Rockets played eerily similar in game 6 to how they played for the first 12 games of the prior season which was with so lack of care/effort it got McHale almost immediately fired. We later found out about how sensitive Harden was to critisism by teammates/coaches. How soon we forget. The team I watched Thursday night could have been swapped with the prior year team without anyone noticing. Same lack of care/effort that had Alexander (the prior year) saying he quit watching some games before halftime due to the team's lack of care/effort. This was originally blamed 100% on Howard/McHale, but now it is looking like a disturbing trend.
No... one of the positive factors about this team was it's chemistry. Almost every player during the exit interviews even stressed that. There was no in fighting. It was a team that was mentally drained and defeated after the way they lost game 5. Midway through the second quarter when they were down by 20 plus they pretty much gave up,
Is this founded on some specific evidence about Harden being criticized? Or does Clutch need to replace the "trade ideas" thread with a "meltdown theories" thread?
Mentally fatigued by what!!!!! We are only in game 6 of the second round and are playing an older Spurs team without 2 of its biggest stars at home in a closeout game. If what you are saying is true, then that says more about the issues with the chemistry/makeup of this team than anything else.
The way they lost It was in horror show down the stretch.Up 5 with a minute and fourty seconds left to only watch in despair as Mills and Green hit big shots when we throw up blanks. Had they won that we would have been up 3-2 and a chance to close it out. These guys are human beings. you know.. they feel pain just like the rest of us.
This is what I have been telling y'all for the past few seasons. Harden is the problem. He can't lead and doesn't want to follow. When they got rid of Howard I knew they wouldn't be going anywhere soon. They should have traded Harden instead.
I’m not saying they were fighting, but I was watching a live feed during game 5. Instead of going to commercial they showed Harden and Ariza going back and forth with each other on the bench. Not saying it was a heated discussion, but you could tell Ariza was criticizing Harden about something and Harden had a difference of opinion.
Well you will have to find another star player to come here and hold Harden's hand and lead because Harden can't do it. I recommend a PG.
I believe it was when halftime was almost over. They were all back on the floor. The other players must have been practicing their shots because I only saw Harden and Ariza on the bench talking going back and forth.
I kind of like this theory, actually. I re-watched the last quarter and OT of Game 5 to see if I could spot the exact moment when things went wrong with Harden's attitude. Surprisingly, he seemed locked-in and focused until the very end. He was obviously exhausted, though, and it affected his play in OT -- including his thinking, his reading of defenses, his passing, and his shooting. Pretty much his entire offensive arsenal. And has already been stated here many times, having to guard bigs all night just wore him down. I'm wondering if Harden approached D'Antoni sometime before Game 6 and asked to have that assignment given to someone else when Capela wasn't on the floor. Ariza, maybe. Or possibly he asked if Montrezl could be given some minutes. Anything to relieve him of the responsibility of guarding seven-footers. Although Harden defended them pretty well in Game 5, there were a few embarrassing moments when he plainly couldn't get the job done, and it's obvious it took a lot out of him. So my theory: Harden asks MDA to change things up so he doesn't wear down (and get shown up in the post). MDA says, "Nah, I think this is how we're doing it." Harden goes into a funk, walks out on the court with the focus of a sleepwalker and the vacant eyes of a heroin addict, and the rest is history. Like I said, only a theory. But I don't buy the "He just had a bad game" excuse. Something was definitely up behind the scenes.
It's possible, but I'm not convinced of some nefarious behind the scenes activity. Until something comes out, I'm just going with Occam's Razor. It's likely that he just mentally froze up.
If we assume this is true, that Harden can't take criticism about his play, then that just tells me Harden is a big fat Pu$$y. He needs to get over himself. Lesley Alexander needs to have a talk with him.
