I kinda agree that Harden needs to be called out more by the fans for his inconsistency. His ups and downs are probably as dramatic as Westbrook's.
Well I'm glad as a Rocket fan you witnessed your ultimate goal of beating the OKC Thunder, a 6th seed, in the playoffs. Congrats. Did you have your own parade?
Yea. Because nothing gets an MVP candidate fired up like getting criticized by average Joes. As much as I am enjoying this back and forth I have other things to do. Enjoy the game!
WHen people make these statements on Houston Rockets message board, do they like... not understand the purpose of a fan message board? Add yes, when your own fans start blaming you, you tend to notice. Those average joes are what helps Harden have a net worth over 20 million dollars. He should be greatful for us and so should any wealthy NBA player.
Harden needs to diversify his scoring portfolio. Among all the superstars in the game, he probably has the least diverse options when it comes to scoring. What really upsets me is that Harden actually has decent ability to post-up or take mid-range shots, but he stubbornly refuses to go outside of his comfort zone even when things are not working. Dude, an elite defensive team can easily take away your drives (you're not LeBron) and three-pointers (you're not Curry), then what are you going to do? Draw fouls all day long?
We saw what he could do from mid-range in 14-15. Whether it is system or stubbornness, he has not used his step-back jumper at all outside of his often ill-advised step-back three point jumpers at the end of quarters or when desperate. IMO, Harden could take that next step if he just returned to his step-back King days when other teams cut off the layups or 3-point line. That and he could live off of taking short jumpers in the paint when he comes off the pick and roll.
Harden might have averaged more points this year, but I still think 14-15 Harden was much more potent and dangerous as an individual scorer.
This next off-season is a make or break year for Harden to be either a transcendent generational player that will be remembered for decades or another Mcgrady. He seriously needs to get his shooting touch back and do some serious conditioning training with Beverly over the off-season. He does those two, Harden will be the player that we all know he can be. I kinda want Harden to shadow Beverly on his workouts over the offseason. I heard that Beverley is the master at conditioning training. It's why his motor is always at 100%.
Yeah I think that was his best year...perhaps the best non-Hakeem Rocket year. He wasn't slowly walking around the court back then.
I love so many posters here defend this with "He's dictating the pace!". No son... He's dictating the amount of energy he needs to conserve because he gimps on conditioning workouts to be a full time pg.
#mauryball has limited Harden He had that deadly step back mid range J. But triple cheese burger has told him to cut it out completely and either jack up 3's (many ill advised ones IMO), go for the layup or jack up 3's trying to get 3 free throws
True shooting percentage, has been, is, and will always be, more important and notable than raw field goal percentage. I care much more about Harden's turnovers and defense, which are legitimate concerns, as opposed to his scoring, which is almost always going to be an elite level efficiency-wise given his volume.
Is it really that absurd for me to believe that the man ought to be able to shoot decently FOR ONCE in the playoffs?
Maybe so, but likely not by much, if at all. Anything 55+ TS% is fine by me, and should be fine by anybody.
I mean...it's not absurd. I'd rather Harden shot 50% or better every game, which would likely make him the greatest scorer to ever touch a basketball, but given his role for the team, it's unlikely he does. He's had many great playoff games, and even in games that he's not shooting the ball well, if he's facilitating and getting to the free throw line for easy points, I do not understand why you'd be upset over that. It's primitive thinking to be upset purely over field goal percentage.
