There will be other superstars and star eras after Harden..... We need to be bad and draft stars to be better and make a playoff push This is another circle NBA teams are running.
It's really not that complicated. Swap Harden out with another star...say...Durant? I betcha those plus minutes numbers look a lot different for both players. Also...plus/minus is dumb. I thought we already knew this.
The question was if Harden makes teammates better. Does anyone on our roster have a positive +/- against those teams? How many players on losing teams are going to have a positive +/- against those teams? How many players on our roster don't have a much better +/- against those same teams when they are on the floor with Harden vs when Harden is off the floor? Harden making his teammates better doesn't mean that we'll have a positive +/- or be able to beat the better teams consistently. One player isn't going to make us a contender. Unfortunately, it just means that we don't suck nearly as much when Harden is on the floor.
Of course Harden's offensive prowess far exceeds his defensive issues. That's why he's an all-star and was MVP runner-up last season. But, his defensive weaknesses are absolutely part of the reason the Rockets are 36-38. Every player and coach in the organization is to blame for this abortion of a season. Including Harden.
You requested I use RPM to use as a gauge in this discussion because it wasn't teammate dependent like plus-minus is, and it gauges both a player's impact on both offense and defense. Assists is a teammate dependent stat. You can't have it both ways. I also like how you focus entirely on offensive improvements that could make Harden's RPM better and don't mention how it could significantly improve if he improved his defensive weaknesses. And considering the Rockets give up 107 a game, that's where I'd start. The Rockets are 2 games under 500 despite scoring 106 points per game. That's simply sad.
So in your opinion, Harden doesn't bear any significant fault in the Rockets disappointing season, but is rather his offensive production (slighlty lower than last year) is the sole reason the Rockets aren't historically bad? If that is the case, how much credit do you give Harden for the Rocket teams that won 56 games last year? The team was essentially the same and Hardens production while slightly more efficient was essentially the same as this seasons. (26.7 per vs 25.2 per, 605% TS vs 595% TS, 8.5% TRB vs 9.3% TRB, 34.6% AST vs 36% AST, 14.9% TOV vs 16.2 TOV, 31.3 USG vs 32.6 USG) PER36 PTS/RBS/AST(14-15 vs 15-16) 26.8/5.5/6.8 vs 27.2/6.1/7.1
This team lives and dies on 2 things: - James Harden on offense - Ability of our scrubs to hit threes This year, in addition to garbage D by the entire team, we are also really bad at hitting the same open shots as last year, including Harden shooting at an all time low from downtown. Harden can only do so much by himself especially when the opposing D keys in on him even more. I also have a suspicion that he is playing hurt.
for those who say w/o harden we'll literally be the bottom feeder of the league... we may be, or we may not be. houston never lacks of star players. if harden isnt playing here, we'd throw the money onto some other star player. so... for you hof's out there, it aint like if harden leaves one day, which can happen in a couple of yrs., it will mean the end of this rockets team, ok?
for a short period of time, you're right. i was talking about in general. and my bad, i meant if harden isnt playing for houston, it will NOT mean the end of the team. a typo.
Its not a maybe. We would be one of the worst. Yes, Houston does lack star players. It currently lacks star players. We will not be a contender without atleast one more star player, and maybe 2. Thank you for making this thread, you have quickly proven that you have nothing insightful to say whatsoever and are worthy of the ignore list.
how do you define "one of the worst"? #25 of the league or worse, or what? and you think if we throw harden's salary onto another allstar or that kinda caliber of a player, we'd be the bottom feeder for sure? can you prove it? harden isnt the first big star playing for houston, and he wont be the last for sure. thanks for taking my words out of context. since my thread is so stupid, why did you bother read into it and take the time to reply to it? and, since you're putting me on the ignore list, can i assume from now on you wont reply or even read my threads/posts? i'd appreciate it if you can keep your words.
The answer is he made them a lot better last season when they finished with the #2 seed and went to the Conference Finals. This year, not so much. Remember, we brought back the "same players" for "continuity" to be like the Warriors. And this same group, with and without the addition of Lawson, has been awful.
I get what your saying and you know I 100% do not agree with your assessment of Harden. Yes the rockets have had star power through out the years that can't be denied. Houston is not some bottem feeder place like some around here think. It's a big city with a lot to do if your rich and has warm weather with no state taxes. With that said it can't be denied that since we got James harden our team success has been higher than any of the star players since Hakeem (Francis, Yao, mcgrady) harden also had a better individual season than any other those guys and was our first player to be 1st team all NBA since dream while also being runner up in mvp. I know there just individual awards but they still excite the fan base and also bring more attention the the team in a positive way. Now since Harden has been here he's attracted star talent in dwight Howard who is on record saying he came here to play with Harden. We've also been able to get sit down meetings with every big free agent since he came aboard and that never happened before. Unless you count morey giving bosh an iPad before he signed with the heat the first time. We damn near had bosh signed also 2 summers ago with every major media outlet saying it was a done deal until the last hour the heat swooped in and gave him the max 5 year offer. As long as harden is here wee will continue to get sit down meeting with every big free agent. Which is all you can ask for these guys sigh with 1 team and usually only meet with 4-6 of them. The fact that we get the meetings is huge. Lastly you said we could replace harden salary with another player and be maybe as good or somthing along those lines. If I'm wrong im sure you will tell me. But I find that to be wrong on a lot of counts. One harden is an incredible player and the numbers and wins back it up. Second he only makes 15.5 m do you would have to replace him with a player who makes that or less and the only guy who makes less that's better is curry. Damare carrol and Chandler parsons are both making the same money as harden do they make Houston better if we swap? I don't think I even need to answer that. My point is that having harden locked in for 2 more years at this low salary has allowed us to go sign 2 more max contracts Wuic is huge and somthing know other team can offer. We have and all NBA player and money to sign two max deals this summer. What other team can offer this? The answer is 0.
It's that easy, isn't it. What the hell was Morey doing those years before Harden? All he had to do was throw some money at some other star. Fire Morey.
