I'm a big Hakeem fan we all are but Hakeem lead the rockets to like 4 or 5 straight 1st round exits. Until he broke thru the year before the 1st chip and a few seasons after he wasn't thought of as some big time winner. Hakeem got to the finals early in his career but you have to remember he was not the best player on that team Ralph Sampson was the much better player at the time even thought dream was still a 20/10 guy. That team also had a lot of guard depth, ultimately drugs and injuries messed that core up. Not trying to compare Harden to dream because until harden wins a ring in Houston it's no comparison at all. But harden is easily far and away the best/talented player we have had in rocket red since dream and prob already top 5 best ever to wear the jersey in franchise history. harden has a long way to go but he's no stat padder his advanced numbers prove this no matter how ppl want to spin it or look at it he's just damn good on offense. Now leadership I dunno maybe he just never gets it and has to settle for being seen as a Charles Barkley level guy or around that level because unless that changes he's not going to win a ring as the guy. The defense to me is not as big a deal as most make it out to be iv seen him play good enough D I know that if he's coached proper and locked in his better than average on that end which is more than good enough when you factor in his elite offense.
No you're not listening to what Im saying this post proves it. Actually I think this post proves you don't even belong in the same conversation, lol. As stated before this team without Harden are the Sixers and it's not Harden's fault they suck. The idea that other players regression is James Harden's fault is a dumb idea and has been proven wrong long ago and that very idea is the reason I even defend Harden in the first place. Even though I admit his lack of defense drives me crazy and have admitted this for a long time. It's sooo stupid. Yes it's James Harden's fault Corey Brewer can't dribble the ball without tripping over his own feet yet still seems to get 40 minutes per game, lol. All one has to do is truly look at Brewer's history to conclude that he was a poor fit for the team. Morey was a fool for resigning him. He played well in spots which Harden covered up for because he played so well. Just because he's so bad that Harden can't cover for him anymore doesn't make it Harden's fault. Im not fond of Morey right now but I thank god some of you are not the GM of this team. The way you talk all we have to do is get rid of Harden keep Brewer and Howard and BOOM we are automatic contenders, lol. It's stupid.
Anyone have the advanced metric for getting backdoored on defense? How about the stat for pointing fingers at your teammates on the defensive end while being a ball stopper on the offensive end? The funny thing is that the one advanced metric that shows without any doubt that James is lazy (average speed) is white washed by the apologists who say he plays too many minutes. Historically, he isn't playing that many minutes for a star, and it's in a softer NBA where they get treated better than they ever have and barely play with sprained fingers. Until the pudge gets off the rock, moves without the ball, and plays some defense, there is absolutely no comparison whatsoever to Hakeem - any season. I would have looooooooved to see Harden play against a defense that could hand check and in an era where he wouldn't get half the flop calls he gets now.
I'm listening just fine, and I think I'm doing just fine in this conversation. You're echoing James Harden: "We need to upgrade the roster." And I'm echoing Charles Barkley in this clip. Say what you will about Barkley, he is at least making the argument I am making. Forget Brewer: I understand Harden is not to "blame" for Brewer's incompetence. Listen to what Barkley has to say about the effect of James Harden's habits on someone like Trevor Ariza. Note also I am not trying to assign "blame" per se, on James Harden. I just think there's a chance that this team without James Harden (or more accurately, with someone else) might have done better. We'll never know. But you can look at a team like Charlotte right now whose best player is Kemba Walker. That team is WAY better than the Houston Rockets were this year. And talent-wise I don't think they come close to the Rockets' talent. But they play unselfishly and they play as a team. I'm not sure you can say that about Houston. And by all accounts people absolutely love playing with Kemba Walker. I don't hear Barkley suggesting that Kemba does the dribble dribble dribble thing and that no one wants to play with him. But you hear a lot of people wondering that about Harden right now, and I think with good reason. It is an open question right now whether Harden can truly be a leader. I don't think we'll know the answer to that question for another 2-3 seasons. You're arguing that this team without Harden is the Sixers. For all we know this team without Harden is the Hornets. Well, maybe not the Hornets, but I think well above the Sixers. A lesser version of this year's Rockets team beat the Spurs two years ago without Harden. http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489544 So I'm not buying your Sixers argument either. Look, I'm not trying to disagree just for the sake of being disagreeable. I just don't think the Harden issue is as open and shut as you seem to think. There's room for principled disagreement here. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4dNLWMgp35M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Great find - and repped. I really hope Harden hears this from someone and listens. I think he is willing to get people involved but he may not trust his teammates anymore either.
Well...if beating the GSW, also known as maybe the greatest basketball team of all time, is your bar for success for a player, I can promise you there will be very few success stories out there for us.
Exactly. And then they try to pass out subjective numbers as "facts" . Intellectual dishonesty to themselves and others.
Such a dumb thing to point out. It's like yall don't understand that players have different play styles or teams have different defensive schemes. Is Kevin Durant lazy? Average speed 3.6... Lebron lazy too? 3.85. Chris Paul is 3.9. Draymond green is 3.86. Harden is a 3.79. Yall would say that Curry isn't lazy, but dudes average speed defensively is 3.58. James is 3.48. The difference between both is that Curry leads the league offensively at 5.05 because the style is plays is off ball shooter and runs around screens getting shots off. James Harden clearly doesn't play that type of style. He walks the ball up and tries to play point guard.
KD is a 3.76 actually and yes he, Westbrook and Harden all suffer from the same issue of being stagnant on D and ball watching on O if they aren't in ISO. Harden is the 15th slowest NBA player in the league, think about that. The list is KD, Harden, Carmello and a bunch of PF/centers. Draymond Green is a PF... Lebron's team plays at a slow pace. Make more excuses for a SG who runs at the 15th slowest pace in the entire league...
tinman or Briand2714???? Spoiler Clutchfans needs to know who the fake fan is!!!! Spoiler ....... ....... .......
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OK. I am halfway done here. You win. If you think Harden is so talented, may he win you a couple of championships..... If you cannot see the warning signs (particularly this season and the Portland series, other seasons) so BE IT. The only thing I admire it is his durability that I would like to give it to competitors like Yao or creators like Grady. Good luck!
Harden's last season was probably the best season a Rocket has had since that Hakeem season, but clearly that Hakeem season was better, especially when you take into account accolades and results.
