Harden either 1. doesn't care or 2. is overrated. Fans can't have it both ways. If he doesn't care, then that's a serious indictment on his potential to lead us to a ring. If he's overrated, then at least we can acknowledge that and lower expectations about this team. His performance this year only shows those 2 possibilities.
Its very simple, this team has no HEART! I agree with the op. This team can only go as far as harden takes them, and this guy has no heart. Sure we will see some great games ahead in the season, but consistency is the key. How the hell do you lose a game like that to Brooklyn. Heart, or lack thereof.
Like I said in another post.. Either other teams have figured out how to guard is or Harden just isn't getting certain calls that he used to last year (especially at home!) We need Ty or Thornton to develop into a legit second scooter. I'm not really that worried. Just frustrated because the talent is there this year. They need to pull themselves together really soon.
We do indeed have the talent this year. Harden needs to learn how to use Thornton and Ty instead of going iso for contested 3 pointers... which he does way way too much. He must really be wanting to take over the Kobe mantle.
LeBron's mental toughness was questioned in regard to his "clutch ability"; not whether he played hard or not. Forgive me if I'm mis-remebering, but didn't you question my Houston fandom 2 years ago when I thought Harden didn't have enough heart and was a poor leader?
I doubt it, I usually don't question folks fandom as I think most fans do it in their own manner and shouldn't be judged for however they want to be fans. He is clearly not a leader - maybe he grows into one? We have to hope he does. DD
This is just crazy talk to me. Sure, James isn't an elite defender. But last year we saw him greatly improve his effort on that end. And every single year we've seen him improve over years past. By all accounts he's often the last player to leave the gym. And you claim if his shot isn't falling he doesn't do much else - but do you look at the man's stats? He has point guard assist numbers. He is a great rebounder for a guard. He gets steals. Again, we all know there is still a lot of room for improvement on the defensive end but to say he does nothing if his shot isn't falling is kind of ridiculous. The man came to us a player many people (including his former team) doubted was a max salary player. They said he couldn't carry a team. And yet he went from that to being second in MVP voting last year while leading the most injured playoff team in the Western Conference to the 2 seed. If you can't see how much he has grown and how hard he is worked I just think you're blind. tl:dr; WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?
Okay, after thinking longer... it was dobro. Knew the first letter was "d" with a bunch of rep. Your name and posts are d-loaded
Does your assessment include the YouTube video showcasing his defensive prowess? Harden has done some great things.... and some not so great things.
This.. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/86OLi9i7j1c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This thread brings all the r****ds to the yard Spurs talk like our posters are better than yours Damn right there better than ours Harden can teach you but he won't take a charge I'm a solid 8 beers in! Everyone be safe.
I've been saying this for a while now. Both Dwight and Harden seem very T-Mac like in mentality. I really don't know if either care. For Dwight, he's a champion in life in his own mind no matter what. That's just stuff you don't say after losing. But, he doesn't have health on his side. Harden meanwhile loves frequenting strip clubs and all about that lifestyle rather than the game itself it seems. I feel like this is just going to be another Tmac, Yao era and end in sadness/injury/underachievement just like that era did.
Haha yeah man that was amazing, I actually went to the Kings game when Novak hit that clutch 3 for the win, T-mac was my fav. player since I was in 4th grade when he was in his 2nd yr with the Magic and still is, we all know about his scoring prowess, ballhandling, and playmaking but he was also a very under-rated defender. I posted that vid of him getting emotional post-game in the playoffs because there's actually folks out there that say that he didn't care about winning which is absurd.
Oh okay. I play a game of basketball and hit 10 straight shots but then miss 4 straight. I did some great things but some not so great. Still comes out to 10-14. Overall Harden has been excellent.
Not defending him, but the dude is 26 making millions of dollars, what did we expect? Idk, to me it felt like during the Clippers game, he was more interested in Drake/Kevin Hart than in winning. The Olympics summer camp did a huge favor for Harden last summer. But i also think we are using Lawson wrong. Ty is a creator and in Denver he was the man with the ball like Harden is here. I just think that whenever Harden is not on the floor, they should let Ty create and basically be an mini Harden. To me it seems that Ty doesn't seem comfortable yet. He does not seem used to standing on the three and waiting for a shot, he is usually the dude creating that shot for others. Hopefully that will change as the season goes on and they learn how to play with each other. Again, no excuses, but it really has only been 8 games. They have a lot to clean up and work on, its sad that this wasn't addressed in preseason even with the injuries. Some perspective (according to Wikipedia) in Lebron's first season with the heat they were 10-8 in the first 18 games. We all know that eventually they really picked things up and got it going and made it to the finals. My point is that it will take time, not saying the rockets will have the same success and we don't have superstars like they did, but hopefully as things progress they will find a rhythm.
It's not a surprise that people would eventually demonize Harden and Howard the way T-mac and Francis were. Just have to wait until Tinman turns on Harden.
