Yup, exactly. Well said. It's not that we lost to the Spurs who had a better record and home court advantage. It's HOW we lost. It was Harden QUITTING. We all felt pretty good about making the WCF (especially with Kawhi being injured). We just didn't foresee Harden QUITTING on the team in an elimination game AT HOME against a team WITHOUT THEIR BEST PLAYER. Now all of that being said, Harden has had an amazing year this year. Let's just hope he doesn't quit again in the playoffs.
How do you really know he quit? There are a million possibilities as to why he sucked so badly in those two games and, especially in game five, I think fatigue/health was a factor. I'm not saying any of that makes it OK, but one or two games is not nearly enough to give up on a transcendent, MVP-caliber, once-or-twice-a-decade talent like Harden. He is the best chance we have at a title, for better or worse, and we have to roll the dice with him. I remember when people were saying similar things about Lebron James after the 2011 Finals and 2010 playoffs... Thank god they don't let knee-jerk-reacting "fans" such as yourself vote on off-season moves.
we??? just curious mavsprick, given the makeup of the team, who would have done a better job than Harden last year?
Oh cheese and rice, I almost forgot that was swyyyguy... I knew I remembered him being nonsense for a few reasons, but totes forgot that was one of them.
LOL mavsprick willing to trade Harden for lots of players single handedly carry the rockets farther than 55wins/3rd seed and all the way to a chip? who are you so sure of and willing to trade harden for in the beginning of last season? I assume jeremy lamb is first on your list right??
@Asian Sensation besides the ultimate verdict being this seasons playoffs. What is your opinion of Harden now? If the Warriors get healthy it will take a herculean effort from Harden no matter what Paul and other players do.
You're right. I agree with you on this. He is definitely the best chance we have a title so I am absolutely rolling with Harden. That doesn't change the fact that he quit on us last year. He looks different this year and I'm hopeful. Let's go Rockets!
maybe he was tired last year, or concussed. But it's not like he hasn't pulled this before in the previous 4 playoffs. I mean was he concussed in OKC too, what about in Portland, or against Austin Rivers, what about against the Heat. It is a roll of a dice with Harden in the playoffs. I don't think anyone in the forum wants to trade Harden after this season. But pointing out his flaws is apparently not allowed. I would say a large majority of the fan base is crossing their fingers waiting to see which Harden shows up this post-season. this is literally our best chance of getting a chip in decades.
I'm nonsense for being upset that Harden quit in game 6 last year? Did you enjoy his quit job? Are you calling the many other people here on CF nonsense for being mad about him quitting too?
Nobody is perfect, how about Kobe quitting on the Lakers during their match against PHX? What about Jordan quitting on the game 2 times after he retired due to his dad? Do you go to school or work with 100% drive and motivation all the time? Or were there times you played hooky at school or pretended you were sick so you don't have to come to work? Harden quit on 1 game vs 82 games in the season and how many playoff games before that? Do you consider yourself a QUITTER? Gimme a break dude stop over exaggerating lile a total dumbass. Just stop overreacting to everything dude. Harden is human just like everyone else. The impact of quitting 1 game vs all the games he played great is negligible. It's a none issue. There are 14 other players on the court and its on them to step up when the best player is not playing well.
Lakers fans were mad when Kobe quit in 2006. However, they cut him a little more slack since he helped them win 3 rings before that. He also won 2 more since that quit job. Jordan won 3 rings after his dad passed away too. I know it's a tough way to judge someone but rings give you more slack. We cut Hakeem lots of slack for leaving us and going to play for Toronto since he won 2 rings for us. We still love him. I agree that everyone is human which is why it's okay for players to have bad games. It is not okay for players to QUIT.
Yes its nonsense since its just 1 game vs his entire career of excellence before and after that. Jordan spent 1 season playing baseball thats 82 games he quit but you dont seem to give a F about that.
He won 3 rings before that and 3 rings after that. He was also upset that his dad passed away. How insensitive are you?
Again do you go to work or school with 100% motivation every time? Have you never cut any classes or filed sick leaves when you can still go to work if your career depended on it? Why is ok for you to quit but other people can't quit?
Good point. However, it's the magnitude of the stage. Sure, people have off days where they're just not feeling it at work. This may be a normal day for you at work or a regular season game for an NBA player. However, when the stage is the biggest and the lights are shining the brightest, you canNOT QUIT! When you have a big presentation to make for a client, I'm sure you won't give less than 100% effort on that day nor would you expect an NBA player to give less than 100% effort in an elimination playoff game at home against a team without their best player. I don't think it's unfair for me or any Rockets fan to ask for Harden to give it his all in the playoffs and not quit. You might be okay with that but I'm not.
Again you are sitting on a high horse judging people without any basis of reality. To some other person out there your situation is a greater magnitude than what he is experiencing yet you still quit. The bigger magnitude is all different depending on a person's point of view, to you quitting on a basketball game is a big deal to a soldier fighting for the lives of his friends and family its just a game out of thousands Harden has played before. Again why are you a pot calling the kettle black? YOU can quit sometimes but other people have to be perfect for their entire careers or they are a quitter? Is kobe a quitter? Is Jordan a quitter? They quit on more games than Harden , Jordan quit on entire playoff runs since he retired 3 times. You know how many games that is from first round to finals? The biggest stage in the NBA. And. Jordan. Missed. It. Jordan quit in multiple playoff gamess+the entire season. Harden just quit on 1 game. Is Jordan a quitter? Sure multiple people expect Harden to give it all and not quit but like I said Harden is only human, nobody is perfectly motivated 100% all the time. Even motivational coaches quit at some point on their career so why is Harden held to some BS standard? Like I said people consider Jordan the GOAT and he retired 3 times meaning he quit bball multiple times. You just need to stop projecting your faults on other people, it is not healthy for your state of mind.
Let's not lump game 5 and game 6 together. I truly believe he was just exhausted at the end of game 5. It was an overtime game, he was creating everything for us all game and at the end he was just settling for flat footed three pointers. He's done that before in many games. Game 6 on the other hand was truly unacceptable. Just a disgraceful outing on an elimination game and in what was an extremely winnable series. He absolutely did quit on the team in that moment. I remember in 2008, Yao was injured, Rafer was out and we had no hope against the Jazz, and Tmac, who was playing on a knee that had to be drained multiple times during the series, gave it everything he had in that Game 6. But I will support Harden as long as he is a Rocket and I believe this year will be different now that he has some help. I also believe players can lean from their past mistakes and failures, so it's stupid to keep bringing this up because it really isn't relevant anymore. One game last year doesn't take away from the incredible season he's having whatsoever. If he leads us to a ring, all will be forgiven.
