James Harden as great of a talent as he is, the thing that will prevent him from being one of the great players in the league is his will. With James Harden, the question is, does he even want to win a championship? I hate to even think about it but I have a feeling that James Harden cares more about the celebrity status and fortunes over winning a championship. James Harden is incredibly lucky to have an organization like the Rockets. He plays for a smart organization that will do everything in their power to give this team a chance to win. If you look at JJ Watt, you feel for him greatly. You see a superstar in JJ Watt who only cares about winning and what he can do to be an even better football player. But JJ Watt plays for a bad organization. Watt doesn't have the luxuries that James Harden has. Which is really unfortunate. At the end of the day, this team will go as far as James Harden takes them. Because of how much this team relies on a player like James, it truly worries me. I know its still early in the season, but you can starting to see a trend with James Harden. The effort is nonexistent at times. If his shots aren't falling, he doesn't seem to care to do much else. I know many will probably disagree with me on this but if the Rockets are just barely over .500 this year and continues to be inconsistent, there SHOULD be a major change in this team. This team will never be in the same class as the elite teams in the NBA. If the Rockets were to win a championship one day, it won't be James Harden that lead the way. I hope he proves me wrong but at this point, I highly doubt it.
I had to stop reading after that last line. So we're doing this again? One loss after 4 wins in a row and we're going to start bashing Harden and questioning his will to win? Ridiculous.
So ...during that 4 game win streak he puts up 37 28 43 46 Then you have last nights game where no one played any defense or wanted to rebound except D-12, also you have a Rookie stuck on the bench who does nothing but rebound and defend.....but somehow mchale forgets he's there and you make a Harden thread? Wait? what about the 4 game streak and Western Conference player of the week?? Did we imagine that?
Harden is reminding me more and more of TMac every day - a wonderfully gifted offensive player - who seems more interested in fame, than championships. I hope I am wrong, but that is what it is starting to resemble. DD
People questioned LeBron's will before he won a championship. People questioned Steph Curry as the leader of the team before they won a championship. James Harden JUST turned 26. He has already led an injury decimated team to the second seed in a talent-heavy Western Conference. He won the SouthBest Division almost single handed. He has led the team to the Western Conference Finals after his 4th year as a Rocket. Harden has improved each and every year and with it was the Rocket's record and their distance farther and farther into their pursuit for a championship. Dude isn't done. He isn't satisfied. He wants to win and he is absolutely are best hope of hosting the Larry O'Brien trophy in Houston.
what rule does the op violate that you think he'd be banned? i dont understand. that said, i am not sure its really worth a separate thread, becoz there have been many similar ones already. technically, harden's game has its own flaws. but that's not the topic here. if he cares about winning a championship, we fans have no ways to know for certain. we can only assume he does, becoz it's just natural (at least i'd think) for most pro players. but when the going gets tough, he does sometimes seem to give up. so the doubt if he has enough drive or a champion's heart is legit, imo. time will tell. however, in my mind, even if harden or any pro baller cares about celebrity status or money more than winning a title, it's ok. its not like a cardinal sin. after all, it's we fans who keep watching the games and put our $$ in it and that resulted in a bunch of overpaid athletes. and i am not just talking about the nba here.
Damn!!!! Shaking my Head..... But starting to agree with you.. Not because of this one loss.. But from the last 7 to 8 games... Also, is it me or does there seem to be some sort of rift with James and Marcus... I've been noticing that James will not pass the ball to Marcus... Could just be me... T_Man
I don't even understand these types of comments. Nothing suggests that T-Mac ever cared more about fame than basketball. Nothing at all. Nothing suggests Harden does not care about winning a championship. I think Harden is interested in fame to some extent. A lot of NBA players are now though, so that's not really too much of a knock on Harden. Those types of comments are best reserved for the Carmelo types.
You guys are giving Harden to much crap. What did he have to do with us losing last night? He may not have the Kobe will to win personality, but he does work hard and give it his all. He is even improving on defense year after year. Don't blame him because our schemes defensively is flat out not working! Dwight is not the Orlando Dwight anymore. He can't make up for the other 4 bad possessions on defense at the level he could back in his Orlando days and + that team had better perimeter defenders (Lee and Pietrus) then we do. For the people that think Harden cares more about fame then winning, lets just wait a couple of years and watch him spurn us for LA to grow his brand and grow with the Kardashians.
As a professional athlete, fame comes when you take the leap into elite status and that's what happened to Harden last season. Is he seeking out fame, to be on TMZ, or get $200 million shoe endorsement contracts? No, that came with being the MVP-runner up and getting to the WCF. To compare Harden and McGrady knowing those two facts is an exercise of being clueless.
The problem with this team is not harden or Howard.... Look at their stat lines and tell me they aren't trying.... You got Ty Lawson who isn't integrated and is not looking great, you've got Terrence jones who has got to be setting a new record for being blocked per field goal attempt, Corey brewer shooting even worse than he was last year, which was already horrible. And a coach that keeps playing those two junk players constantly over people who are going to actually put some effort out.
Fair enough. If nothing else, Harden needs to work on consistency at least. This has been a long term problem for him. When refs don't call fouls he becomes disinterested among other things.
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Totally wrong The unathletic, over-rated loser JJ Fatt is the reason that the fake sport egg ball playing Texans suck. He is a born loser. Missing playoffs year after year and has won nothing in his life. JJ Fatt plays for a bad organization because this hack has made them a bad organization James Harden OTOH is the reason why Rockets are even being talked about. He has put the Rockets on the map and is the reason Rockets are achieving whatever wins and success they do. He is also a born winner having taken Rockets to playoffs every year and won a gold medal. He is no Steph Curry but he is way better than JJ Fatt.