I do not want him gone, not yet at least. I would say Morey better hatch out a plan and give him an ultimatum of 2 years. Let's make it a crystal clear plan for the foreseeable future. One has to light a fire under his you know what, and Morey should also be given an ultimatum to perform. If he can lead a team to the Finals in one of those years and be the player that can make others better, he deserves to stay If not then rebuild as this team has not been able to start from scratch thanks to the owner
Edit: If he continues to fail to lead then here is an easier solution just not for his ego. He admits that he is a 2nd or 3rd option, accepts a smaller contract 14-16 million a year, allows Morey to get the reliable star plus another one and all is great in H-town. plays within himself, makes the occasional 3, going to the rack, setting up teammates without touching the ball on every possession. He does not have to lead then so be it he can stay here until his career end
For a supposed all star (not even gonna use that superstar term anymore) , he has one of those "worst games of the season" every other game.
I have never been confident in ANY shot he's put up since March last year. It's always 50/50 the dude sucks at basketball
so most fans got this right... when was the last "all time great" that couldnt even get voted in to the allstar roster by the fans?
So according to ESPN... Curry 2x All star 1x MVP 1 Championship = 4th PG all time? I questioned some complaints about their love affair for Curry but that's insane. He's literally the only dude on the list with less than 7 all star selections...with 2.
Last season, they were 31-14 for games that were decided by more than 10 points. That's more than half of the regular season games. You are right, 5 of those 14 losses were 15 or more points (Memphis, Clippers, New Orleans, Utah, Phoenix... no GS!). And there were those "close" games where they led by 20 points and then the lead evaporated to thin air. Some of those they barely won. Other they lost. We won't see those as "blow out" on record.
I'm going to assume you aren't the biggest fan of the Rockets offensive style of play right? It's pretty natural to have that style of play produce big runs on either side with poor shooting stretches, stagnant passing, turnovers, etc. But just because the Rockets offensive style produces nerve wracking basketball to watch that can be ugly at times doesn't mean it didn't produce consistently as a whole. If it didn't, Morey wouldn't utilize it. Which makes me think the brain trust along with the coaches (whoever they end up being) will look at changing things up this summer. Changing the offense could also change a lot with how Harden is used in the offense. But that being said I don't really understand the point of arguing about the Rockets the past three years. They've been pretty damn good and I'd make the case the past two years they should have been considered more as "contenders" than they were. They were closer than many thought they could be.
Yes, I am not a big fan of our offensive style. And I agree that the style naturally produces big swings of runs. I'll agree to disagree about the contender thing. I don't think the big swings are just about offensive style. It has a lot to do with mental toughness and attitude. The Rockets are like a smart kid with ADHD. The kid shows brilliance when he puts his mind in things. But he just can't stay focused long enough so you can count on him to achieve anything big.
Also, let Harden play in the handcheck era and see how fast he would quit. Vernon Maxwell would shut him down by himself.
I'd like this quote to be saved or marked for future reference. Yeah, people in Houston who are moody anti-fans are angry at him, and generally I think the media isn't in love with propping him up over like-talented players in this period in NBA history. That being said his accomplishments thus far already (if he was to never improve or have further accomplishments and just stays where he is) warrant him being a likely hall of fame inductee at some point, and he ALREADY holds up to all time great Rockets on milestone achievements at least in Houston. "All time Great"... well I think that's subjective. However when he's gone and out of the game, there is no question that the narrative will change around here, and folks will talk about "the good ole days" and totally forget about the nonsense bashing they give him on a daily basis. Is it okay to criticize Harden, and wish he could improve???... Of course. Is he going to be viewed as this less favorable when he retires, and he's a likely hall of famer??.... Hell no. You guys are nuts, and you will totally flip flop, and talk about how great it was when Harden was a Rocket. You can argue that all you want, but this is 100% a fact about you fans, or antifans.
We're generally ones who see Harden getting killed by reporters and fans, every online page that mentiones him someone says f him because he plays no d or because he is only looking for a foul. We always defend him, but now when the ones defending you are against you, you know the hate is earned.
Spoiler An all-time great in the Drew League, give him that. He's going to enter the DL HOF & have his number retired there! Congrats James!