pissed because I expected us to go deep this year. But an offense centered around ISOing one player is not conducive to winning a championship, let alone beating a good team in the Blazers. I'm beginning to think having a ball dominant SG is a bad idea. A ball dominant PG is fine when they have a pass first mentality, but a ball dominant SG will look for their shot more times than not. Harden dominates the ball more than any other perimeter player in the league that's not a PG.
His shot selection was not good. If you have open teammates pass to them instead of taking highly contested shots especially when you've been struggling all series. I guess he's still young and needs to learn this.
more than anything, Harden looked like he had a sense of urgency tonight. He looked apathetic during the first two games.
most's of Harden's defense was good today, the only time it really sucked was when he was switched onto Lillard who was already having a career night. Wesley Mattews went 2-7 and he was staying with his man for the most part on off-ball defense and was contesting shots and don't forgot the charges he drew, especially the one on Lillard. He also had 6 assists to 1 TO and 9 rebounds, you can hate all you want but he brought the effort today
he is the best scorer but not a good decision maker. putting ball in his hand and iso in crunch time is high risk low reward move, especially after first 2 games u can tell POR had figured him out, and his shooting is cold. good coach will design plays enable him get the ball at the right position and right moment so he can take advantage of out of position defenders and attack right away. for example LIN/Harden PNR to force a miss match, down screen and curl cut in 45 degree then catch and drive. idk those 1 man show were coaches decision or his head just get hot, and idc how u rationalize it, right or wrong, the fact is doing it over and over again burn the lead and drag the team back to the hole in the 4th Q.
Yeah, OP , James is a "selfish oaf". That is why he often times has 8 to 12 assists. shhsh Kobe, Lebron and Durant are selfish oafs also as they take a lot of shots in the 4th quarter when they could just hand the ball off to their teammates. Don't forget Wade, Curry, Aldridge, Rose etc. Selfish oafs all.
Did you notice that the best play of the game came on a mad scramble for the ball? Which led a lesser known Rocket wide open for 3. Yeah McHale's inadequacies with play calling are truly being highlighted this series. All we know how to run is PnR with Harden and Howard then iso Harden. This is more than just James tsking the ball and deciding to call his own number. As soon as we inbound the ball to Bev he concedes to Harden knowing exactly what play is being called. The same as the last, ISO freakin Harden. SMH.
This is where I disagree. The offense isn't centered around the ISO play. It's just not. And I'll try to find it later, but there have been numerous posts where the statistics show that Harden doesn't have the ball in his hands any more than your average key player. It's all perception. We see a few ISO plays at the end of quarters and the games. We see Harden with the ball in crunch time. That doesn't mean the entire offense is comprised around that. Now, if you were speaking to just the last critical possessions in these games then I'd like to see those statistics broken down like they were in those posts that I mentioned.
Here is one of the threads about that. It's not the one in particular that I remember, which was much long, but you get the idea. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=251090
Sometimes I wonder if it really is Hero ball, Lin does it a lot too just that he goes into his dribble earlier, whereas Harden holds the ball. I would guess that they are trying to read the defense and decide what to do. Just takes too damn long.
I think the Harden Iso on Lillard is by design. The Rockets go into the pick and roll and get Batum to switch onto Lin. Theoretically, Harden should be able to score with relative efficiency when matched up one on one against Lillard. We for sure know Lillard has blown by Harden when the two were matched up on the other end. Maybe after that initial switch off the pnr, have Harden duck into the post with Lillard on him before Jeremy passes him the ball?
I hate that "hero ball" term. Like someone else posted, ALL offensive stars want and get the ball in their hands in crucial moments. It's part of what makes them stars. I touched on it earlier, but I shudder to think of how those 94-95 Rockets teams would have been treated on this board if they were playing now. People would be all over Maxwell for some of his stuff. I guarantee you even Dream would catch flack when he didn't deliver with "hero ball". That doesn't excuse poor decision making, but even if Harden has missed five in a row, he's our best option on offense even if it is to just create something.
I think what Morey would tell you is that while hero ball is not as efficient, it's also not as prone to variance. Hero ball is less likely to result in a turnover, it kills more clock, and it usually allows your defense to get back and set up. When you start running plays and moving the ball around, all sorts of variables come into play that can lead to a negative outcome.
Harden came through big time and made some clutch shots in the Rockets win. His shot tied it up in OT. He made other big shots in the game too. Harden still didn't have the best shooting night, but at least in game 3, he was back in his rhythm. There were a couple of times where he held the ball too long, but part of that has to do with the playoffs, Harden adjusting to the officials calling games differently, and the tougher defense. Harden being back in rhythm allowed him to help his teammates the way he normally does, and do what made the Rockets successful all year. When the Rockets need a shot, Harden should have the ball. He's the best at creating his own shot. He's shown time and time again that he can come through in the clutch. He can make pressured shots. He can draw attention and get his teammates good looks. He can often draw fouls. The way Harden was playing in game 1 and especially in game 2, I would have been alright not allowing Harden the final shot in those games. In game three the guy was in rhythm and making the right decisions even if some of his shots weren't falling down, so I think he's the guy who should have the ball.
Cannot agree with you anymore. Kobe don't do that. Wade don't do that. They would just shoot the ball if clock's running out instead of sending the ball to a teammate with a worse shot opportunity. And I do think Harden does that sometimes to prevent from his own shot percentage to be decreased. You dribble out of the whole shot clock. You take the responsibility and shoot the ball! As simple as that.
