Harden says he plays too much to maintain defensive focus

How's that false? I literally just checked to make sure I was correct before posting. They had a much better defensive rating while Kobe was off the court. It's a fact, not an opinion.

 

funny. Then one would expect in the first GAME when he was FOR SURE not exhausted to have started with good or even average defence.
I didn't witness such a thing.

Seems to be a hole in this theory.

 

no, his logic is spot on. the premise being that harden is the only player that is currently effective at creating offense for the team.

His load to shoulder has not been lightened and the defense around him has declined.

I know you expect him to be superman - and yes, I get frustrated with some of the lazy plays - but damn man - what does he have to do to earn respect?

what is his scoring average in games we've won?

notice a common theme?

How about having the team play a defensive scheme that accounts for Harden like Golden State does with Curry?

oh - i forgot. Logic is out the window with you.

 

language alert

Spoiler

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'd happily trade 40 minutes of not giving a **** Harden for 32 minutes of totally locked in Harden <a href="https://t.co/7sxxgQzOoZ">https://t.co/7sxxgQzOoZ</a></p>&mdash; nick wright (@getnickwright) <a href="https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/672107831303114752">December 2, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

I'm trying my best to imagine this coming out of Michael Jordan's mouth. Can't do it.

 

"I have a sniffle tonight, Phil . . . think I may have to sit this one out." :grin:

 

The Rockets brought Ty Lawson here for a reason and that was to be able to "rest" Harden which would allow him to expend more energy defensively without having to carry the offensive burden for long stretches.

The coaches have FAILED to integrate Lawson in their "offense." The coaches have FAILED to evolve the offensive system to be able to some degree run an offense while Harden is on the bench. And because of this, once again Harden leads the lead in minutes played and is being run into the ground.

 

Man... the last Rocket that b****ed about PT affecting their defense was Scottie Pippen.

 

Agree. Wish Harden would have just stopped at his first comment.

“Forty a night is pretty tough, especially if you want to get efficient on both ends of the floor,” Harden said. “We got to figure it out. We have to figure out how to give guys more minutes and be more effective on the court so as a team we can get better.” ​

If he stops there, that's an excellent quote. He's likely talking about Lawson getting more minutes.

 

ok, i am not upset no more. thanks for the laugh.

 

They also played at a pace of 93.6.

The Rockets play at a pace of 99.7


A pace of 93.6 would be dead last in the league today... by far.


The Jazz play at the slowest pace in the league today at a pace of 94.7.

 

In the 1993-1994 season, Hakeem Olajuwon played all 82 regular season games, averaged 41 minutes per game, and won MVP, Finals MVP, AND Defensive Player of the Year.

In 1987-1988, Michael Jordan play 40.4 minutes per game, all 82 games, and won MVP and DPOY.

It's not the number of minutes, Harden. It's you.

 

Its not just on the coaches. Harden has just as much responsibility.

 

Harden was supposed to make up plays too?

 

Harden needs his ass whooped

 

and I guess now he's making the substitution pattern calls that have been killing us all season

 

If I were JB, I would give Harden about 30 minutes tonight. Let's see how he does on defense if his minutes are reduced. If his defense doesn't improve, we then know it's not the minutes. I would also cut minutes to other players that can't do it on defense. It's a plan.

 

I think you have to have good coaching first to have a defensive scheme to hide Harden like GS does for Curry!!!

 

LOL at people comparing Harden to Kobe, Hakeem and Jordan. I'd say if that's what you ever expected from Harden then shame on you! He is still a great player but he is not a generational talent.

 

this.

espn has the minutes leaders each season, going back to 1999-2000 season.
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/minutes/sort/avgMinutes

now tell me how many of these players played defense at harden's level.

notice each yr. many were 4's and 5's. heck, shaq once avg'd 40.

i am tired of so many harden's fans seeking so many excuses for him. this yr alone, it was "he hasnt had a good coach to teach him how to play defense", and then the same people figured "oh, just look at the influence of coach k and thibs". well, you cant have it both ways. or are you telling me that somehow in the past 12 months or so, harden has had amnesia and forgot what he had learned?

now this latest "too many minutes" lame excuse... from the "leader" himself. smdh.